Simple Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Freely Moving Mice

Mice are a common model organism used to study metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Glucose levels are typically measured by tail-bleeding, which requires handling the mice, causes stress, and does not provide data on freely behaving mice during the dark cycle. State-of-the-art continuous glucose measurement in mice requires inserting a probe into the aortic arch of the mouse, as well as a specialized telemetry system. This challenging and expensive method has not been adopted by most labs. Here, we present a simple protocol involving the utilization of commercially available continuous glucose monitors used by millions of patients to measure glucose continuously in mice as a part of basic research. The glucose-sensing probe is inserted into the subcutaneous space in the back of the mouse through a small incision to the skin and is held in place tightly using a couple of sutures. The device is sutured to the mouse skin to ensure it remains in place. The device can measure glucose levels for up to 2 weeks and sends the data to a nearby receiver without any need to handle the mice. Scripts for the basic data analysis of glucose levels recorded are provided. This method, from surgery to computational analysis, is cost-effective and potentially very useful in metabolic research.