Ultrastructural Changes in the Venous Wall Induced by Experimental Diabetes: Preliminary Findings

Abstract

Objective: To study whether experimental streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes results in structural alterations to the venous wall of the femoral vein in adult rats, in order to develop further studies using this model. Design: A prospective study of femoral veins obtained from controls and STZ-induced diabetes rats. Setting: Department of Morphology, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. Interventions: Experimental diabetes induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Main outcome measures: The samples were studied at 6 and 12 weeks post-injection using light and transmission electron microscopy. Results: The results show that the venous wall is affected by an increase in the deposition of extracellular tissue. In addition the endothelial, muscular and adventitial cells show morphological changes. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate significant alterations in the venous wall due to hyperglycaemia in the STZ-animal model.