MODIFICATION OF SPONTANEOUS RENAL LESION OF APA HAMSTERS BY STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED DIABETES

Syrian hamsters of the APA strain (APA hamsters) develop spontaneous m esangial thickening in the renal glomeruli from an early age. They als o develop focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSG) at and after 6 months of age. In this study, histopathological, immunohistochemical a nd lectin histochemical examinations were conducted to clarify the mod ification of the spontaneous renal lesions of APA hamsters by streptoz otocin(SZ)-induced diabetes. Histopathological analysis revealed that the expansion of the mesangial region was more prominent and the thick ening of the glomerular basement membrane (GEM) was weaker in SZ-treat ed animals than in non-treated ones. Immunohistochemical analysis sugg ested that type IV collagen and laminin were involved in the expansion of the mesangial region and thickening of the GEM. In lectin histoche mical analysis, podocytes, capillary endothelial cells, GEM and a part of mesangial region of SZ-treated animals were positive for RCA(120) and GSL-I with neuraminidase-pretreatment although they were negative for these lectins in non-treated animals. These results suggest that t he spontaneous glomerular lesion of APA hamsters is modified qualitati vely and quantitatively by SZ-induced diabetes.