ANIMAL MODELS OF DISEASE: Classification and etiology of diabetes in dogs and cats
- R Nelson, Medicine, University of California davis,
- C Reusch, Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Correspondence: Richard Nelson, Email: rwnelson{at}UCDAVIS.EDU
Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a common disease in dogs and cats. Diabetes in dogs resembles type 1 diabetes in humans. Studies suggest that genetics, an immune-mediated component, and environmental factors are involved in the development of diabetes in dogs. A variant of gestational diabetes also occurs in dogs. The most common form of diabetes in cats resembles type 2 diabetes in humans. An important risk factor in cats is obesity. Obese cats have altered expression of several insulin signaling genes and glucose transporters and are leptin-resistant. Cats also form amyloid deposits within the islets of the pancreas and develop glucotoxicity when exposed to prolonged hyperglycemia . This review will briefly summarize our current knowledge of the etiology of diabetes in dogs and cats and illustrate the similarities between dogs, cats and humans.
- Received 21 April 2014
- Received in final form 9 June 2014
- Accepted 25 June 2014
- Accepted Preprint first posted online on 30 June 2014
