The long-term effect of pancreatic islet allotransplantation on glomerular basement membrane thickening in experimental diabetes.

Pancreatic islet cells were intraportally allotransplanted into rats 2 weeks after the induction of diabetes mellitus by streptozotocin. The effect of successful transplantation on glomerular basement membrane thickening was examined 14 months later. Four groups of animals were available for study; rats with accepted pancreatic islet transplants, rats in whom graft rejection was induced, diabetic nontransplanted rats, and age-matched normal controls. Animals with accepted grafts showed no significant basement membrane thickening when compared with age-matched normal controls, while animals with rejected grafts and nontransplanted diabetic animals showed significant glomerular basement membrane thickening compared with the other groups but were not significantly different from each other. The ability of early intraportal pancreatic islet cell allotransplantation to prevent glomerular basement membrane thickening indicates that the glycemic control achieved by this approach is superior to glycemic control by traditional insulin therapy. The results of this study confirm that early pancreatic islet allotransplantation can prevent the development of glomerular basement membrane thickening in diabetic recipient rats.