Antidiabetic efficacy of bradykinin antagonist R-954 on glucose tolerance test in diabetic type 1 mice

Abstract Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 1 diabetes) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease associated with many complications including nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy and hyperalgesia. Experimental evidence has shown that the bradykinin B1 receptor (BKB1-R) is involved in the development of type 1 diabetes and found to be upregulated alongside the disease. In the present study the effects of the selective BKB1-R antagonist the R-954 (Ac-Orn-[Oic 2 , α-MePhe 5 , D-β Nal 7 , Ile 8 ]des-Arg 9 -BK and the BKB1-R agonist des Arg 9 -BK (DBK) were studied on diabetic hyperglycemia. Diabetic type 1 was induced in C57 BL/KsJ mdb male mice by five consecutives doses of STZ (45 mg/kg i.p.). A glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed by an intraperitoneal administration of glucose, 8, 12 and 18 days after the diabetes induction. The induction of type 1 diabetes provoked a significant hyperglycemia levels in diabetic mice at 12 and 18 days after STZ. The administration of R-954 (400 μg/kg i.p.) at 12 and 18 days after STZ returned the glycemia levels of this animals to normal values. In addition the administration of DKB (300 μg/kg i.p.) significantly potentiated the diabetes-induced hyperglycemia; this effect that was totally reversed by R-954. These results provide further evidence for the implication of BKB1-R in the type 1 diabetes mellitus (insulitis).