Physiological Changes Associated with Streptozotocin-Induced Experimental Diabetic Rats

Abstract: The present work is aimed to investigate some of the physiological changes in streptozotocin-induced experimental diabetic rat model with nephropathy. Animals were divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group was rendered diabetic by intraperitoneal injection of a single dose of 50 mg/kg body weight streptozotocin. Rats with serum glucose levels >200 mg/dl considered as diabetics. Animals of the control group were injected with physiological saline. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats showed hypoinsulinemia and hyperglycemia compared to controls. Strong negative correlation (r=-0.8) was found between serum glucose and insulin levels in diabetic rats. Triglycerides and cholesterol levels were significantly increased in diabetic animals. Urea concentrations were also elevated markedly compared to controls. In contrast, uric acid and creatinine concentrations showed significant decrease. The activities of serum aspatate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase were significantly increased in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats compared to controls. These findings demonstrate the utility of mouse models for identifying and testing novel therapeutic strategies which could translate into better protection against the human disease.

Key Words: Streptozotocin, diabetic, experimental, rats, nephropathy