Animal Models of Autoimmunity

Abstract

Recently, animal models of some human diseases have been criticized as not accurately reflecting the pathogenic mechanism and host response of the human disease which they model, resulting in prediction of therapeutic targets that fail in the clinic. While the merits and generalizability of these arguments have been rebutted in detail elsewhere, these critiques have reignited an important broader debate within the biomedical science community (as well as the general public) as to the relative value of basic animal research compared to research on humans subjects or tissues. Nonetheless, small animal preclinical research has unquestionably advanced our knowledge of fundamental biology and provided important insights into mechanisms of disease, including human autoimmune disease, that would not have been possible from clinical studies alone. Here we discuss the major categories of animal disease model and review the advantages and disadvantages of several commonly used murine models of autoimmune diseases, with a focus on systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.