Skip to main content
  1. Ethical Science News

  2. Feb 2, 2015

Hundreds of Diabetes Studies in Mice Misinterpreted

Expression of human growth hormone in diabetes mouse models could distort study results, according to a new publication in Cell Metabolism.

The authors report that nonpregnant mice experienced changes that typically occur during pregnancy, leading to cellular changes in the pancreas and unexpected insulin production. As a result, hundreds of diabetes studies may have been misinterpreted. This study highlights the limitations of animal models of human diseases such as diabetes.

References

  1. Brouwers B, de Faudeur G, Osipovich AB, et al. Impaired islet function in commonly used transgenic mouse lines due to human growth hormone minigene expression. Cell Metab. 2014;20:979-990.

More on Diabetes