Studies on retinal microangiopathy and coronary macroangiopathy in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes

Thyroid Hormone Signaling in Retinal Development and Function: Implications for Diabetic Retinopathy and Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Thyroid Hormones (THs) play a central role in the development, cell growth, differentiation, and metabolic homeostasis of neurosensory systems, including the retina. The coordinated activity of various components of TH signaling, such as TH receptors (THRs) and the TH processing enzymes deiodinases 2 and 3 (DIO2, DIO3), is required for proper retinal maturation and function of the adult photoreceptors, Müller glial cells, and pigmented epithelial cells. Alterations of TH homeostasis, as observed both in frank or subclinical thyroid disorders, have been associated with sight-threatening diseases leading to irreversible vision loss i.e., diabetic retinopathy (DR), and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Although observational studies do not allow causal inference, emerging data from preclinical models suggest a possible correlation between TH signaling imbalance and the development of retina disease. In this review, we analyze the most important features of TH signaling relevant to retinal development and function and its possible implication in DR and AMD etiology. A better understanding of TH pathways in these pathological settings might help identify novel targets and therapeutic strategies for the prevention and management of retinal disease.

Pharmacokinetic Study of Gadolinium-DOTA in Control and Streptozocin Diabetic Rats

The pharmacokinetics of gadolinium tetraazacyclododecanetetraacetic acid (Gd-DOTA), a contrast agent used in magnetic resonance imaging, have been evaluated in control and streptozocin-diabetic rats of different ages. In control rats, an age-related decrease in the Gd-DOTA elimination rate was noted, supported by a significantly lower apparent total body clearance and a significantly higher mean residence time. In diabetic rats, a similar but less important age-related change in the mean residence time and the apparent total body clearance was observed. Regardless of age-related differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters, a diabetic state induced several alterations in the Gd-DOTA pharmacokinetic parameters. The apparent total body clearance was significantly higher and the mean residence time significantly lower in diabetic rats indicating a higher elimination rate of Gd-DOTA. An important age-related increase in the volume of distribution at steady-state was noted in diabetic rats.

Ultrastructural morphometry of capillary basement membrane thickness in normal and transgenic diabetic mice

Capillary basement membrane (CBM) thickening is an ultrastructural hallmark in diabetic patients and in animal models of diabetes. However, the wide variety of tissues sampled and diverse methods employed have made the interpretation of thickness data difficult. We showed previously that acellular glomerular BMs in OVE26 transgenic diabetic mice were thickened beyond normal age-related thickening, and in the current study we hypothesized that other microvascular BMs likewise would show increased widths relative to age-matched controls. Accordingly, a series of tissues, including skeletal and cardiac muscle, ocular retina and choriod, peripheral nerve, lung, pancreas, and renal glomerulus was collected from 300-350-day-old normal and transgenic mice. Transmission electron micrographs of cross sections through capillary walls were prepared, and CBM thickness (CBMT) was determined by the "orthogonal intercept" method. Morphometric analyses showed highly variable transgene-related BMT increases in the sampled tissues, with glomerular BM showing by far the greatest increase (+87%). Significant thickness increases were also seen in the retina, pulmonary alveolus, and thoracoabdominal diaphragm. BMT increases were not universal; however, most were modestly widened, and those that were thickest in controls generally showed the greatest increase. Although the pathogenesis of diabetes-related increases in CBM is poorly understood, data in the current study showed that in OVE26 transgenic mice increased BMT was a frequent concomitant of hyperglycemia. Accordingly, it seems likely that hyperglycemia-induced microvascular damage may be a contributing factor in diabetic BM disease, and that microvessel cellular and extracellular heterogeneity may limit the extent of CBM thickening in diverse tissues.

Diabetic retinopathy: quantitative variation in capillary basement membrane thickening in arterial or venous environments

Diabetes mellitus was induced in male beagles by a single injection of an alloxan and streptozotocin cocktail and fasting blood sugar levels maintained between 15 and 20 mmol/l. Five years after induction of diabetes, three diabetic animals were sacrificed, together with sex and age-matched controls, and the retinas fixed for either transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or trypsin digestion. In TEM specimens, capillaries in close proximity to the major vessels were designated as either AE (arterial environment) or VE (venous environment) and the thickness of their basement membranes (BMs) measured using an image analyser based two dimensional morphometric analysis system. Results show that the BMs of retinal capillaries from the diabetic dogs were significantly thicker than those from control dogs. Furthermore, within the diabetic group the AE capillaries had thicker BMs than VE capillaries (p < or = 0.05). The controls, however, showed no significant difference in BM thickness between AE and VE capillaries. Although many of the capillaries designated as AE or VE would actually have been derived from the opposite side of the circulation, with respect to BM thickness, they conformed to values of their specific group. The conclusion is that diabetic capillaries are more vulnerable to BM thickening in an arterial environment than in a venous environment.

