Animal models of diabetes mellitus

Animal models have been used extensively in diabetes research. Early studies used pancreatectomised dogs to confirm the central role of the pancreas in glucose homeostasis, culminating in the discovery and purification of insulin. Today, animal experimentation is contentious and subject to legal and ethical restrictions that vary throughout the world. Most experiments are carried out on rodents, although some studies are still performed on larger animals. Several toxins, including streptozotocin and alloxan, induce hyperglycaemia in rats and mice. Selective inbreeding has produced several strains of animal that are considered reasonable models of Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and related phenotypes such as…