Progression of nephropathy after islet of langerhans transplantation in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

Spadella, César TadeuMercadante, Maria Cecilia SalgadoBreim, Luiz CarlosMacedo, Célia Sperandéo deBacchi, Carlos EduardoMacedo, Arthur Roquete de

We studied the effects of islet of Langerhans transplantation (IT) on the kidney lesions of rats with alloxan-induced diabetes. Forty-five inbred male Lewis rats were randomly assigned to 3 experimental groups: group GI incliuded 15 non-diabetic control rats. (NC), group GII included 15 alloxan-induced diabetic rats (DC), and group III included 15 alloxan-induced diabetic rats that received pancreatic islet transplantation prepared by nonenzymatic method from normal donor Lewis rats and injected into the portal vein (IT). Each group was further divided into 3 subgroups of 5 rats which were sacrificed at 1, 3 and 6 months of follow-up, respectively. Clinical and laboratorialparameters were recorded in the mentioned periods in the 3 experimental groups. For histology, the kidneys of all rats of each subgroup were wtudied and 50 glomeruli and 50 tubules of each kidney were analyzed using light microscopy by two different investigators in a double blind study. The results showed progressive glomerular basement membrane thickening (GBMT), mesangial enlargement (ME),and Bowman's capsulethickening (BCT) in the 3 experimental groups throughout the follow-up...