Pentoxifylline enhances formation of prostacyclin from rat vascular and renal tissue.

In 6 months old male Wistar rats 15 mg pentoxifylline/kg body weight were given intravenously in a single dose. The animals were sacrificed after 30, 60, 120 and 240 minutes respectively. It was confirmed that a single pentoxifylline administration enhanced prostacyclin generation by vascular and renal tissue samples, reaching its maximum 60 minutes after the treatment. The time course for PGI2-generation behaves differently in the tissues examined. It is concluded that the drug pentoxifylline might exert its beneficial role in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease at least in part by its influence on hemostatic balance at the endothelial-platelet interaction level.