Resolution of streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus by pancreatic transplantation in inbred mice

Streptozotocin (SZ), an antineoplastic antibiotic, is a nitrosurea derived from Streptomyces achromogenes and is known to be specifically toxic to the beta cell of the islets of Langerhans in the mammalian pancreas. In this report the authors demonstrate that the hyperglycemia induced by treatment with low-dose SZ in mice of intermediate sensitivity is curable by the transplantation of an MHC-compatible pancreas, using a technique not previously described. The data suggest that the induction of hyperglycemia in these strains is a result of SZ-mediated cytotoxicity rather than an immunologically mediated phenomenon.