Virus-induced diabetes mellitus. III. Influence of the sex and strain of the host.

Nineteen inbred strains of male mice were infected with encephalomyocarditis virus. Five strains became hyperglycemic and had abnormal values in glucose tolerance tests; three strains remained normoglycemic but had abnormal values in glucose tolerance tests; and the remaining strains showed no abnormalities in blood glucose levels or glucose tolerance tests. Female mice from three of five strains tested also developed hyperglycemia, but in one strain (DBA/2) the hyperglycemia was less severe in females than in males. Castrated DBA/2 males developed less severe hyperglycemia than uncastrated males, even though the degree of damage to beta cells appeared to be similar in the two groups. Host factors apparently influence both the development and expression of virus-induced diabetes mellitus.