Carbohydrate restriction protects diabetes-prone db/db and NZO mice from beta-cell failure

Aim: The impact of dietary carbohydrates in the pathogenesis of type-2 diabetes is still unclear. We have recently shown that raising New Zealand obese (NZO) mice, a strain exhibiting polygenic obesity, beta-cell failure, and diabetes, on a carbohydrate-free diet protects from the development of diabetes. This study aimed at investigating the effect of dietary carbohydrate restriction on the pathogenesis of diabetes in the db/db mouse, an alternative mouse model developing monogenic obesity and diabetes. Methods: For this purpose male db/db mice were either fed a carbohydrate-free diet (CFD, 30g% fat), a carbohy…