Figure 1. Athymic nude rat developed diabetes with early DR features.

(A) Athymic nude rats developed sustained hyperglycemia compared to non-diabetic controls. Blood glucose level was elevated as early as week one and remained high until after two months. n = 6 per group, **p<0.01. (B). Two months post diabetes induction, intraperitoneal GTT was performed. As expected STZ-induced (square boxes) rats developed impaired glucose tolerance compared to non-diabetic controls (circles). Data shown is an average of n = 6 per group. (C). Body weights over a period of 2 months measured on a regular basis demonstrated a progressive increase in body weight in non-diabetic animals, while the diabetic animals failed to gain the weight. Data shown is an average of n = 8–12 per group. (D). Two months post diabetes induction a significant (**p<0.01) increase in acellular capillaries and pericyte ghosts in diabetic nude rats observed compared with non-diabetic age matched rats. Data is from n = 14–16 per group.