A comparative study of diazoxide and glipizide on the islet function of obese rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Sixty male SD rats were separately fed by normal diet or high-fat diet.After eight weeks of highfat diet,these rats were injected low dose streptozotocin (30 mg/kg).Diazoxide or glipizide was administered to the diabetic rats for 4 weeks.The results showed that body weight,serum insulin,and insulin sensitive index were decreased in the obese diabetic rats while the fasting blood glucose,total cholesterol,and triglyceride levels were increased compared with the high-fat diet group ( all P＜0.01 ).Consistent with the results of glipizide,diazoxide treatment lowered blood glucose,improved glucose tolerance,and decreased islet cell apoptosis compared with the diabetes mellitus group ( all P＜0.05 ).The results suggest that diazoxide can improve islet function of obese type 2 diabetic rats via decreasing insulin secretion and thus lessening the load on islet cells. Key words: Diazoxide; Glipizide; Potassium-channels; Diabetes mellitus, experimental