EFFECT OF PANCREAS TRANSPLANTATION ON THE PREVENTION OF NEPHROPATHY IN ALLOXAN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

We studied the effects of pancreas transplantation on kidney lesions o f rats with alloxan-induced diabetes. Ninety inbred male Lewis rats we re randomly assigned to 3 experimental groups: group NC included 30 no n-diabetic control rats, group DC included 30 alloxan-induced diabetic control rats, and group PT included 30 alloxan-induced diabetic rats that received pancreas transplants from normal donor Lewis rats. Each group was further divided into 3 subgroups of 10 rats which were sacri ficed at 1, 3, and 6 months of follow-up, respectively. Clinical and l aboratory parameters during these periods were documented. The kidneys of 5 rats in each subgroup were studied and 50 glomeruli and tubules from each kidney were analyzed by light microscopy by two different in vestigators in a double-blind study. There was progressive glomerular basement membrane thickening (GBMT), mesangial enlargement (ME), and B owman's capsule thickening (BCT) in kidneys of rats in the 3 experimen tal groups during follow-up. These alterations were significantly high er in DC rats (GBMT: 1.99 +/- 0.31; ME: 2.00 +/- 0.33; BCT: 1.88 +/- 0 .27) when compared to NC(GBMT: 1.54 +/- 0.30; ME: 1.56 +/- 0.47; BCT: 1.36 +/- 0.35) and PT rats (GBMT: 1.49 +/- 0.29; ME: 1.57 +/- 0.36; BC T: 1.35 +/- 0.28) at 6 months (P<0.01). The extent of GBMT, ME, and BC T observed in DC rats at 1 and 3 months was not significantly differen t from NC and PT rats. The amount of kidney lesions in PT rats was sim ilar to that of NC rats and lower than those of DC rats at 6 months (P <0.01). In addition, Armanni-Ebstein lesions of the tubules (AE) and t ubular lumen protein (PRO) observed in DC rats were not present in NC or PT rats. We conclude that pancreas transplantation in alloxan-induc ed diabetic rats prevents the development of kidney lesions beginning at 6 months after transplantation.