<p>This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</p> <p>Experiments were performed to evaluate the
hypothesis that the early stage of Type 1 diabetes
mellitus (DM) increases renal angiotensin
II (AngII) concentration and angiotensin type 1
(AT<sub>1</sub>) receptor protein levels. Nineteen or twenty
days after vehicle (Sham rats) or streptozotocin
(STZ rats) treatment, plasma [AngII] was
higher in STZ rats (152±23 fmol/ml) than in
Sham rats (101±7 fmol/ml); however, kidney
[AngII] did not differ between groups. AT<sub>1</sub>
receptor protein expression was greater in STZ
kidneys than in Sham kidneys. This increase
was restricted to the cortex, where AT<sub>1</sub> protein
levels were elevated by 77±26% (42 kDa) and
101±16% (58 kDa) in STZ kidneys.
Immunohistochemistry revealed this effect to
be most evident in distal nephron segments
including the connecting tubule/cortical collecting
duct. Increased renal cortical AT<sub>1</sub> receptor
protein and circulating AngII levels are consistent
with an exaggerated AngII-dependent
influence on renal function during the early
stage of DM in the rat.</p>
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Int J Exp Diabetes Res. 2002; 3(2):97-108