The endothelium of basilar artery of diabetic rat treated with epoetin delta

Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) are used to treat anemia associated with renal failure. It is now known that these agents also show a broad range of cell- and tissue-protective effects. In the current study, we explored whether an ESA, epoetin delta, affects vascular pathology linked to diabetes mellitus (DM). In a rat model of streptozotocin-induced DM, we investigated, by pre-embedding electron-immunocytochemistry, whether epoetin delta affects DM-induced structural changes in cerebrovascular endothelium of the rat basilar artery and influences the subcellular distribution of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). Epoetin delta treatment influenced DM-induced changes to the distribution of eNOS in, and the structure of, the endothelial cell. This may indicate potential beneficial effects of epoetin delta on cerebrovascular endothelium and suggests eNOS as a possible target molecule of epoetin delta in DM.