Animal Models of Metabolic Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit an original article or a review article for this Special Issue, titled “Animal Models of Metabolic Diseases”.

Metabolic diseases constitute a cluster of disorders that, in general, have background multifactorial causes, which make them a growing health problem worldwide today. To understand the process involved in the origin, progress and therapeutical approaches are pivotal to most efficiently contribute, alongside new strategies on improving human health.

In the field of metabolic dysfunction, over the years, several animal models have been used by researchers worldwide to put out scientific evidence that could favor a better understanding of the mechanisms, pathophysiology, and strategies to mitigate metabolic diseases (type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and its associated comorbidities, among others). Descriptions of these animal models, in this field, are not yet ideal, and do not converging to create the perfect animal model. However, this compounds a precious source that can be used for translating knowledge about new strategies for improving human metabolic health.

Among many animal models, those of monogenic animals seem to be the best choice for use if a single aspect of the metabolic disruption is being considered. In addition, different animal models of induced metabolic impairments (e.g., high-fat-diet-induced obesity; models of diabetes induced by streptozotocin, alloxan, supraphysiological dexamethasone administration, and others, such as those including the long-term metabolic consequences associated with insult and exposure during critical stages of life development) are more representative of real human conditions, since metabolic diseases display multifactorial origins, including the influence of environmental agents on gene expression patterns.

This Special Issue aims to bring together studies on animal models of metabolic diseases, focusing on the mechanisms and pathophysiology of metabolic diseases, as well as studies on therapeutical strategies in this field.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but need not be limited to) studies with animal models reporting on the pathophysiology and/or mechanisms of origins and/or progression, as well as strategies of the treatment and/or prevention of metabolic diseases, such as the following:

• Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
• Obesity.
• Hypertension.
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
• Long-term metabolic diseases (into the paradigm of Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases, DOHaD).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Júlio Cezar De Oliveira
Prof. Dr. Melvin Khee Shing Leow
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• experimental models
• metabolic syndrome
• insulin resistance
• type 2 diabetes mellitus
• obesity
• dyslipidemia
• hypertension
• metabolic programming
• DOHaD