Acclimation Prior to an Intraperitoneal Insulin Tolerance Test to Mitigate Stress-Induced Hyperglycemia in Conscious Mice

The insulin tolerance test is commonly used in metabolic studies to assess whole body insulin sensitivity in rodents. It is a relatively simple test that involves measurement of blood glucose levels over time following a single intraperitoneal injection of insulin. Given that it is performed in the conscious state and blood is often collected via a tail snip, it has the potential to elicit a stress response from animals due to anxiety associated with handling and blood collection. As such, a stress-induced rise in blood glucose can occur, making it difficult to detect and interpret the primary endpoint measure, namely an insulin-mediated reduction in blood glucose. This has been seen in many mouse strains, and is quite common in diabetic db/db mice, where glucose levels can increase, rather than decrease, after insulin administration. Here, we describe a method of acclimating mice to handling, injections and blood sampling prior to performing the insulin tolerance test. We find that this lowers stress-induced hyperglycemia and results in data that more accurately reflects whole body insulin sensitivity.