| Description |
Although closely related to NOD mice, NON mice contain a
diabetes resistant MHC haplotype (H2nb1 = Kb, Anb1, Ek, Db).
The name was derived from "Non-Obese Non-diabetic"; however,
NON/ShiLtJ mice should not be considered "normal." They
carry the retinal degeneration (Pde6b) mutation and exhibit
certain tendencies toward autoimmune disease. This strain
maintains a low plasma insulin level, which may account in
part why certain loci from NON/ShiLt can enhance development
of autoimmune type 1 diabetes in segregating hybrid mice
following outcross to NOD/ShiLtJ. The NON
strain-characteristic immunologic abnormalities include
perivascular/periductular leukocyte infiltration into the
pancreas and submandibular salivary glands, and T
lymphocytopenia evident by 20 weeks of age in spleen.
NON/ShiLt mice clearly harbor genes predisposing to type 2
diabetes, as evidenced by early impaired glucose tolerance
in males and females, development of moderate mature-onset
obesity in the presence of low plasma insulin levels, and
development of glomerulosclerotic kidney lesions.
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