The rat streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes model is widely used to investigate the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. However, overt nephropathy is inexplicably slow to develop in this model compared with renal mass reduction (RMR)... more
The rat streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes model is widely used to investigate the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. However, overt nephropathy is inexplicably slow to develop in this model compared with renal mass reduction (RMR) models. To examine whether blood pressure (BP) differences correlated with the time course of glomerulosclerosis (GS), BP was measured continuously throughout the course by radiotelemetry in control ( n = 17), partially insulin-treated STZ-diabetes (average blood glucose 364 ± 15 mg/dl; n = 15), and two normotensive RMR models (systolic BP <140 mmHg)—uninephrectomy (UNX; n = 16) and 3/4 RMR by surgical excision [right nephrectomy + excision of both poles of left kidney (RK-NX); n = 12] in Sprague-Dawley rats. Proteinuria and GS were assessed at ∼16–20 wk (all groups) and at 36–40 wk (all groups except RK-NX). At 16 wk, significantly greater proteinuria and GS had developed in the RK-NX group compared with the other three groups (not different fro...
