The Immunohistological Changes Induced by Alloxan on the Pancreas of Albino Rats

Abstract

The study of immnohistological changes in the pancreas induced by the administration of diabetogenic dose of alloxan was undertaken using male Albino (Wistar) rats. The rats were randomly separated into four groups A, B, C, and D of thirty rats in each group. The first group (A) was used as the primary control group, the second group (B), the third group (C) and the fourth group (D) were used as test groups. The test groups were administered with 200mg per kg body weight of alloxan, which is the diabetogenic dose. The second group (B) was used to study the direct effect of alloxan on the pancreas. The third group (C) was used to study the effect of diabetes mellitus on the pancreas while the fourth group (D) was used to study the possible effect of insulin therapy in the resuscitation of the pancreas. Examination of the pancreas revealed that they were affected in the test groups when compared to the control. The immunohistological features of the pancreatic islets were affected by alloxan administration, which showed selective toxicity for the islet beta cells as seen in the degeneration of these cells, while the other Islet cells were unaffected. This showed that the administration of diabetogenic dose of alloxan has a selective degenerative effect on the Beta cells of the islets of Langerhans, leading to immunohistological changes in the pancreas.