ABSTRACT
Animal models for diabetes and pregnancy offer various ranges of hyperglycemia, which can lead to fetal organ alterations, congenital malformations, and micro- or macrosomic fetuses and affect the offspring later in life. This chapter gives a comprehensive view of the most frequently studied animal models of diabetes and demonstrates how animal models have permitted to elucidate some mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes. In pregnant rats fed with a low-protein diet, the maternal plasma glucose and insulin levels are normal and fetuses are normoglycemic. Nevertheless, the development of the fetal endocrine pancreas is impaired, which leads to a deficient insulin response and to fetal growth restriction. In rats, maternal high-fat diet intakes during gestation lead to the development of some features of the metabolic syndrome in male offspring characterized by increased body weight, plasma levels of insulin, glucose, free fatty acids, and fatty acids and also glucose intolerance.
