Effects of postnatal stress on the development of type 1 diabetes in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus).

Tonny Freimanis,Knud E Heller,Bryan Schønecker,Mogens Bildsøe

doi:10.1080/15438600303726

Abstract

Wild bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) kept in the laboratory under barren housing conditions develop high incidences of type 1 diabetes mellitus due to beta cell– specific lysis in association with the appearance of GAD65, IA-2, and insulin autoantibodies. Wild-caught and immediately analyzed voles show no histological signs of diabetes, and the disease may therefore be induced by circumstances related to the housing of the animals in captivity. We tested the possibility that postnatal stress by either maternal separation or water immersion at different intervals would induce diabetes in adult bank voles. We found that low-frequent stress during the first 21 days of life increases, whereas high-frequent stress markedly reduces, the incidence of type 1 diabetes in adulthood. These results differentiate the role of early-experienced stress on subsequent type 1 diabetes development and emphasize that the bank vole may serve as a useful new animal model for the disease.

Highlights

Wild bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) kept in the laboratory under barren housing conditions develop high incidences of type 1 diabetes mellitus due to beta cell– specific lysis in association with the appearance of GAD65, IA-2, and insulin autoantibodies
In recent studies focusing on the development of stereotypic behavior under barren and isolated housing conditions in wild-caught bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) (Parental [P]: n = 92) and their laboratory-bred offspring (F1: n = 248; F2: n = 270), we found that approximately 20% of the Received 18 December 2002; accepted 9 January 2003
It has been suggested that the stress effects on type 1 diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice are mediated at least partially by hormonal changes acting in a complex manner at different levels: the immune system, the islets of Langerhans, and other structures involved in glucose homeostasis [16]

Summary

Introduction

Wild bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) kept in the laboratory under barren housing conditions develop high incidences of type 1 diabetes mellitus due to beta cell– specific lysis in association with the appearance of GAD65, IA-2, and insulin autoantibodies. We found that low-frequent stress during the first 21 days of life increases, whereas high-frequent stress markedly reduces, the incidence of type 1 diabetes in adulthood These results differentiate the role of early-experienced stress on subsequent type 1 diabetes development and emphasize that the bank vole may serve as a useful new animal model for the disease. In recent studies focusing on the development of stereotypic behavior under barren and isolated housing conditions in wild-caught bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) (Parental [P]: n = 92) and their laboratory-bred offspring (F1: n = 248; F2: n = 270), we found that approximately 20% of the Subsequent studies [3] revealed that polydipsic but not nonpolydipsic voles showed almost complete loss of insulinpositive cells. Evidence is provided that the early stress effects culminate at the age of 3 months in rats [14], and that peripubertal environmental enrichment may lead to functional reversal of the changes [15]

Methods

Results

Conclusion