Objective and design: Knowing that hyperglycemia is a hallmark of vascular dysfunction in diabetes and that neonatal streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (n-STZ) present reduced inflammatory response, we decided to evaluate the effect of chlorpropamide-lowered blood glucose levels on carrageenan-induced rat paw edema and pleural exudate in n-STZ.
Materials: Diabetes was induced by STZ injection (160 mg/kg, ip) in neonates (2-day-old) Wistar rats.
Treatment: n-STZ diabetic rats were treated with chlorpropamide (200mg/kg, 15d, by gavage) 8 weeks after STZ injection.
Methods: Carrageenan-induced paw edema and pleural exudate volumes were assessed concomitantly with peripheral and exudate leukocyte count. We also evaluated the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in lungs of all experimental groups.
Results: Chlorpropamide treatment improved glucose tolerance, beta-cell function (assessed by HOMA-beta), corrected paw edema, and pleural exudate volume in n-STZ. Neither leukocyte count nor iNOS expression were affected by diabetes or by chlorpropamide treatment.
Conclusion: Chlorpropamide treatment by restoring beta-cell function, reducing blood sugar levels, and improving glucose tolerance might be contributing to the correction of the reduced inflammatory response tested as paw edema and pleural exudate in n-STZ diabetic rats.