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GLOMERULAR BASEMENT MEMBRANE THICKENING IN RATS WITH LONG‐TERM ALLOXAN DIABETES
Author(s) -
Hägg Erik
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
acta pathologica microbiologica scandinavica section a pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0365-4184
DOI - 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1974.tb03845.x
Subject(s) - basement membrane , glomerular basement membrane , electron micrographs , diabetes mellitus , alloxan , endocrinology , medicine , membrane , kidney , electron microscope , urology , chemistry , pathology , glomerulonephritis , biochemistry , physics , optics
Alloxan diabetes was induced in a total of 16 female rats. Eight of them were untreated and 8 were given weekly injections of cyclophosphamide. Five nondiabetic female rats served as controls. Kidney biopsies were performed at 15 months of age, corresponding to a diabetes duration of 12 months. Glomerular basement membrane thickness was measured on electron micrographs using two methods: one described by Jørgensen & Bentzon (7) and the other by Weibel & Knight (22) (the latter method originally employed for measuring the alveolo‐capillary membrane in rat lung). The numerical agreement between the two methods was good. The Weibel method, however, showed definite theoretical and practical advantages. A light microscopic grading of basement membrane thickness was fairly well correlated to the results of these electron microscopic methods. The glomerular basement membrane was significantly thicker in the untreated diabetic rats than in the controls, but there was no significant difference in thickness between the untreated and the cyclophosphamide treated diabetic group. A positive correlation could be demonstrated between weighted diuresis and basement membrane thickness of the diabetic rats.