title: Effects of spironolactone on systolic blood pressure in experimental diabetic rats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mineralocorticoid hormones, which maintain electrolyte balance and blood pressure, are thought to be associated not only with the expression of renal 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11beta-HSD2), but also with that of intracellular mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs). The present study was designed to test whether the mineralocorticoid action of glucocorticoid corticosterone on renal MR is involved in the development of diabetes-associated hypertension by measuring the alterations of renal 11beta-HSD2.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured the mean systolic blood pressure, renal 11beta-HSD1, and mRNA levels in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats that received spironolactone, insulin, or no treatment, and in nondiabetic controls that received spironolactone.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four weeks after an injection of STZ, the renal 11beta-HSD2 and mRNA levels were significantly lower in diabetic rats than in control rats, and the mean systolic blood pressure was 14.8% higher in diabetic rats than in controls. Subcutaneous injections of spironolactone into diabetic rats for three weeks partially reversed the decrease in renal 11beta-HSD2 activity and gene expression, and prevented the mean systolic blood pressure elevation. Spironolactone treatment for one week also resulted in a significant reduction in mean systolic blood pressure during the development of diabetic hypertension. However, treatment with STZ did not significantly decrease the renal 11beta-HSD1 activity and mRNA expression, and spironolactone treatment did not exert a significant effect on this enzyme in STZ-induced diabetic rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the development of diabetes-induced hypertension, the effect of spironolactone on mean systolic blood pressure may be associated with the mineralocorticoid effects of corticosterone on renal MR, as well as an alteration of renal 11beta-HSD2 activity and its mRNA expression in insulin-dependent diabetic rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan. yjliu@hama-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toya
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saegusa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohzeki
mesh_terms: D042842:11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D000450:Aldosterone / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006913:Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018161:Receptors, Mineralocorticoid / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013148:Spironolactone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013311:Streptozocin; D013599:Systole / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018161:Receptors, Mineralocorticoid; D013148:Spironolactone; D000450:Aldosterone; D013311:Streptozocin; D006913:Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D042842:11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D003345:Corticosterone