Maternal Diet Modifications in NOD mice Can Alter Disease in Offspring

On February 2, 2018, researchers at The Bartholin Institute, Biocenter in Copenhagen, Denmark, published a paper titled Gluten‐free diet during pregnancy alleviates signs of diabetes and celiac disease in NOD mouse offspring in the journal Diabetes Metabolism Research Reviews. NOD mice have been the model of choice for autoimmune Type 1 diabetes research for over 30 years as they are a polygenic model of diabetes that mimic human disease and develop diabetes as early as three months of age.

Important conclusions were that gluten free diets in pregnant NOD mice led to reduction in symptoms of celiac disease and insulitis in the offspring. Human studies of diet modifications in pregnant subjects could potentially minimize symptoms of these diseases in their children.