Diabetes-induced mechanophysiological changes in the small intestine and colon

Figure 2 Colonic remodeling in STZ-induced diabetic rats. The top-left figure showed the no-load tissue rings of colon from control (left) and 8W streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (right). It clearly demonstrated that the wall thickness increased in the diabetic colon. The low-left figure showed micro-photographs of the control (left) and 8 wk diabetic (right) colonic histological sections. It clearly demonstrated that the mucosa and muscle layers in the diabetic colon became much thicker than in the normal colon. The bar is 100 μm. The right figures showed the relation between circumferential (top) and longitudinal (bottom) stress and strain. Both in the circumferential and the longitudinal directions, the stress-strain curves shifted to the left in the 8W diabetic groups compared to those in the control group. Thus, the colon wall stiffness increased in both directions during the development of diabetes. Control: Normal control; 8W DM: 8 wk of diabetes.