Low levels of hydrogen sulfide in the blood of diabetes patients and streptozotocin-treated rats causes vascular inflammation?

• Published in: Antioxidants & redox signaling Vol. 12; no. 11; p. 1333
• Main Authors: Jain, Sushil K, Bull, Rebeca, Rains, Justin L, Bass, Pat F, Levine, Steven N, Reddy, Sudha, McVie, Robert, Bocchini, Joseph A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.06.2010
• Subjects: Animals; Blood Vessels - drug effects; Blood Vessels - pathology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - blood; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - chemically induced; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - immunology; Glucose - pharmacology; Humans; Hydrogen Sulfide - blood; Hydrogen Sulfide - pharmacology; Inflammation - chemically induced; Inflammation - pathology; Male; Middle Aged; Monocytes - cytology; Monocytes - drug effects; Monocytes - immunology; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Streptozocin - adverse effects
• ISSN: 1557-7716
• DOI: 10.1089/ars.2009.2956

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) is emerging as a physiological neuromodulator as well as a smooth muscle relaxant. We submit the first evidence that blood H(2)S levels are significantly lower in fasting blood obtained from type 2 diabetes patients compared with age-matched healthy subjects, and in streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats compared with control Sprague-Dawley rats. We further observed that supplementation with H(2)S or an endogenous precursor of H(2)S (l-cysteine) in culture medium prevents IL-8 and MCP-1 secretion in high-glucose-treated human U937 monocytes. These first observations led to the hypothesis that lower blood H(2)S levels may contribute to the vascular inflammation seen in diabetes.