Abstract
The present study examined the left ventricular wall thickness (LVWT), total urinary kallikrein, total plasma kininogen and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) in diabetic and non-diabetic Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. The MABP was significantly raised (P<0.01) in diabetic WKY rats compared to the respective controls. The LVWT was also significantly (P<0.01) increased in diabetic WKY rats than that of control WKY rats. The mean total urinary kallikrein level and the mean total plasma kininogen level were higher (P<0.01) in diabetic WKY rats, when these rats were treated with captopril (40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg) against the mean value obtained from control WKY rats. In conclusion, this investigation suggests that diabetes induced in these rats can cause hypertension, increased LVWT and changes in the BK-forming components. Captopril treatment caused reduction in MABP, regression of LVWT and alterations in bradykinin (BK)-forming components. The possible significance of these observations is discussed.
