Development of diabetic nephropathy in the Milan normotensive strain, but not in the Milan hypertensive strain: Possible permissive role of hemodynamics

These data show that Milan hypertensive rats are not susceptible to diabetic nephropathy, at variance with glomerulosclerosis-prone Milan normotensive rats, thus indicating the importance of genetic background. Our study suggests that the nature of this (genetic) protection might be hemodynamic, with intrarenal artery hypertrophy preventing diabetes-induced loss of autoregulation.