Abstract
Three groups of Chinese hamsters bred at the Upjohn Laboratory were studied: these included diabetic animals in which symptoms were present for 18 months, non-diabetic siblings and non-related, non-diabetic animals of the corresponding age and sex. The spontaneous diabetes is characterized by hyperglycemia, glycosuria, decreased islet volume, decreased beta cell mass, beta cell degranulation and glycogen infiltration in the islets. In the non-diabetic siblings, similar but less marked changes were noted. To our knowledge this is the first reported observation of decreased beta cell mass and beta cell degranulation occurring prior to clinical onset of spontaneous diabetes in man or animal. It suggests that the observed alteration of beta cells is a primary etiologic mechanism in the production of spontaneous diabetes in the Chinese hamster.
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