Alloxan is a toxin that selectively eliminates pancreatic β-cells in mice, rats, and certain other animals, and is used to model type 1 diabetes in humans.1 Reduction of alloxan within β-cells precedes the generation of reactive oxygen species, which in turn contribute to β-cell death.2 The dose of alloxan needed to destroy beta cells, and thus induce diabetes, depends on the animal species, route of administration, and nutritional status.2,3,4
References
1. Dunn, J.S., Duffy, E., Gilmour, M.K., et al. Further observations on the effects of alloxan on the pancreatic islets. Journal of Physiology 103(2), 233-243 (1944).
2. Szkudelski, T. The mechanism of alloxan and streptozotocin action in B cells of the rat pancreas. Physiol. Res. 50(6), 537-546 (2001).
3. Eizirik, D.L., Pipeleers, D.G., Ling, Z., et al. Major species differences between humans and rodents in the susceptibility to pancreatic β-cell injury. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 91(20), 9253-9256 (1994).
4. Tyberg, B., Andersson, A., and Borg, L.A. Species differences in susceptibility of transplanted and cultured pancreatic islets to the β-cell toxin alloxan. General and Comparative Endocrinology 122, 238-251 (2001).