Accelerated glomerulosclerosis in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits with anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis.

To find how diabetes affects the processes of proliferative glomerulitis, we induced anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) nephritis by injection of anti-GBM antiserum in rabbits with alloxan diabetes (the DM-GN group) and in rabbits without the diabetes (the GN group), and compared the glomerular lesions between the two groups. Rabbits with alloxan diabetes only (the DM group) were also studied as control. Morphological examination showed that in the acute phase, the DM-GN and GN groups underwent histolysis of the glomerular loops, which gave rise to proliferative glomerulitis. In the later stages of glomerulitis, proliferating cells were crowded toward the axial portion of glomerular loops with an increase of intercellular matrix, and glomerular capillaries in the periphery of the glomerular loops recanalized. The amount of intercellular matrix of the axial portion increased more in the DM-GN group than in the GN group. Some of the glomerular lesions in the DM-GN group showed a formation of large nodules. The results suggested that diabetes could accelerate the formation of the intercellular matrix of glomerular loops in proliferative glomerulitis in rabbits, resulting in accelerated glomerulosclerosis.