Leukotriene production in isolated tissues of diabetic rats.

We examined the ability of heart, aorta and lung obtained from alloxan diabetic rats as well as control rats to produce peptide leukotrienes (LT). The isolated perfused heart preparation as well as incubated minced tissue preparations were studied. Upon infusion of the Ca++ ionophore A23187, hearts from diabetic rats produced significantly less peptide LT when compared to control hearts. Lung tissue from diabetic animals incubated with A23187 also produced less immunoreactive peptide leukotrienes (iLT) when compared to the control group. In both preparations, incubation with the lipoxygenase inhibitor propyl gallate significantly inhibited the production of iLT in both the diabetic and control group. The observed differences in production of leukotrienes may alter vascular reactivity and thus play a role in the cardiovascular complications observed in diabetes.