Progression of early phase diabetic nephropathy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats: Evaluation of various kidney-related parameters.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the serious secondary complications of diabetes, which results in end-stage renal failure. Reports on the progressive nature of early phase DN especially with respect to kidney parameters such as kidney weight, type IV collagen excretion, total kidney and urinary glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are few. This work was undertaken to determine systematically the progression of early phase DN in relation to various kidney-related parameters for a period of four months. Experimentally-induced diabetic rats were grouped based on fasting blood glucose levels. Various basic and kidney-related parameters such as kidney weight, microalbuminuria, urinary excretion of GAGs and type IV collagen, total kidney GAGs, histopathology, glomerular area and glomerular volume were examined in control and diabetic rats. There was a progressive increase in fasting blood sugar, urine sugar, kidney weight, microalbuminuria, urine glycosaminoglycans, urine type IV collagen, glomerular area and glomerular volume but there was a progressive decrease in kidney glycosaminoglycans. Glomerular sclerotic condition was aggravated with the increase in duration of diabetes from 1 to 4 months. Onset of DN in rats begins subtly after one month of diabetes but gets vitiated and more pronounced at the end of four months.

Non-cellulosic mixed linkage beta-D-glucan in sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench--localization and biological activity studies.

Fluorescence of Calcofluor and Congo Red was observed in stained sections of sorghum grain (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), especially in the sub-aleurone cells indicating the presence of mixed linkage beta-D-glucan. Relatively less fluorescence intensity was observed in the single layered (approximately 20 microns thick) aleurone. Alkali extracted beta-D-glucan (fraction 2) of sorghum showed 30% activation of rat peritoneal macrophages (in vitro) at 100 micrograms ml-1 concentration in 10 min. This activation was found mediated mainly through PLA2 pathway. A phagocytic index k of 0.102 +/- 0.008 was observed in vivo carbon clearance test in mice in the group treated with fraction 2. Accumulation of colloidal carbon particles in spleen and liver of mice was moderate in this group, compared to control.

Effect of long term feeding and withdrawal of aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A on kidney cell transformation in albino rats.

Subacute doses (1/20 LD50) of aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A were fed to weanling albino rats individually and in combination for 36 weeks and then rats were maintained on toxin free normal diet for a period of 24 weeks. Livers of rats were fatty, wherever aflatoxin was administered but the enzyme activity did not show significant differences among various groups. However, in a few individuals whose livers were severely affected, higher concentrations of urine creatinine, liver RNA and DNA, and ALT enzyme activity were recorded. Histopathological examination showed various stages of hepatoma and hepatocarcinoma including nodular hyperplasia, hypertrophy, vacuolisation, degeneration, pseudolobulation, cellular infiltration and fibrosis of liver of rats fed with aflatoxin individually and in combination. Few anaplastic cells in the corticomedullary region and nuclear enlargement of proximal tubular epithelium of kidney were found wherever combined toxin and ochratoxin alone were administered. Liver tumor expression was time dependent.