Mercedes Sanz, Emilio Ruiz, Patricia Ganado and Teresa Tejerina (*)
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Complutense University,
28040 Madrid, Spain
(*) To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract: We tested the effect of calcium dobesilate (DOBE) in
aorta from spontaneously diabetic (BB/wor) rats. The contraction induced
by 10-6 M noradrenaline (NA) in BB/wor rats was smaller than
that induced in control rats (1.21+/-0.11 vs 0.82+/-0.02 g, P<0.01, n=8,
respectively) in arteries with intact endothelium. Incubation with DOBE
(10-4 M) impaired the contractions induced by NA in BB/wor rats
(1.21+/-0.11 vs 0.67+/-0.01 g, P<0.01, n=8). The effect of DOBE was reversed
by 10-6 M propranolol (0.67+0.01 vs 1.20+/-0.60 g, P<0.001,
n=8, with 10-4 M DOBE and 10-4 M DOBE plus 10-6
M propranolol, respectively). DOBE increased the endothelium-dependent relaxation
in arteries from diabetic rats. These findings suggest that DOBE might improve
vascular reactivity in BB/wor rats.
Keywords: Spontaneously diabetic rat, Aorta, Calcium dobesilate