Leptin is a hormone produced by adipocytes that regulates food intake and metabolism. Leptin-related gene-deficient mice, such as db/db and ob/ob mice, are widely used to study diabetes and its related diseases. However, broad effects of leptin appear to cause variability in behavioral test results. We performed a meta-analysis of major behavioral tests in db/db and ob/ob mice. These mice exhibited significant impairments in the Morris water maze, forced swim, novel object recognition, Y-maze, tail suspension, and light-dark box tests, whereas the elevated plus maze and open field tests did not reveal significant changes. We also performed correlation and regression analyses between the animals’ performances and the experimental protocols and conditions. The memory-related tests were characterized by the correlations of their results with animal age, while the performances in the elevated plus-maze and forced swim tests were affected by the width of the devices used. In conclusion, db/db and ob/ob mice mainly exhibit memory deficits and depression-like behavior, although experimenters should be aware of animal age and device size in conducting experiments.

瘦素是一种由脂肪细胞产生的激素，可调节食物摄入和新陈代谢。瘦素相关基因缺陷小鼠，如db/db和ob/ob小鼠，被广泛用于研究糖尿病及其相关疾病。然而，瘦素的广泛影响似乎会导致行为测试结果的可变性。我们对 db/db 和 ob/ob 小鼠的主要行为测试进行了荟萃分析。这些小鼠在莫里斯水迷宫、强迫游泳、新物体识别、Y 迷宫、尾部悬吊和明暗盒测试中表现出明显的损伤，而高架十字迷宫和旷场测试没有显示出显着变化。我们还在动物的表现与实验方案和条件之间进行了相关性和回归分析。记忆相关测试的特点是其结果与动物年龄的相关性，而在高架十字迷宫和强迫游泳测试中的表现受到所用设备宽度的影响。总之，db/db 和 ob/ob 小鼠主要表现出记忆缺陷和抑郁样行为，尽管实验者在进行实验时应注意动物年龄和设备大小。