Abstract
A high-fat ‘western’ diet (WD), a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes, may cause endothelial dysfunction one of the earliest events in atherogenesis. The dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors are used to lower hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes which is also associated with endothelial dysfunction. We tested whether consumption of a WD affected endothelium-dependent relaxation (EDR) of rat mesenteric arteries (MA) and whether the DPP-4 inhibitor linagliptin (1μM) improves EDR. Wistar Hooded rats were fed a standard diet (SD, 7% total fat) or WD (21% total fat) for 10 weeks. Consumption of the WD significantly increased superoxide release from MA assayed by lucigenin chemiluminescence (WD 1210±180 counts/mg versus SD 543±156 counts/mg, n=7-8, p<0.05) and linagliptin significantly reduced the vascular superoxide release (WD+linagliptin 432±102 counts/mg, p<0.05). Acetylcholine …