Cilostazol and ligands of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have been effectively used to alleviate diabetic complications, but the common and tissue-specific expression patterns of PPARs in different tissues in diabetic patients and those treated with cilostazol have not been reported. Here, we aimed to assess the effects of diabetes and cilostazol on mRNA expression of PPARα and PPARγ in the aorta, renal cortex, and retina of diabetic rats treated with cilostazol for 8 weeks. PPARα mRNA expression showed uniform downregulation in all these tissues in diabetic rats, and this effect was reversed by cilostazol treatment. Surprisingly, PPARγ mRNA expression was reduced in the renal cortex and retina, yet increased in the aorta of diabetic rats, although cilostazol still reversed these changes. Interestingly, cilostazol, a well-known phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitor and cAMP elevator, augmented cAMP content only in the aorta, but showed no significant effects in the renal cortex of diabetic rats. In conclusion, mRNA expression of PPARs is tissue-specific in diabetes and may be differently affected by cilostazol, possibly because of its tissue-specific effects on cAMP content.
Chromosomal Localisation, Inducibility, Tissue-Specific Expression and Strain Differences in Three Murine Peroxisome-Proliferator-Activated-Receptor Genes