P2RX7 and diabetes mellitus: In this experiment, high expression of P2X7 receptor in protein level was observed in rats with DM and the overexpression of P2X7 receptor was downregulated by the administration of P2X7 shRNA and Schisandrin B. The elevated HR, BP, and SND of rats with high P2X7 expression were also mitigated after the treatment of P2X7 shRNA and Schisandrin B. In line with other studies, we found that P2X7 receptor activation induced by DM may participate in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular complications of diabetes mellitus [15, 31].