FIG. 5.

4-HDDE level is increased in high-glucose VEC cultures and in the plasma of Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats. A: Media (18 ml) of 2 or 25 mmol/l glucose VECs, without or with 80 μmol/l of baicalein or 1 mmol/l of N-acetylcysteine, were collected after 48 h of incubation, extracted, and taken for HPLC analysis of polar lipids. The average level of 4-HDDE in the 2 mmol/l medium extracts was taken as 1 unit. P < 0.05, for differences from the *2 or **25 mmol/l glucose incubations (n = 4). B: VEC cultures at 25 mmol/l glucose were treated similarly and taken at the end of the 48-h incubation period to the standard [³H]dGlc uptake assay. The rate of uptake at 5.5 mmol/l glucose (70 ± 1 pmol dGlc/10⁶ cells/min) was taken as 100%. P < 0.05, for differences from the *2 or **25 mmol/l incubations (n = 4). C: The levels of 4-HDDE in extracts of plasma samples from ZDF and normoglycemic rats (respective blood glucose levels were 354 ± 28 and 92 ± 6 mg/dl, n = 4) were determined by HPLC, and the value of the average levels of 4-HDDE in the plasma of the nondiabetic rats was taken as 1 unit. *P < 0.05, for differences from the respective controls (n = 4).