Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Pharmacological Reports https://doi.org/10.1007/s43440-020-00082-6 ARTICLE Adrenomedullin expression in aortic artery wall of diabetic rats given alpha lipoic acid Leyla Bahar 1  · Nehir Sucu 2  · Nazan Eras 3  · Ozlen Tubay Bagdatoglu 1  · Metin Yildirim 4 Received: 3 May 2019 / Revised: 18 December 2019 / Accepted: 23 December 2019 © Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences 2020 Abstract Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major health problem predisposing to cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the efects of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) on both the arterial wall of diabetic rats and the adrenomedul- lin (ADM) gene expression. Methods Twenty-four Wistar Albino rats were divided into three groups as Control, DM + S, and DM + ALA. For DM model, a single dose of 40 mg/kg streptozotocin, for DM + ALA group, 100 mg/kg/day/4 weeks was administered. Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) staining was done and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was detected by immunohistochemical analysis in the artery wall. Total damage score of vessel wall (endothelial cell damage, media layer smooth muscle cell dam- age, and internal elastic lamina damage) and H score (immunoreactivity intensity) were calculated. Expression of ADM gene was measured by qRT-PCR. Results In DM + S group, Total damage score of vessel wall were detected by light microscopy. There were statistically signifcant diferences between the groups Control/DM + S and DM + S/DM + ALA in terms of the vessel total damage score and H score (p < 0.005). ADM expression was increased threefold in both DM + S and DM + ALA groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Conclusions ALA may have positive efect on the vessel damage in diabetic rats. However, no signifcant decrease in ADM expression levels was observed in diabetic rats after ALA administration and we considered that the protective efect of ALA is independent of adrenomedullin. Further studies with diferent doses and durations of ALA administrations are required to investigate the changes in ADM expression. Keywords Diabetes mellitus · Cardiovascular system · Alpha lipoic acid · Adrenomedullin · Vessel damage Introduction Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder of carbohy- drates, lipids, and proteins, characterized by elevated preprandial (fasting) and postprandial blood glucose. The global prevalence of diabetes is increasing dramatically This study was presented orally at “1st International Mediterranean Symposium” on 03.11.2018. * Leyla Bahar leylabahar@mersin.edu.tr Nehir Sucu nehirsucu@mersin.edu.tr Nazan Eras nazaneras@gmail.com Ozlen Tubay Bagdatoglu otubay@gmail.com Metin Yildirim metinyildirim4@gmail.com 1 Vocational School of Health Services, Mersin University, Ciftlikkoy Campuse, 33343 Yenisehir, Mersin, Turkey 2 Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey 3 Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey 4 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey