Cilostazol improves endothelial dysfunction by increasing endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor response in mesenteric arteries from Type 2 diabetic rats

Diabetes mellitus impairs endothelial function, an effect that can be considered a hallmark of the development of cardiovascular diseases in diabetics. Cilostazol, a selective phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor, is currently used to treat patients with diabetic vascular complications. However, the effects of cilostazol on responses mediated by endothelium-derived relaxing [in particular, nitric oxide (NO) and hyperpolarizing factors (EDHF)] and contracting factors remain unclear. Here, we hypothesized that cilostazol could improve endothelial dysfunctions in mesenteric arteries isolated from type 2 diabetic Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats. Using cilostazol-treated (100 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks) or -untreated OLETF and control (Long Evans Tokushima Otsuka) rats, we examined the acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent responses and the cell-permeant cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) analog-induced relaxations in the superior mesenteric artery. We also determined blood parameters in these animals. In OLETF rats, chronic treatment with cilostazol reduced the blood levels of triglyceride, non-esterified fatty acids, and leptin, and increased antioxidant capacity, but did not alter the blood glucose or insulin levels. In studies on mesenteric arteries from cilostazol-treated OLETF animals, the cilostazol treatment improved: (a) the acetylcholine-induced EDHF-mediated relaxation and (b) the cAMP-mediated relaxation. However, cilostazol did not alter the NO-mediated relaxation or the endothelium-derived contracting factor-mediated contraction. These results suggest that cilostazol improves endothelial functions in OLETF mesenteric arteries by increasing EDHF signaling, and that it normalizes some metabolic abnormalities in OLETF rats. On that basis, cilostazol may prove to be a potent drug for the clinical treatment of diabetic vasculopathy.