Diabetic nephropathy is a major complication facing patients with diabetes mellitus. The renal protective effects of the phosphodiesterase III inhibitor, cilostazol, were investigated in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Expression of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) and transforming growth factor-b (TGF-b) in the kidney was measured by immunohistochemistry and real-time reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis in diabetic rats, cilostazol-treated diabetic rats and control rats. Ultrastructural changes in the kidney were also analysed using microscopy. Four weeks after the induction of diabetes, TSP-1 and TGF-b expression was significantly increased in the kidneys of diabetic rats compared with the control and was significantly lower in cilostazol-treated diabetic rats than in the untreated diabetic rats. Microscopy revealed characteristic renal pathology in the diabetic group, which was rarely seen in the cilostazoltreated diabetic rats. In conclusion, this study indicates that cilostazol treatment of diabetic rats effectively prevents pathological kidney changes, possibly via the down-regulation of TSP-1 and TGF-b expression compared with untreated rats.

No abstract