Intervention with the aldose reductase inhibitor, tolrestat, in renal and retinal lesions of streptozotocin-diabetic rats

The progressive increase in urinary albumin excretion, which precedes the development of diabetic nephropathy, can be prevented in diabetic rats if the aldose reductase inhibitor, tolrestat, is administered at the initiation and throughout the duration of hyperglycaemia. We therefore determined the ability of tolrestat to intervene in the further progression of already established urinary albumin excretion of streptozotocin-diabetic female Wistar rats. Two months after streptozotocin injection, diabetic rats were grouped as low-urinary albumin excretion (0.2-1.0 mg albumin/day) or high-urinary albumin excretion (1.9-5.9 mg albumin/day), at which time tolrestat intervention (25 mg/kg per day) was begun for half of the diabetic rats in each urinary albumin excretion group. After six months of treatment tolrestat caused a significant reduction in the urinary albumin excretion rate of the low-urinary albumin excretion group only. The diabetes-induced rise of total urinary protein in both groups was significantly reduced by tolrestat. Furthermore, the diabetes-induced increase (49%) in the thickness of the basement membranes of retinal capillaries from the outer plexiform layer was significantly diminished by tolrestat administration. In conclusion, intervention therapy with the aldose reductase inhibitor, tolrestat, can reduce the progression of urinary albumin excretion and retinal basement membrane thickening in long-term diabetic rats.

Changes in vitreal oxygen tension distribution in the streptozotocin diabetic rat

Measurements of vitreal oxygen tension have been made for the first time in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat eye. A total of 36 Sprague Dawley rats were divided into a control (n = 18) and streptozotocin injected group (n = 18), and after 5-6 weeks of established hyperglycaemia, an acute experiment was performed in which vitreal oxygen tension profiles were determined with oxygen sensitive microelectrodes. The control rats had significant oxygen tension gradients in the vitreous close to retinal arteries with relatively flat oxygen tension profiles close to retinal veins and intermediate regions. All control rats had a substantial arteriovenous oxygen tension difference when measurements were made on retinal arteries and veins. In contrast the oxygen tension profiles measured in the vitreous of streptozotocin rats showed markedly reduced oxygen gradients in the vicinity of retinal arteries and a smaller arteriovenous oxygen tension difference. In both groups of rats, for distances of 500 microns and greater from the retina (mid vitreous) a plateau oxygen tension value was observed. No significant difference was found in this mean mid vitreous value between the control rats and diabetic rats under the same systemic conditions. We conclude that there are significant changes in oxygen tension near retinal arteries in streptozotocin-induced diabetes before any histopathological changes are evident.

The age at onset of diabetes influences functional and structural changes in the pituitary-thyroid axis of streptozocin-diabetic male rats

Severe structural changes leading to marked alterations in secretory activity are known to occur in the pituitary-thyroid axis 1 month after induction of postpuberal streptozocin (SZ)-diabetes. However, SZ-diabetic rats of different age groups have not been compared, nor has the maturity of the pituitary and thyroid glands at the onset of diabetes been correlated with the type and evolution of functional and structural changes. We thus induced diabetes in 1-month (prepuberal of 3-month (postpuberal) old male rats and compared diabetic with control groups 4 and 8 months after SZ or saline injection. We determined: 1) pituitary and thyroid weights, 2) the basal plasma TSH, T3, and T4 concentrations, and 3) several morphometrical measurements in the pituitary and thyroid glands. After 4 months, 1) the pituitary and thyroid weights were decreased, 2) plasma TSH and T3 were unchanged, plasma T4 was reduced. and 3) the number of thyrotropes, degenerative changes of follicle cells, and colloid area were increased, the follicle cell height as well as the number of fused cold follicles decreased, and the follicle area was unchanged in diabetic compared with control rats. The lesions were more conspicuous in pre- than in postpuberal diabetic animals. After 8 months, plasma TSH, T3, and T4 were decreased in diabetic compared with control rats. Except for the increased colloid area, all other lesions were similar, though more severe in prepuberal diabetic rats after 8 than 4 months. Few changes were found in postpuberal diabetic rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Thyroid and pituitary secretory disorders in streptozotocin-diabetic rats are associated with severe structural changes of these glands

Streptozotocin diabetes in rats is associated with reduced function of the hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid axis. The structure and hormone secretion of the thyroid and pituitary glands were studied in adult male rats 1 month after streptozotocin injection. The thyroid of diabetic rats was characterized by decreased follicle area and epithelial thickness. By electron microscopy, thyroid epithelial cells were characterized by flattened and almost empty rough endoplasmic reticulum cisternae, scanty exocytotic apical and endocytotic vesicles as well as degenerate mitochondria and rough endoplasmic reticulum. By immunohistochemistry, intracolloidal thyroglobulin and T3 as well as intraepithelial thyroglobulin were reduced. Electron microscopic and immunohistochemical analysis of pituitary glands showed that in diabetic rats thyrotrophs were mostly of type II, and the number of thyrotrophs (type I + type II) was greater than in controls. By radioimmunoassay (RIA), plasma T3, T4, and TSH levels were markedly reduced, and the TSH response to TRH was deficient in diabetic animals. The pituitary TSH concentration was increased, as expected from the morphological data. This study demonstrates severe structural changes in the thyroid and pituitary glands of diabetic rats which are accompanied by marked alterations of their secretory activity.

