Subtotal pancreatectomy in five different rat strains: incidence and course of development of diabetes.

The incidence and course of development of diabetes was studied for 12 months after subtotal pancreatectomy in five strains of rats. Operations were performed on 5-7-week old-male animals weighing 100-140 g, and, subsequently, rats with fasting blood glucose levels greater than 8.3 mmol/l were considered to be diabetic. In Füllinsdorf Albino rats, the proportion of diabetic animals gradually increased during the course of the experiment to a maximum of 83%. In Holtzman and Piebald rats, the highest incidence (58% and 28% respectively) was observed 2-3 months after surgery, after which partial remission of their diabetes occurred. Spontaneously hypertensive rats completely recovered from an initially mild diabetic state within 6 months of the operation. In Lewis rats, only a small number of animals (15%) became diabetic towards the end of the experiment. The severity of diabetes also differed considerably between strains. The pancreatic insulin content in diabetic rats was 2%-7% and in operated non-diabetic rats 17%-26% of values in non-operated control animals of the same age and strain. However, in the operated non-diabetic rats, glucose tolerance and the insulin response to glucose were also impaired. It is concluded that there are marked inter-strain differences in rats concerning the incidence and development of diabetes following subtotal pancreatectomy.