Streptozotocin-induced diabetes in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were more sensitive to the diabetogenic effects of streptozotocin than normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Thus, 10 days after intravenous administration of 25 mg/kg streptozotocin in SHR, mean pancreatic insulin content was decreased by 42% (p less than 0.05), and mean plasma glucose concentration was increased from 85 to 215 mg/dl (p less than 0.001), whereas between 37.5 and 50 mg/kg of streptozotocin was required to produce similar effects in normotensive WKY rats. Also, there was a progressive decrease in blood pressure in SHR injected with 25, 35.7, or 50 mg/kg of streptozotocin, whereas blood pressure was progressively increased after streptozotocin in normotensive WKY rats. The opposite effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on blood pressure in SHR and WKY rats could be observed at similar degrees of hyperglycemia and are presently unexplained.