HYPERPLASIA AND GROWTH OF THE TRUE MESENTERY IN THE DIABETIC RAT

Abstract

The true mesentery was studied in rats 4 wk after they had been rendered diabetic with streptozotocin. The diabetic animals showed elongation and enlargement of the small intestine despite reduced body growth compared with controls of the same age. The mesentery in diabetic animals showed increased total area and contained an increased number of windows, but the increment of total protein, DNA and histamine (a marker of mast cells) was nonuniform and less than the increase in area. There appeared to be a close relationship between hyperplasia of the small intestine and its mesentery. The number of mast cells yielded by peritoneal lavage was increased in the diabetics. This observation of the hyperplastic mesenteric reaction in diabetic rats may make a useful model for the study of growth, proliferaton and function of the mesentery available.