A Guide for the Design of Pre-clinical Studies on Sex Differences in Metabolism

Publication date: 6 June 2017
Source:Cell Metabolism, Volume 25, Issue 6
Author(s): Franck Mauvais-Jarvis, Arthur P. Arnold, Karen Reue
In animal models, the physiological systems involved in metabolic homeostasis exhibit a sex difference. Investigators often use male rodents because they show metabolic disease better than females. Thus, females are not used precisely because of an acknowledged sex difference that represents an opportunity to understand novel factors reducing metabolic disease more in one sex than the other. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) mandate to consider sex as a biological variable in preclinical research places new demands on investigators and peer reviewers who often lack expertise in model systems and experimental paradigms used in the study of sex differences. This Perspective discusses experimental design and interpretation in studies addressing the mechanisms of sex differences in metabolic homeostasis and disease, using animal models and cells. We also highlight current limitations in research tools and attitudes that threaten to delay progress in studies of sex differences in basic animal research.

Teaser

Mauvais-Jarvis et al. discuss experimental design and interpretation in studies addressing the mechanisms of sex differences in metabolic homeostasis and disease, using animal models and cells. They highlight current limitations in research tools and attitudes that threaten to delay progress in studies of sex differences in basic animal research.


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