Diabetic silkworms for evaluation of therapeutically effective drugs against type II diabetes

We previously reported that sugar levels in the silkworm hemolymph, i.e., blood, increase immediately (within 1 h) after intake of a high-glucose diet and that the administration of human insulin decreases elevated hemolymph sugar levels in silkworms. In this hyperglycemic silkworm model, however, administration of pioglitazone or metformin, drugs used clinically for the treatment of type II diabetes, have no effect. Therefore, here we...