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Abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate whether serum and/or retinal angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity might correlate with the decrease in sodium potassium adenosine triphosphatase (Na,K-ATPase) activity in the retina of experimentally diabetic rats. METHODS: Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Male Zucker fatty diabetic (ZDF/Gmifa) rats were used as models of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. ACE activity in the serum and retina of diabetic rats (1 through 5 months) and age-matched control animals was measured by radioimmunoassay using benzoyl-gly-gly-gly as substrate. The activity of total Na,K-ATPase was determined spectrophotometrically. The alpha 1 and alpha 3 isozymes of Na,K-ATPase were distinguished pharmacologically by their differential sensitivity to ouabain and were measured in the retina. RESULTS: Serum ACE activity was significantly increased in rats with STZ-induced diabetes at 3 weeks through 4 months of diabetes (28% to 32%) but was significantly decreased in ZDF rats after 2 to 5 months of diabetes (-9% to -16%). The activity of ACE in retinas obtained from the same groups of STZ and ZDF rats was significantly reduced at all time points examined in both models (-43% and -55%, respectively). The effect of angiotensin II (AngII) on the activity of Na,K-ATPase in retinas from normal rats was also studied in vitro. AngII significantly lowered the activities of total Na,K-ATPase (-16%) and its alpha 1 and alpha 3 isozymes. The inhibitory effect of AngII was abolished completely by losartan (0.1 microM), a specific antagonist of the AT1 receptor-subtype of AngII, and by nordihydroguaiaretic acid (50 microM), which at this concentration inhibits the lipoxygenase and cytochrome P-450-dependent pathways of arachidonic acid metabolism. The inhibitory effect of AngII on the Na,K-ATPase activity was not altered significantly by NG-iminoethyl ornithine (10 microM), an irreversible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS: The authors suggest that systemic ACE probably is not involved in the mechanisms responsible for the reduced activity of Na,K-ATPase in diabetes. Although AngII inhibits retinal Na,K-ATPase by a mechanism possibly involving arachidonic acid metabolites, it is unlikely that AngII contributes to the decreased Na,K-ATPase activity because of its reduced formation by retinal ACE in diabetes. The possible importance of reduced retinal ACE activity in diabetes warrants further investigation.