The two most common tests for determining metabolic health in mice are the glucose tolerance test (GTT) and insulin tolerance test (ITT). GTTs and ITTs are inexpensive and easy to perform, but how they are conducted and interpreted can radically change their meaning.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Linking glucose swings and mental health to cardiovascular outcomes and mortality in general practice
Scientific Reports Open Access 07 November 2025
-
Ret finger protein deficiency attenuates adipogenesis in male mice with high fat diet-induced obesity
Experimental & Molecular Medicine Open Access 18 September 2025
-
Genkwanin glycosides are major active compounds in Phaleria nisidai extract mediating improved glucose homeostasis by stimulating glucose uptake into adipose tissues
Nature Communications Open Access 16 August 2025
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References
Andrikopoulos, S., Blair, A. R., Deluca, N., Fam, B. C. & Proietto, J. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 295, E1323–E1332 (2008).
Alquier, T. & Poitout, V. Diabetologia 61, 526–538 (2018).
McGuinness, O. P., Ayala, J. E., Laughlin, M. R. & Wasserman, D. H. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 297, E849–E855 (2009).
Jacobson, L., Ansari, T. & McGuinness, O. P. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 290, E678–E684 (2006).
Ghosal, S. et al. Physiol. Behav. 150, 31–37 (2015).
Sorge, R. E. et al. Nat. Methods 11, 629–632 (2014).
Best, J. D. et al. Diabetes Care 19, 1018–1030 (1996).
Bergman, R. N. Diabetes 38, 1512–1527 (1989).
Ader, M., Pacini, G., Yang, Y. J. & Bergman, R. N. Diabetes 34, 1092–1103 (1985).
Virtue, S. et al. Diabetes 61, 3139–3147 (2012).
Fischer, A. W., Cannon, B. & Nedergaard, J. Mol. Metab. 7, 161–170 (2018).
Ayala, J. E. et al. J. Vis. Exp. 16, 3188 (2011).
Vogt, C. & Petrides, A. S. Am. J. Physiol. 268, E1031–E1038 (1995).
Hribal, M. L., Oriente, F. & Accili, D. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 282, E977–E981 (2002).
Dudele, A. et al. Physiol. Rep. 3, e12396 (2015).
Wasserman, D. H., Ayala, J. E. & McGuinness, O. P. Diabetes 58, 1947–1950 (2009).
den Boer, M. A. M., Voshol, P. J., Kuipers, F., Romijn, J. A. & Havekes, L. M. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 291, E1360–E1364 (2006).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
S.V. and A.V.-P. wrote the manuscript.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Peer review information Nature Metabolism thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Virtue, S., Vidal-Puig, A. GTTs and ITTs in mice: simple tests, complex answers. Nat Metab 3, 883–886 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00414-7
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00414-7
This article is cited by
-
Antibiotic-associated changes in Akkermansia muciniphila alter its effects on host metabolic health
Microbiome (2025)
-
Ret finger protein deficiency attenuates adipogenesis in male mice with high fat diet-induced obesity
Experimental & Molecular Medicine (2025)
-
Revisited guidelines for metabolic tolerance tests in mice
Lab Animal (2025)
-
Genkwanin glycosides are major active compounds in Phaleria nisidai extract mediating improved glucose homeostasis by stimulating glucose uptake into adipose tissues
Nature Communications (2025)
-
Linking glucose swings and mental health to cardiovascular outcomes and mortality in general practice
Scientific Reports (2025)