Abstract
The potential inhibitory effect of the insulin mimicking agent, vanadium on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)induced alterations to the aorta ultrastructure associated with the suppression of dyslipedima and biomarkers of inflammation has not been investigated before. Therefore, we tested whether vanadium can protect against aortic injury induced secondary to T2DM possibly via the inhibition of blood lipid and inflammatory biomarkers. T2DM was induced in rats by a high-fat diet and streptozotocin (50 mg/kg), and the treatment group started vanadium treatment five days post diabetic induction and continued until being sacrificed at week 10. Using light and electron microscopy examinations, we observed in the model group substantial damage to the aorta tissue such as damaged endothelium, degenerative cellular changes with vacuolated cytoplasm and thickened internal elastic lamina that were substantially ameliorated by vanadium. Administration of vanadium to diabetic rats also significantly (p<0.05) reduced blood levels of glucose, hyperlipidemia and biomarkers of inflammation (TNF-[alpha], IL-6). We conclude that vanadium protects against T2DM-induced aortic ultrastructural damage in rats, which is associated with the inhibition of blood sugar and lipid and inflammatory biomarkers.