To determine whether rhEPO transgenic pigs can be used for DM models, we first examined whether EPO can lead to Akt (protein kinase B) phosphorylation in the liver tissues obtained from control pigs, as seen in the protective pathway of Akt and EPO in DM (Varma et al. 2005; Maiese et al. 2008). Here, EPO is linked to diabetes mellitus.