Induced Animal Models of Type 1 Diabetes in Rodent: A Review Study

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease with high prevalence characterized by hyperglycemia due to relative deficiency or lack of insulin. Type 1 diabetes (destruction of Beta cells) and type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance) are the two main types of diabetes. Animal models of diabetes, as an important tool in the study of this disease, help to avoid human challenging immoral and costly studies. Therefore, the present review study aimed to investigate animal models of induced and spontaneous type 1 diabetes in rodents.

Methods: In this systematic review, the keywords of “diabetes”, “induction”, and “animal model” from 1991 to 2021 were searched in PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar databases. Articles related to the subject of study were selected and reviewed.

Results: From the half of the twentieth century until today, new models have been introduced for prevention and treatment of diabetes in vivo and in vitro. There are various models for inducing type 1 diabetes, each of which has its strengths and weaknesses. These models include spontaneous models, genetically engineered, and chemically induced models. Typically, one way to induce diabetes in animals is to use chemicals, especially streptozotocin (STZ). Animals used include rats, mice, cats, dogs, pigs, and primates.

Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, there is still no standard animal model that can accurately detect the disease, and there is a long way to arrive at a comprehensive model of the pathogenesis and complications of the disease. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the development of these models. Given the importance of diabetes studies, it is necessary to carefully select the appropriate animal model for each study.