Pharmacological effects of VO(dmpp)2 as assessed by in vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy

Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Attempts have been made for early diagnosis and finding effective drugs to prevent severe consequences and ameliorate the symptoms of this disorder. In this work, the pharmacological properties of VO(dmpp)2, [bis(1,2-dimethyl-3-hidroxy-4pyridinonato)oxovanadium(IV)], were evaluated in vivo using Magnetic Resonance techniques. During four weeks fatty Zucker rats were subjected to a daily dose of VO(dmpp)2 (44 μmol/kg) and their metabolic profile was followed by measuring different parameters: rat body weight, subcutaneous fat width and hepatic triglycerides content. The glucose tolerance test was performed at the end of the experiment. After four weeks of treatment, obese treated rats presented a weight significantly lower than obese non-treated animals (359.0 ± 11.1 vs. 433.5 ± 6.2 g), a thinner subcutaneous fat width qualitatively observed by Magnetic Resonance Imaging and a remarkable decrease in hepatic triglycerides content (5.41 ± 0.59 vs. 21.03 ± 1.40 %), as determined by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Additionally, the glucose intolerant profile characteristic of fatty Zucker rats was reversed in treated animals. These results support the previous published ex vivo studies, reinforcing the VO(dmpp)2 therapeutic action as an effective anti-diabetic drug with particular effects on lipid metabolism.