Absence of H-2 genetic influence on streptozotocin-induced diabetes in mice.

Five daily injections of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg) produced a delayed but progressively increasing level of hyperglycaemia in long term studies with male Naval Medical Research Institute mice and C3D2F1 (DBA 2 J male x C3H/Tif female) F1 hybrid mice. The development of hyperglycaemia was paralleled by decreased amounts of pancreatic immunoreactive insulin as well as degranulation and necrosis of pancreatic B cells. Insulitis was found from days 9-25 after the first injection of streptozotocin. Compared with the F1 hybrid strain the parental inbred strains DBA 2 J and C3H/Tif demonstrated a certain resistance to streptozotocin. Development of hyperglycaemia did not differ in four congenic resistant lines of mice on the C57 BL/10 genetic background, indicating the major histocompatibility complex genes are not likely to determine susceptibility to streptozotocin-induced islet B cell damage.