The action of alloxan in the pancreas is preceded by
its rapid uptake by the B cells (Weaver et al. 1978a,
Boquist et al. 1983). Rapid uptake by insulin-secreting
cells has been proposed to be one of the important
features determining alloxan diabetogenicity. Another
aspect concerns the formation of reactive oxygen species
(Heikkila et al. 1976). A similar uptake of alloxan also
takes place in the liver. However, the liver and other
tissues are more resistant to reactive oxygen species in
comparison to pancreatic B cells and this resistance
protects them against alloxan toxicity