Diabetes mellitus in mice induced by multiple subdiabetogenic doses of streptozotocin: age and sex dependence.

In order to investigate whether age and sex have an influence on induction and development of diabetes, male and female C57Bl/KsJ mice of different ages were treated with subdiabetogenic injections of streptozotocin for five consecutive days. After a long period of observation all treated animals became diabetic. Male mice showed higher plasma glucose values than female animals suggesting a sex dependence. In the first phase of diabetes development the hyperglycemic response was dependent on the age of the mice. Animals treated during puberty, both male and female developed a more rapid onset of hyperglycemia and a more severe diabetes than the other age groups. The increased plasma glucose levels were accompanied in mice treated after and during puberty by an inflammatory lesion of the endocrine pancreas.