The effect of oral vanadyl treatment on the reactivity of tracheal smooth muscle obtained from insulin-dependent diabetic rats.

1. In this study, we investigated the contractile effects of acetylcholine (ACh) and KCl in tracheas obtained from 12-13 wk insulin-dependent (ID)-diabetic rats. 2. The maximum contractile responses to ACh and KCl were significantly increased in ID-diabetic rat tracheas compared with those from controls. But the sensitivity (pD2 values) of ID-diabetic tracheas to these agents were not significantly altered relative to controls. 3. The alterations which occurred in ID-diabetic rats were prevented with oral vanadyl treatment during a 10 wk period.