Abstract: To evaluate the changes of RAGE(receptor for advanced glycation endproducts) expression and podocytes in renal tissues of diabetic and control rats, and explore the relation between RAGE and podocyte injuries. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were injected intravenously with streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes. The rats were sacrificed eight weeks after the induction of diabetes. The renal RAGE and desmin expressions were accessed by semiquantitative immunohistochemistry. The average podocyte number of each glumerulus was determined by dividing the total podocytes by the glomerular profile area as determined by point counting. And correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between RAGE expression and podocytes of each glomerulus. Results: Compare with control rats, the expressions of RAGE and desmin were increased remarkably（P<0.01）, and the podocytes of each glomerulus was decreased significantly（P<0.01） in diabetic rats. There was a negtive relationship between the RAGE expression and the podocytes of each glomerulus（r=-0.736，P<0.01）. Conclusion: RAGE may play an important role in the progression of diabetic nephropathy.

Key words: Diabetic nephropathy, Receptor for advanced glycation end products, Podocyte, Desmin, Rat, wistar