Basement membrane of hypothalamus and cortex capillaries from normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes

Basement membrane (BM) thickness of hypothalamic arcuate nucleus capillaries was measured in normotensive (WKY) and hypertensive (SHR) rats 4 and 8 months after streptozotocin or saline injection. Three groups were studied: controls (C), diabetics (D), and animals with impaired glucose tolerance (L). For comparison, BM thickness of cortical capillaries of an occipital and a frontal area was measured in three different layers starting from the pial surface. Independently from strain, hypothalamic capillary BM was thicker in older than in younger animals. At both 4 and 8 months, BM thickness was lowest in C, highest in D, and intermediate (between C and D) in L. Hypertension combined with diabetes did not further increase BM thickness. In both C and D no difference was found between the two cortical areas. The BM thickness of C increased from the superficial to the deep layer. In C hypertension induced BM thickening in the superficial frontal and the deep occipital layer. In the intermediate and the deep layer of the frontal area BM was thicker in WKY-D than in WKY-C. In every layer BM was thicker in SHR-D than in corresponding controls. Hypertension combined with diabetes enhanced BM thickening in the intermediate and the deep layer of the frontal and in the intermediate layer of the occipital area. Degenerative changes occurred in hypothalamic and cortical pericytes. These changes were more frequent in hypertensive than in normotensive animals. In conclusion, a microangiopathy characterized by BM thickening and pericytic degeneration occurs in the brain of diabetic animals. Its intensity and enhancement by a concomitant hypertension vary from hypothalamus to cortex.

Morphometric studies on retinal microangiopathy and myocardiopathy in hypertensive rats (SHR) with induced diabetes

In experiments of 4 and 8 months duration, blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measured periodically in streptozotocin-diabetic (D) rats of normotensive (WKY) and hypertensive (SHR) strains and in corresponding controls (C). BP and HR of D were lower than those of C. In both experiments body length, heart weight and the heart weight/body length ratio (W/L) of D were reduced at autopsy. The number of myocardial cell nuclei per test area was increased in D, indicating a reduced myocardial cell size. No specific change was found at any time in the coronary arteries of rats from any of the groups examined. At 4 months, the retinal capillary basement membrane (BM) of the SHR strain was significantly thicker than that of the WKY strain. At 8 months the BM of D rats was significantly thicker than that of C, but there was no difference between strains. Our results demonstrate that long-term diabetes promotes BM thickening in both normotensive and hypertensive animals. Hypertension does not seem to potentiate diabetes in inducing microangiopathy. Diabetes, however, by causing a lower heart weight and by reducing the heart rate may influence negatively the development of hypertension in the SHR strain. It also appears that there is no direct relationship between increased retinal capillary BM thickness and myocardiopathy.

Retinal capillaries: basement membrane thickening by galactosemia prevented with aldose reductase inhibitor

A twofold thickening of capillary basement membranes of rat retinas resulting from dietary galactose was prevented by sorbinil, an inhibitor of aldose reductase. Since the basement membrane thickening was ultrastructurally similar to that typical of diabetic retinopathy, it may indicate changes in vessel permeability and susceptibility to hemorrhage. Galactosemic rats should be useful models for studying basement membrane-related complications of diabetes and for examining the potential biochemical regulation of basement membrane synthesis by aldose reductase inhibitors.

Morphometric analysis of basal laminae in rats with long-term streptozotocin diabetes L. II. Retinal capillaries

Twelve months after onset of streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats, the basal lamina width of peripheral retinal capillaries, as measured with two different morphometric methods, is increased only in the basal lamina regions adjacent to perivascular glial cells. In the region between endothelial cells and pericytes no increase of thickness was observed. These facts support the suggestion of a predominantly glial (neuroectodermal) contribution to basal lamina thickening of retinal capillaries in diabetes mellitus. No correlation exists between the degree of basal lamina thickening at the different anatomic sites. Furthermore, no clear-cut correlation was found between basal lamina thickening and severity of the metabolic disease.

Changes in peripheral nerves of rats four months after induction of streptozotocin diabetes. A qualitative and quantitative study

Eight streptozotocin-injected Wistar rats and eight controls were fixed by whole-body perfusion 4 months after beginning of the experiment, the nervus radialis was dissected and processed for light and electron microscopy. After light-microscopic study standard photographs of nerve cross sections were measured by means of a semiautomatic image analyzer. The following measurements were obtained: (1) surface of fibers, axons, and myelin sheaths, (2) ratio of myelin to axon surface, and (3) percent of endoneural space. Group means and standard deviations were calculated, and cumulated size class distributions were made. Representative nerve specimens from all animals were also studied by electron microscopy. The quantitative study revealed in the diabetics a severe reduction of the average myelin surface, a mild increase of axonal cross section and of endoneural space, a reduction of myelin/axon ratio and a mild reduction in cross section of the nerve. Ultrastructural lesions of minor degree were found in the cytoplasm of Schwann and mesenchymal cells, no lesion was observed in axons. These findings demonstrate the presence of neuropathy 4 months after induction of diabetes and support the pathogenetic role of the Schwann cell in our experimental model.