Summary
Animals from a colony of spontaneously diabetic insulin-dependent BB rats were fed from weaning with semisynthetic diets in which natural proteins were replaced by l-amino acids with or without the addition of either milk or wheat proteins. The normal 50% incidence of diabetes in the colony was reduced to 15% in rats fed the basic semi-synthetic diet, while it was 35% and 52% when supplemented with gluten or milk, respectively. Thus, dietary factors might precipitate the expression of the disease.
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References
Marliss EB, Sima AAF, Nakhooda AF (1981) Spontaneous diabetes in the BB-Wistar rat. In: Martin JM, Ehrlich RM, Holland FJ (eds) Etiology and pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Raven Press, New York, pp 251–274
Rogers QR, Harper AE (1965) Amino acids diets and maximal growth in the rat. J Nutrition 87: 267–273.
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Elliott, R.B., Martin, J.M. Dietary protein: a trigger of insulin-dependent diabetes in the BB rat?. Diabetologia 26, 297–299 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00283653
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00283653