Abstract
The Spontaneously Diabetic Torii (SDT) rat is an inbred strain of Sprague-Dawley rat and recently is established as a nonobese model of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Male SDT rats show high plasma glucose levels (over 700 mg/dL) by 20 weeks. Male SDT rats show pancreatic islet histopathology, including hemorrhage in pancreatic islets and inflammatory cell infiltration with fibroblasts. Prior to the onset of diabetes, glucose intolerance with hypoinsulinemia is also observed. As a result of chronic severe hyperglycemia, the SDT rats develop profound complications. In eyes, retinopathy, cataract, and neovascular glaucoma are observed. Proliferative retinopathy, especially, resulting from retinal neovascular vessels is a unique characteristic of this model. In kidney, mesangial proliferation and nodular lesion are observed. Both peripheral neuropathy such as decreased nerve conduction velocity and thermal hypoalgesia and autonomic neuropathy such as diabetic diarrhea and voiding dysfunction have been reported. Osteoporosis is another complication characterized in SDT rat. Decreased bone density and low-turnover bone lesions are observed. Taking advantage of these features, SDT rat has been used for evaluating antidiabetic drugs and drugs/gene therapy for diabetic complications. In conclusion, the SDT rat is potentially a useful T2D model for studies on pathogenesis and treatment of diabetic complications in humans.
Highlights
In recent years, with economic development and social modernization, the number of diabetic patients has been increasing worldwide, including developing countries, posing a global problem in terms of human suffering as well as medical costs [1, 2]. e International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimated the number of diabetic patients to be 366 million in 2011 [3], and that it will reach 552 million by 2030 unless effective measures are taken.At present, complex interactions between genetic factors and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of diabetes are undergoing extensive study
Proliferative retinopathy, especially, resulting from retinal neovascular vessels is a unique characteristic of this model
The relationships between genetic and environmental factors are difficult to verify, and direct obtainment of information from humans has intrinsic limitations due to signi cant ethical restrictions. e use of experimental animal models is essential to resolve these problems, and results of basic research in animal models of diabetes may be useful to clarify the pathogenetic mechanism of human diabetes as well as the causes of Journal of Diabetes Research strain of rats was characterized by the development of diabetes only in males since its discovery, but the disease was sporadically observed in females aged 9 months or older in the F7 and subsequent generations [5]
Summary
With economic development and social modernization, the number of diabetic patients has been increasing worldwide, including developing countries, posing a global problem in terms of human suffering as well as medical costs [1, 2]. e International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimated the number of diabetic patients to be 366 million in 2011 [3], and that it will reach 552 million by 2030 unless effective measures are taken. There are many T2D model animals such as Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats, Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rats, and Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, and these animal models show diabetic complications, severe diabetic retinopathy has not been observed in the existing models. In these circumstances, Spontaneously Diabetic Torii (SDT) rat (Figure 1) has been established as a model of nonobese T2D with three major complications, including ocular complications [4,5,6]. Diabetic Torii (SDT) rat (Figure 1) has been established as a model of nonobese T2D with three major complications, including ocular complications [4,5,6]. is paper provides an overview of the ndings from SDT rats such as pathology of diabetes
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