Paradoxical organ-specific adaptations to streptozotocin diabetes mellitus in adult rats.

Adult male Fisher rats injected with streptozotocin (Stz) to produce diabetes mellitus demonstrated a significant loss of total body weight associated with adipose and muscle tissue wasting. Paradoxically, intestinal mass and length were increased in Stz-treated rats despite catabolism of other tissues. Concomitant with increased intestinal mass, food and water intake increased significantly in Stz-diabetic animals. Renal weight was not reduced despite the fall in total body weight. It is proposed that the adult Stz-diabetic rat responds to a loss of available insulin by polyphagia, polydipsia, and catabolism of adipose and muscle tissue and that a large percentage of available synthetic fuel is devoted to the production of additional intestinal tissue.