Establishment of a streptozotocin-induced rat model of diabetic nephropathy

Objective To establish a rat model of diabetic nephropathy and to study its kidney impairment.Methods Forty male Spradely rats were randomly divided into control and experimental group(20 for each).20 rats in the experiment group were intraperitoneally injected with streptozotocin(STZ)at a dose of 56 mg/kg to develop an animal model of diabetes.All of the rats were fed for 10 weeks and their blood glucose was measured and gross healthy status was observed during this period of time.At the end of this experiment,their plasm glucose,fast insulin,Hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),24-hour urine volume,24-hour urine protein and urine albumin were assayed.A pathological examination was performed on the kidney by light microscopy.Results It showed a significant increase on blood glucose,HbA1c,BUN,24-hour urine volume,24-hour urine protein and urine albumin,and decrease on fast insulin in this rat model.And the pathological examination exhibited kidney hypertrophy with impairment of glomerulus and renal tubule.Conclusion The STZ-induced rat model of diabetes developed pathological changes in glomerulus and interstitium and this animal model could be used to study human diabetic nephropathy.