Summary
A group of 36 diabetes-prone BB Wistar rats were given prophylactic insulin treatment with heat-treated bovine ultralente insulin (15 IU · kg−1 · day−1) from 50 to 142 days of age. The incidence of Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes at the end of the treatment period was compared to that of 36 control animals given insulin only from the first day of glycosuria. At withdrawal of the prophylactic insulin treatment, 6 of 36 treated animals were insulin-dependent, while 15 of 36 control animals had developed diabetes (p<0.02). One control animal (day 153) and 2 insulin-treated animals (day 172 and 186) subsequently developed diabetes, yielding an overall diabetes incidence of 16 of 36 controls against 8 of 36 insulin treated (p<0.05). The finding that prophylactic insulin treatment of diabetes-prone BB Wistar rats reduced the incidence of diabetes suggests a relationship of the immune destruction of B cells to the endogenous insulin production/secretion rate.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Colle E, Guttmann RD, Seemayer T (1981) Spontaneous diabetes mellitus syndrome in the rat. I. Association with the major histocompatibility complex. J Exp Med 154: 1237–1242
Elliot RB, Martin JM (1984) Dietary protein: a trigger of insulin-dependent diabetes in the BB rat? Diabetologia 26: 297–299
Scott FW, Trick KD, Hynie I, Braaten JT, Nera EA (1984) Time course of serum glucoregulatory variables and lipids following neonatal thymectomy of diabetes-prone and control BB Wistar rats fed a defined diet. Ann Nutr Metab 28: 207–219
Herberg L, Banks I, Buchanan KD, Grill V, Kley HK, Landgraf-Leurs MMC, O'Hare M (1984) A subcolony of BB rats: breeding data, hormonal, and metabolic findings; In: Shafrir E, Renold AE (eds) Lessons from animal diabetes. John Libbey, London Paris, pp 348–353
Portha B, Picon L (1982) Insulin treatment improves the spontaneous remission of neonatal streptozotocin diabetes in the rat. Diabetes 31: 165–169
Brange J, Skelbæk-Pedersen B, Langkjær L, Damgaard U, Ege H, Havelund S, Heding LG, Jørgensen KH, Lykkeberg J, Markussen J, Pingel M, Rasmussen E (1985) Galenics of insulin preparations. In: Berger M (ed) Subcutaneous insulin therapy. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo (in press)
Rasch R (1979) Control of blood glucose levels in the streptozotocin diabetic rat using a long-acting heat-treated insulin. Diabetologia 16: 185–190
O'Hare MMT, Shaw C, Swanston-Flatt SK, Marcelli M, Buchanan KD, Flatt PR (1985) Influence of a transplantable insulinoma on the pancreatic status of insulin and pancreatic polypeptide in the rat. Diabetologia 28: 157–160
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gotfredsen, C.F., Buschard, K. & Frandsen, E.K. Reduction of diabetes incidence of BB Wistar rats by early prophylactic insulin treatment of diabetes-prone animals. Diabetologia 28, 933–935 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00703140
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00703140