Effect of insulin on impaired antioxidant activities in aortic endothelial cells from diabetic rabbits.

The defense system of aortic endothelial cells against oxidative stress was studied in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits, and the effect of insulin on the antioxidant activities was estimated. Endothelial cells were prepared from 10 diabetic rabbits, 18 diabetic rabbits treated with insulin, and 10 age-matched controls after 17 days of diabetes. These cells were used for the estimation of glutathione (GSH) levels and its related enzyme activities. The antioxidant activities in these endothelial cells from diabetic rabbits were compared with those from control subjects. The concentration of GSH decreased in diabetic rabbits (1.6 +/- 0.2 nmol/mg protein [mean +/- SD] v 3.7 +/- 0.6 nmol/mg protein). Decreases in the activities of Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) (62.7 +/- 11.0 U/mg protein v 172.9 +/- 20.2 U/mg protein), catalase (7.6 +/- 2.1 U/mg protein v 12.3 +/- 3.2 U/mg protein), and GSH peroxidase (134.0 +/- 27.0 mU/mg protein v 179.1 +/- 26.2 mU/mg protein) were observed. The activities of other GSH-related enzymes such as GSH S-transferase or GSH reductase did not change in endothelial cells from diabetic rabbits. Most of these antioxidant activities were prevented when diabetic rabbits were treated with insulin (1 to 2 U/kg/d). These antioxidant activities were also determined in the diabetic liver and kidney. Similar decreases in the cellular defense activities and prevention of the decrease in activities by insulin were observed in the diabetic liver, while these antioxidant enzyme activities in the kidney were resistant to diabetic conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)