Murine streptozotocin diabetes: influences of the major histocompatibility complex, genetic background and blood transfusion.

Major histocompatibility complex-linked immune response genes are thought to influence susceptibility to induction of both human insulin-dependent diabetes and murine streptozotocin-induced diabetes. To clarify this relationship, we administered streptozotocin intravenously in two doses (120 and 240 mg/kg body weight) on days 0 and 14, and monitored blood glucose until day 100 in young adult male mice of differing background genome and/or H-2 complex. In addition, we examined the effect of allogeneic whole blood transfusion on subsequent susceptibility to diabetes. B10 recombinant mice possessing the k allele at the centromeric H-2-K and I-A loci were most susceptible to diabetes induction. Variation in susceptibility of different inbred strains with the same major histocompatibility complex genotype suggested a rôle for non-major histocompatibility complex genes. Blood transfusion delayed the onset, but did not significantly reduce the incidence of, delayed hyperglycaemia. We conclude that, in this murine model, multiple genes within the outside the major histocompatibility complex influence multiple-dose streptozotocin-diabetes susceptibility, and that prior blood transfusion may modulate diabetes induction.