Experimental study on the protective effects of rosiglitazone on aortic endothelial cells of spontaneously type 2 diabetic rats

Objective To study on the protective effects of rosiglitazone on aortic endothelial cells of spontaneously type 2 diabetic rats.Methods Otsuka long-evans tokushima fatty(OLETF)rats were randomly divided into two groups(test and model)based on administration with rosiglitazone or without treatment.Long-evans tokushima otsuka(LETO)rats were used as non-diabetic controls.Rosiglitazone(2 mg·kg-1)was oral administrated.The histopathological changes of thoracic aortas were examined respectively at the age of 16 and 24 weeks.The protein levels of insulin receptor substrate-1(IRS-1),phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI-3 K)and endothelial nitric oxide synthase(eNOS)in the aortas from OLETF rats were detected by Western blot analysis.Results The morphological changes in aortic wall were significantly ameliorated in trial group.Both IRS-1 protein and eNOS protein level were significantly increased in trial group compared with model group.Conclusion Rosiglitazone may protect against impairment of endothelial cells presumably by regulating post insulin receptor signaling pathways.