Vol. 129 No. 1 (2025)
Original Article

Effect of streptozocin-induced diabetes on the histomorphometry of the liver and kidneys of male sprague dawley rats

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  • Pfarelo A. Mbelengwa,
  • Matome L. Mpolwane,
  • Nkosi Xhakaza
Pfarelo A. Mbelengwa
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, South Africa
Matome L. Mpolwane
Department of Physiology and Environmental Health, University of Limpopo, Sovenga, 0727, South Africa
Nkosi Xhakaza
Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, South Africa
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/ijae-15806

Published 2025-07-10

Keywords

  • diabetes mellitus,
  • diabetic nephropathy,
  • kidneys,
  • liver,
  • steatohepatitis

How to Cite

Mbelengwa, P. A., Mpolwane, M. L., & Xhakaza, N. (2025). Effect of streptozocin-induced diabetes on the histomorphometry of the liver and kidneys of male sprague dawley rats. Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology, 129(1), 29–39. https://doi.org/10.36253/ijae-15806

Copyright (c) 2025 Pfarelo A. Mbelengwa, Matome L. Mpolwane, Nkosi Xhakaza

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

The liver and kidneys are among primary organs affected by Diabetes mellitus (DM), whereas chronic antidiabetic medication has side effects on these organs. Due to the said side effects, there is an increase in research for new natural based antidiabetic medication making use of streptozocin (STZ) induced diabetic rodent model. However, dosage and duration of STZ in diabetes induction vary with potential inconsistencies in interpretation of the results by different authors. We investigated the effects of a single dose, (50mg/kg) of STZ on the histomorphometry of liver and kidneys of male Sprague Dawley rats after 21 days of diabetes induction. Hepatocyte (HA), nuclear and cytoplasmic (CA) areas were measured in zones 1 and 3 of the liver tissues from 16 [8 Normal C, 8 STZ diabetic DM] male Sprague Dawley rats. Corpuscular, renal, glomerular tuft, tubular, epithelial, luminal areas and connective tissue were also measured in kidney tubules from the same animals using a hand tool of ImageJ software. Means were compared using a student’s t-test in SPSS software. HA in zone1 of DM was significantly higher than that of the C (p=0.009), while HA in zone 3 of DM were significantly lower than in C (p=0.032). The CA in zone1 of DM was significantly higher than that of C (p=0.006). A significant change was only fibrosis of the glomerular tuft in kidneys. 50mg/kg STZ induced diabetes caused some changes in the liver and kidney tissues but not a full pathologic profile as seen in studies with a longer duration.

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