**2. Preclinical murine models of T1DM**

The non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model has been a useful tool to examine pathological mechanisms which contribute to and may be targeted in T1DM. Although there are several fundamental differences between murine and human disease [1, 2], the late timing of human disease manifestation, pancreas inaccessibility and lack of biomarkers in the peripheral blood continue to pose a significant challenge. Therefore, NOD mouse models remain instrumental in studying the disease pathophysiology and aids efforts to improve clinical translational potential of identified pathways and a first-line screening for effective therapies. Humanized mouse models, which are mice with a "human-like" immune system have proven to be an excellent platform to bridge the gap between preclinical mouse models and clinical studies by enabling researchers to assess the efficacy of treatments on human immune cells in a more physiological context than provided by cell culture [3]. In the T1DM field several excellent preclinical experimental approaches have also been proposed [4–6], although spontaneous T1DM disease development and sufficient similarity to human disease are still challenges.
