To investigate the hypothesis that endogenous infection in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is due to bacterial translocation (BT), the intestinal enviroment including volume of contents, bacterial floras, and functions of pancreatic exocrine and neutrophils in portal blood were evaluated using STZ-induced DM rats. Alteration of total bacterial volume and floras in DM rats caused by decrease of pancreatic exocrine function and stagnation of intestinal contents were supposed the invasive factors for intestinal immunity. Killing activity of portal neutrophils was significantly decreased in DM rats (69.0±5.0%;control vs.51.9±6.0;STZ-DM, p<0.01). This study revealed that BT takes place in DM rats with these diabetic complica-tions and that BT develops in distant organs after burn-induced stress.

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