Rodent of the Week: Stress tolerance, monogamy and diabetes

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Genes as well as environmental behaviors could provide clues to diabetes risk, according to a study from researchers at UC Irvine and the University of South Carolina.

To understand diversity in the risk of diabetes, the scientists examined glucose tolerance in two types of field mice that have different behavioral patterns. They found that male mice who were in the calmer, more monogamous species had a higher level of stress hormones and a superior ability to regulate blood sugar compared with mice in another species that is not as calm or monogamous.

Previous research has demonstrated a link between stress hormone levels and monogamy. And the researchers of the new study suggest that superior stress tolerance and good blood sugar regulation is related to monogamy in the mice they studied. Their work shows that it’s important to look at gene-environment interactions when calculating the risk of diabetes or other common diseases -- not to mention studying genetically diverse lab animals.

The study is published in the journal Disease Models & Mechanisms.

-- Shari Roan