Induction of Diabetes Mellitus in Rats Using Intraperitoneal Streptozotocin: A Comparison between 2 Strains of Rats

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine species related differences in the diabetogenic response to streptozotocin (STZ) after single intraperitoneal injection. Twenty adult, male, nude rats (NR, strain Crl:NIH-Fox1 RNU ) and 8 adult, male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used to induce diabetes using streptozotocin. A single, 150mg/kg STZ was injected intraperitoneally in both strains of rats. Four rats (2 from each strain) were injected buffer and served as control. Severity of the induced diabetic state was assessed by daily monitoring of body weights, clinical signs, and blood glucose levels. Four rats in the NR group died in an average of 5 days following STZ injection and 4 rats of the SD group died in an average of 2 days. In the NR group, non fasting serum glucose levels (267 ± 80 mg/dl) rose significantly (P ≤ 0.05) only in 7 (35%) rats while all SD group experienced glucose levels above 300 mg/dl (324 ± 20 mg/dl) and required insulin treatment all over the