A new diabetes model induced by neonatal alloxan treatment in rats.

Rats treated with streptozotocin (STZ) during the neonatal period have been used as a model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The present study was designed to produce another diabetes model by substituting alloxan for STZ. Male Sprague-Dawley rats of 2, 4 or 6 days of age were injected intraperitoneally with 200 mg/kg of alloxan monohydrate after 16 h fast. Control rats received vehicle alone at 6 days of age. Non-fasting plasma glucose levels in alloxan-treated rats significantly increased after 8 weeks as compared with control, as the age of alloxan treatment advanced (6.6 +/- 0.2 (S.E.M.) mM in control, 8.3 +/- 0.3 mM in 2 days, P < 0.05, 9.8 +/- 0.9 mM in 4 days, P < 0.05, 17.1 +/- 3.5 mM in 6 days, P < 0.05). For the long-term observation, alloxan-treated rats were divided into mild and severe diabetes groups. Hyperglycemia persisted in both groups until 52 weeks (6.5 +/- 0.1 mM in control, 10.3 +/- 0.7 mM in mild diabetes group, 25.3 +/- 3.6 mM in severe group), but significant albuminuria developed only in severe diabetes group. The diabetogenicity of alloxan rapidly increased during the neonatal period, and the neonatal alloxan diabetes model may be useful for studying chronic diabetic complications.