Models of diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy is currently the single major cause of kidney failure in the industrialized world. Animal models have been used in the attempt to develop innovative therapies to prevent and treat diabetic nephropathy, in particular to define the role of certain molecules involved in the pathophysiology. Although several models exist using rodents with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, all have disadvantages as well as advantages. No model exactly mimicks the development of human diabetic nephropathy, a process that takes years. Some models may mirror morphological changes characteristic of human diabetic nephropathy such as glomerulosclerosis and basement membrane thickening, but the animal does not develop progressive albuminuria and loss of renal function. Models produced spontaneously by selective inbreeding or by genetic modification (e.g. db/db mice) are often used. The increasing use of knockout and transgenic mice to test the role of certain molecules in the pathophysiology of diabetic nephropathy requires a simple model of diabetes to prevent time-consuming backcrossing experiments, thus streptozotocin-based models are still used frequently despite their obvious disadvantage. The aim of this review is to provide a current overview of useful models to study diabetic-associated renal disease.