Low dose streptozotocin causes diabetes in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice without immune cell infiltration of the pancreatic islets.

Streptozotocin (stz) given in low doses (40 mg/kg body weight) on 5 consecutive days to susceptible strains of mice causes diabetes. Previous studies have shown that the induction of diabetes is associated with inflammatory infiltrates within the pancreatic islets. However, it is unclear whether stz causes limited beta cell destruction followed by insulitis or whether the diabetogen promotes immune cell influx into the pancreatic islets, followed by immune-mediated beta-cell destruction. It is also unclear whether stz given in sub-diabetogenic doses is capable of causing diabetes independent of cell-mediated processes. Here we have examined these possibilities in CB.17 Scid mice which lack functional T and B cells but have immunocompetent macrophages and NK cells. Low dose stz given to Scid mice caused diabetes in approximately 50% of mice of both sexes by 21 days (14/24 males; 10/18 females). Sections of pancreas were examined immunohistochemically for the presence of MAC-1 positive cells (macrophages and natural killer cells) in the exocrine, peri- and intra-islet regions at different time points following the administration of stz. There were no statistically significant differences in the number of immunoreactive cells in the three locations between tissues obtained from stz-injected mice (3, 7, 14 and 21 days after stz injection and at onset of diabetes) and buffer-injected Scid mice. Although diabetic Scid mice showed a reduced number of insulin immunoreactive cells and peri- and intra-islet distributed glucagon cells, no insulitis was seen histochemically. In parallel studies, normal Swiss male mice given stz at a similar dose developed diabetes (10/10) associated with insulitis which consisted predominantly of CD4, CD8 and MAC-1 cells. Balb/c mice given stz similarly, also developed diabetes (5/8) without showing insulitis, although a moderate increase in the number of macrophages were observed within several islets. These studies demonstrate that stz administered in multiple low doses to Scid mice can cause beta cell destruction and diabetes in the absence of immune cell infiltrate within the pancreatic islets.