Postprandial hyperlipidemia is frequently associated with diabetes mellitus and considered to be an independent coronary risk factor. Nitric oxide (NO) is a key regulator of glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of chronic in vivo competitive antagonism of NO synthase (NOS) by the administration of N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) on glucose and lipid metabolism in diabetic (Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty [OLETF]) and nondiabetic rats. Chronic administration of L-NAME to rats induced reduced NO production and hypertension in both strains of rats. No detectable impairment of plasma levels of postprandial triglyceride (TG) or insulin sensitivity in nondiabetic rats was detected by chronic treatment of L-NAME, but significant impairment was observed in the cases of diabetic rats. These results suggest that diabetes, when associated with endothelial dysfunction, results in greater abnormalities in lipid, as well as glucose metabolism.
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