Morphology of bronchial epithelium in rodent streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus

Aim.  To study the morphology of bronchial epithelium in a rodent streptozotocin-induced (STZ) diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods. . Diabetes mellitus was introduced in 47 white Wistar rats aged 5?6 months (body weight 234.0?2.64 g). 43 white Wistar rats of the same age were used as control subjects (body weight 242.0?2.13). Diabetes was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (SIGMA, USA) 60 mg/kg in 0.1 M citrate buffer, pH 4.5. Results. A statistically significant decrease in the total epithelial area by 25.9% was observed in the study group, accompanied by a reduction of the supranuclear zone by 22.1% vs. the control group. Conclusion. We found that bronchial mucous membrane in rodents with STZ-induced diabetes mellitus exhibits signs of atrophy and partial loss of mucous production by bronchial secretory cells.