Mouse models for studying diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a term used to describe kidney damage cause by diabetes. With DN as one of the leading causes of end-stage renal disease worldwide, there is a strong need for appropriate animal models to study DN pathogenesis and develop therapeutic strategies. To date, most experiments are carried out in mouse models as opposed to other species for several reasons including lower cost, ease of handling, and easy manipulation of the mouse genome to generate transgenic and knockout animals. This unit provides detailed insights and technical knowledge in setting up one of the most widely used models of DN, the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced model. This model has been extensively exploited to study the mechanism of diabetic renal injury. The advantages and limitations of the STZ model and the availability of other genetic models of DN are also discussed.