Renal hypertrophy in experimental diabetes. Effect of diabetes on the pathways of glucose metabolism: differential response in adult and immature rats.

The effect of short-term diabetes, 5 days after the administration of streptozotocin, on renal growth and the activity of alternative pathways of glucose metabolism was studied in immature (21-day-old) rats and in adult rats. The kidney weight increased by 28% in the adult diabetic rats, but by only 10% in the immature diabetic rats, relative to their age-matched control groups. The flux of glucose via the pentose phosphate pathway was increased 2-3-fold in the adult diabetic rats, but was unchanged in the immature diabetic group. Enzymes of this pathway (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase) increased by 29% and 77% respectively in adult diabetic rats; in the immature group they showed changes of +5% and +28% respectively. The rate of glucose phosphorylation increased significantly in both groups of diabetic rats; only minor changes were observed in oxidation via the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Increases of 40-50% were found in the activity of enzymes involved in UDP-glucose metabolism (phosphoglucomutase, UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase and UDPglucose dehydrogenase) and in lactate dehydrogenase in both young and adult animals. The results suggest a differential renal response to streptozotocin-diabetes according to the stage of renal growth and development, and it is proposed that the difference is related to the developmental emergence of aldose reductase. Enzymes involved in formation of ribose 5-phosphate and NADPH are strikingly increased in the adult diabetic, whereas metabolic functions dependent on a high ambient glucose concentration, e.g. synthesis of glycogen and glucuronate, are similarly affected in adult and immature diabetic groups, both showing certain aspects of 'glucose overutilization'.