Morphometric investigations on intrarenal vessels of streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

We have investigated 975 different grazing sections of vessels in kidney preparations of 20 rats of the Wistar strain. Half of these genetically identical animals had an insulin-deficiency diabetes induced by injection of streptozocin. The kidneys were removed for investigation after 2 and 12 weeks duration of diabetes. The vessel cross-section, wall, lumen and endothelial surface area were determined in renal arteries, arterioles and preglomerular afferent arterioles in a blind experiment. Statistically detecteable changes were found in the diabetic vessels in the early stage of the diabetes. Preglomerular afferent arterioles showed a highly significant and increasing lumen dilatation commencing after 2 weeks. Diabetic arteries and arterioles developed narrower lumina. A significant thickening of the endothelium took place at the same time in both vessel types. All three vessel regions became smaller and had thinner walls than healthy vessels as the diabetes progressed. The findings on the afferent vessels indicate that haemodynamic effects on the glomerulus are to be expected. Familial diabetic gloermulopathy begins with a reversible hyperfiltration. However, the mechanism has not been clarified in the context of the diabetic metabolic disorder, and this change is probably the haemodynamic consequence of the substantial dilatation of the preglomerular afferent arterioles. With their renin-positive segment, these arterioles are the centre of intrarenal regulation. The increase of the capillary glomerular pressure associated with the dilatation of the preglomerular afferent arterioles is a crucial factor in the development of diabetic glomerulopathy.