Perhaps the most useful new animal model for mimicking human biological responses is not one that is developed, but the one that is discovered—in other words, models created naturally through spontaneous and novel mutation, such as Charles River’s THE POUND MOUSE.

THE POUND MOUSE has been available for approximately three years and was discovered due to its visible size difference. Genetically, the model is obese, and once it was phenotyped Charles River discovered that it also naturally exhibits the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, including:

• Hyperglycemia
• Hyperinsulinemia
• Increased amounts of leptin
• High cholesterol levels

THE POUND MOUSE fills a much needed niche for studies involving pre-diabetic stages of disease, including liver lipidosis and metabolic syndrome, and because this phenotype occurred naturally through spontaneous mutation, it may more closely resemble other naturally occurring biological conditions in humans.

Charles River Laboratories, Inc.