Virus and Experimental Diabetes

Special subtypes of viruses belonging to different virus families are known to be able to induce insulin-deficient diabetes or pathological glucose tolerance in experimental animals (Table 1). The development of the diabetogenic effect of viruses is dependent on the species (Table 1) and, within one species, dependent on age and sex (Friedman et al., 1972), particularly on the genetic factors of the animals determining susceptibility or resistance to diabetes (Craighead and Higgins, 1974; Yoon and Notkins, 1976).