Niu Miaomiao, Liu Yaqian, Xiang Lei, Zhao Yuqiong, Yuan Jifang, Jia Yunxiao, Dai Xin, Chen Hua
Laboratory Animal Center Chinese PLA General Hospital Beijing PR China.
State Key Laboratory of Kidney Diseases Chinese PLA General Hospital Beijing PR China.
Animal Model Exp Med. 2020 Jan 15;3(1):22-31. doi: 10.1002/ame2.12098. eCollection 2020 Mar.
Miniature pigs are attractive animal models for exploring diabetes because they are similar to humans in terms of physiological structure and metabolism. However, little is known about the complications of diabetes in pigs.
In this study, a 28-month observation of a Wuzhishan miniature pig with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced (120 mg/kg) diabetes was conducted, to investigate diabetes-related complications and the possibility of self-recovery in miniature pigs. Blood glucose, serum and urinary biochemistry was measured, and histopathologic examinations of eyes, kidney and pancreas were made.
During the observation, diabetic complications of eyes and kidney were observed. The eye complications included bilateral cataracts in the 15th month and degeneration of inner retina and microaneurysm in the 28th month. Kidney complications included glomerular mesangial expansion, focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, and renal tubular epithelial degeneration, but no proteinuria was observed. By 28 months after the application of STZ, with no treatment given, blood glucose had recovered and the number of pancreatic islet beta-cells had increased significantly.
We showed that the STZ-induced diabetes model in miniature pigs could accurately mimic the pathological changes of human diabetes, and that pancreatic islet beta-cell regeneration did occur in an adult miniature pig, providing a new means for exploring diabetic complications and pancreatic islet beta-cell regeneration.
小型猪因其生理结构和代谢与人类相似，是探索糖尿病的有吸引力的动物模型。然而，关于猪糖尿病并发症的了解甚少。
在本研究中，对一只经链脲佐菌素（STZ）诱导（120mg/kg）患糖尿病的五指山小型猪进行了为期28个月的观察，以研究小型猪糖尿病相关并发症及自我恢复的可能性。检测了血糖、血清和尿液生化指标，并对眼睛、肾脏和胰腺进行了组织病理学检查。
观察期间，观察到眼睛和肾脏的糖尿病并发症。眼部并发症包括第15个月出现双侧白内障，第28个月出现视网膜内层变性和微动脉瘤。肾脏并发症包括肾小球系膜扩张、局灶节段性肾小球硬化和肾小管上皮变性，但未观察到蛋白尿。在应用STZ后28个月，未经治疗，血糖已恢复，胰岛β细胞数量显著增加。
我们表明，STZ诱导的小型猪糖尿病模型可准确模拟人类糖尿病的病理变化，且成年小型猪确实发生了胰岛β细胞再生，为探索糖尿病并发症和胰岛β细胞再生提供了新手段。
