Abstract

Diabetes in man is associated with a high incidence of thromboembolic disorders. It also has been shown that fibrinolytic activity is suppressed in diabetics. Animal experiments were designed to study a possible causal relationship between these two findings. Diabetes developed in nonfasted male Sprague-Dawley rats 48 hours after injection of alloxan, 150 mg/kg i.p. Plasma samples were assayed for fibrinogen, plasminogen, plasmin, activator activity, antiplasmin and glucose levels. Compared to controls, the diabetic rats had a 2.3-fold increase in glucose and a 1.4-fold increase in fibrinogen. The euglobulin clot lysis time was significantly decreased in the diabetic rats indicating formation of plasmin and was accompanied by a significant decrease in plasminogen. A significant increase in antiplasmin also was detected. Activator activity which is required to convert plasminogen to plasmin could not be detected. The data indicate that after alloxan treatment fibrinolysis is enhanced and is accompanied by increased production of inhibitors. This animal model appears suitable to investigate the role of the fibrinolysin system in thromboembolic disorders in diabetics.