Time-Dependent Alterations in Rat Macrovessels with Type 1 Diabetes

Table 2

Diabetes-induced changes in the aorta: vessel (intima-media) width was measured as shown in Figure 2 and was significantly less with diabetes for each time point. There were no statistical differences between groups in the total percentage of the vessel wall comprised by SMCs and the SMC/ECM area (as presented in Figure 3), the area containing heterochromatin, and the invaginations within the nuclear envelope. The differences in the amount of ECM were not significantly different until the 150-day time point.

	Duration of diabetes
Experimental group	50 days		100 days		150 days
	Control	Diabetic	Control	Diabetic	Control	Diabetic
Vessel width (mm)	1.75±0.01	1.57±0.02; 𝑃<0.001	1.94±0.03	1.39±0.04; 𝑃<0.001	1.76±0.02	1.00±0.03; 𝑃<0.001
SMC area (percent of vessel wall, including adventitia)	30.2±1.5	33.3±2.3	35.7±1.9	34.6±2.1	36.9±2.8	36.9±2.8
Heterochromatin (% of nuclear area)	42±2	48±3	46±3	43±3	39±4	38±2
Invaginations per nuclear envelope	1.10±0.22	1.11±0.20	1.08±0.30	0.55±0.17	0.89±0.27	0.82±0.22
SMC area/ECM area (ratio)	0.60±0.04	0.76±0.07	0.99±0.21	0.67±0.16	0.87±0.16	0.87±0.03
ECM (percent of vessel wall area)	1.79±0.22	1.45±0.33	2.4±0.26	3.09±0.44	6.39±0.60	9.72±1.49; 𝑃<0.024