Oxidative and Anti-oxidative Status in Blood of Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Piglets

Eight LW${\times}$D crossbred, castrated weanling piglets were used to examine the effect of hyperglycemia by streptozotocin (STZ)-injection on oxidative and anti-oxidative status in circulating fluid. Every two of the eight piglets were intravenously administrated STZ at a dose of 0 (control), 100, 125 or 150 mg/kg BW, respectively, and on 15th day after the STZ-injection, some markers of the oxidative stress in circulating fluid were measured to evaluate oxidative and anti-oxidative status in the piglets. First, piglets with hyperglycemia were selected from the STZ-injected piglets as measured by the levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) during 2 weeks after the STZ-injection. Additionally, data obtained from the intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) on 14th day were analyzed. Secondly, the data obtained in this experiment were divided into the control group and the hyperglycemic (STZ) group, and compared. The FPG level or area under curve (AUC) for plasma glucose during the IVGTT in the STZ-induced diabetic piglets was slightly significantly (FPG, p = 0.070; AUC, p = 0.072) higher compared with the control. On the other hand, the plasma level of lipid peroxidation in the STZ-induced diabetic piglets was significantly (p<0.05) higher compared with the control. These results raise the possibility that STZ-induced diabetic piglets produced in this study can be used as a diabetic animal model to research the pathogenic mechanisms or therapy of complications in diabetic mellitus.