Feline models of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

89 Scopus citations

Abstract

Feline diabetes mellitus (FDM) closely resembles human type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in many respects including clinical, physiological, and pathological features of the disease. These features include age of onset of FDM in middle age, association with obesity, residual but declining insulin secretion, development of islet amyloid deposits, loss of approximately 50% of β-cell mass, and development of complications in several organ systems including peripheral polyneuropathy and retinopathy. Many of the pathological aspects of the disease are also experimentally inducible, facilitating study of the pathogenesis of these lesions. Physiological aspects of FDM and obesity are also well studied in the cat and provide an excellent basis for comparative studies of human T2DM. The relatively short generation time of cats along with breed predispositions to development of FDM may allow for more rapid screening and identification of genetic markers for diabetes susceptibility. FDM, in both spontaneous and inducible forms, therefore provides a good animal model of human T2DM and may provide additional insights into the pathogenesis of this important condition.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)234-242
Number of pages9
JournalILAR Journal
Volume47
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006

Keywords

  • Animal model
  • Feline
  • Islet amyloid
  • Islet amyloid polypeptide
  • Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Feline models of type 2 diabetes mellitus'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this