Altered magnesium transport in slices of kidney cortex from chemically-induced diabetic rats

The uptake of magnesium-28 was measured in slices of kidney cortex from rats with alloxan-diabetes and from rats with streptozotocin-diabetes of increasing durations. In both forms of chemically-induced diabetes, magnesium-28 uptake by kidney cortex slices was significantly increased over uptake measured in kidney cortex slices from control rats. Immediate institution of daily insulin therapy to the diabetic rats prevented the diabetes-induced elevated uptake of magnesium without controlling blood glucose levels. Late institution of daily insulin therapy was ineffective in restoring the magnesium uptake to control values. These alterations in magnesium uptake occurred prior to any evidence of nephropathy (via the classic indices of proteinuria and increased BUN levels). The implications of these findings, together with our earlier demonstrations of altered calcium transport by kidney cortex slices from chemically-induced diabetic rats, are discussed in terms of disordered divalent cation transport being at least part of the basic pathogenesis underlying diabetic nephropathy.