Lessons from Animal Diabetes VI

genic constructs. Five articles are devoted to this topic ranging from the B-cell function in transgenic animals to the various effects on diabetes complications. The section on NIDDM, comprising of 10 articles, deals both with new and existing models, their particular widely varying pathogenesis, genetic character­ istics and complications. The animals reviewed include: spontaneously diabetic OLETF rats, Chinese hamsters, Goto-Kakizaki rats, db/db mice, rhesus monkeys, dogs and an article demonstrating the genetic link between the Zucker fa/fa and corpulent cp/cp obese interstrains. We wish to welcome the new members to our Editorial Board, Dr. Hubert Kolb from Dusseldorf, Dr. Alex Rabinovitch from Edmonton, Dr. Takayoshi Toyota from Sendai and Dr. Soroku Yagihashi from Hirosaki. At the same time we would like to thank Dr. Douglas L. Coleman from Bar Harbor and Dr. George Eisenbarth from Denver for their editorial contribution to the previous LAD Vol­ umes who have retired from the Editorial Board. With great sadness we have to mention Dr. Otho Michaelis IV from Beltsville, MD who suddenly passed away this year. Otho, or Mike as he was called by friends, made a significant contribution in developing and metabolically defin­ ing several strains of corpulent cp rats and was extremely helpful in the editor­ ial work of the LAD series. His contribution will remain in a lasting memory of all researchers of animal diabetes.

Lessons from Animal Diabetes is a broad compendium of international research in experimental diabetes to which the authors have contributed reviews with original information and discussion. It is a valuable resource for medical researchers (both MD and PhD) and for diabetologists whose activities lie at the crossroads of endocrinology, immunology, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, pathology and metabolism. It is also a rich and useful reference source for graduate students in these fields. Veterinary scientists and pharmaceutical investigators testing therapeutic modalities in animals with predetermined diabetes or diabetes induced by cytotoxic or nutritional factors will also be interested in reading this volume. This is the sixth volume of a series which comprises invited reviews on subjects of contemporary interest both in IDDM and NIDDM. The contributors to the IDDM section have dealt with the expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and its role as antigen, the involvement of macrophages, cytokines and retroviruses in the pathogenesis of diabetes, molecular genetics of IDDM as well as new perceptions of the unified mechanisms leading to the final B-cell death as a result of cytotoxic and immune agents. There is also a section dealing with Transgenic Constructs, the new animal models rising in importance in the research of diabetes and its related phenomena. The articles devoted to this topic range from effects of B-cell function to immunomodulatory alterations and diabetic complications. The contributors to the section on the NIDDM syndrome, comprising 10 articles, deal both with new and recognized models including the spontaneously diabetic OLETF rat, Chinese hamsters, Goto-Kakizaki rats, db/db mice, rhesus monkeys, dogs, Zucker fa/fa and corpulent cp/cp rat interstrains. This book will be a valuable asset for diabetologists, endocrinologists, physiologists, veterinary scientists, pharmaceutical investigators, and graduate students.