title: Long-term effects of insulin therapy, islet transplantation, and pancreas transplantation in the prevention of glomerular changes in kidneys of alloxan-induced diabetic rats.
abstract: Groups of inbred alloxan-induced diabetic rats were treated with insulin (I), islets (IT), or pancreas transplantation (PT). Nondiabetic (N) and untreated diabetic (D) control groups were concurrently included. Each group was divided into five subgroups of 10 rats and killed after follow-up of 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Clinical and laboratory parameters were recorded, and kidney ultrastructural and morphometric analyses performed in each 12-month subgroup, namely glomerular basement membrane (GM) thickening, podocyte number, and number/extension of slit diaphragms (S). Rats from the I group showed poor metabolic control of diabetes compared with N group control rats. However, successfully transplanted rats (IT and PT) had complete restoration to normal levels for all metabolic parameters. GM thickening was significantly higher in diabetic compared with control rats. In contrast, the numbers of podocytes and slits as well as slit extensions were significantly decreased. Insulin therapy did not prevent any alterations upon comparison of diabetic vs control rats. Despite good metabolic control in IT rats, the degree of kidney lesion control never compared with that achieved in PT rats. In this group all glomerular changes were similar to the age-dependent lesions observed in control rats. We conclude that either IT or PT may be a good option for diabetes treatment, although pancreas transplantation seems to be the most effective treatment to control chronic complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, State University of Sao Paulo (UNESP), 18618-970 Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. spadella@fmb.unesp.br
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Spadella
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lerco
authors.forename: J L M
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Macedo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D007328:Insulin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D007678:Kidney Glomerulus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation / Q000379:methods / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D007328:Insulin