Reappraisal of the optimal fasting time for insulin tolerance tests in mice

Abstract

Objective: Most studies routinely use overnight or 6 h of fasting before testing metabolic glucose homeostasis in mice. Other studies used empirically shorter fasting times (5%) and significant changes in catabolic gene expression in the liver and skeletal muscle. Conclusion: Collectively, these data suggest that 2 h of fasting appears optimal for the assessment of insulin tolerance in mice as this duration minimizes major metabolic stress and weight loss.

Keywords

• Fasting
• Blood glucose
• Insulin tolerance
• Weight loss
• Catabolic genes
• Muscle atrophy