ANIMAL MODELS

Introduction
• A complex biological system is often required to study the myriad of
host‐pathogen interactions associated with infectious diseases, especially
since the current basis of biology has reached the molecular level.
• The use of animal models is important for understanding the very complex
temporal relationships that occur in infectious disease involving the body, its
neuroendocrine and immune systems and the infectious organism.
• While many animals respond similarly to humans from physiological,
pathological, and therapeutic perspectives, there are also significant
species‐by‐species differences.
• A well‐designed animal model requires a thorough understanding of
similarities and differences in the responses between humans and animals and
incorporates that knowledge into the goals of the study.
• Animal models play an especially important role in infectious disease
research because in many cases, the resultant disease is potentially
lethal or permanently disabling and therefore does not readily lend
itself to research using human subjects.
• Animal models are essential for scientific advancement in many areas of
human health, but if they are not well characterized and understood,
erroneous conclusions may be drawn, hindering scientific advancement
and resulting in a waste of animal life.
• A well‐designed animal model requires a thorough understanding of
similarities and differences in the physiology between humans and
animals and incorporates that knowledge into the goals of the study
 Types of animal models
• Animal models may be described in a number of ways:
• Induced (experimental),
• spontaneous (natural),
• genetically modified,
• negative,
• orphan, and
• surrogate.
• These descriptive categories cannot be used as classifications
because the descriptions are not exclusive and models may have
properties of more than one of the descriptions.
• Furthermore, as the knowledge of the model and the disease process
progresses, the descriptive category of the model may change.
 Experimental animal models
• Experimental animal models are models wherein a disease or condition is induced in
animals by the scientist.
• The experimental manipulation can take many forms, including exposure to biological
agents such as an infectious virus or bacteria, exposure to chemical agents such as a
carcinogen, or even surgical manipulations to cause a condition.
• In many cases, this approach would allow the selection of almost any species to model the
effect. For example, many biological toxins may be assayed for activity in invertebrates as
well as vertebrates.
• The model selected would depend on the needs of the researcher. However, many
biological agents are selective and cause species‐specific responses. This is particularly
true of infectious agents including bacteria and viruses.
• Many infectious agents are limited in the species that they can infect and in which they
can cause disease.
• Some are restricted to a single known host, such as human immunodeficiency virus
causing disease only in humans.
• These models are restricted to animals that are susceptible to the induced disease or
condition.
 Spontaneous model
• The spontaneous model is typically used in research on naturally occurring heritable diseases.
• Examples: models for cancer, inflammation, and diabetes.
• As the term “spontaneous” implies, these models require the disease to appear in the
population spontaneously.
• These types of models are not limited to inherited disease but may also apply to inherited
susceptibility to disease. For instance, susceptibility to type 1 diabetes is a heritable trait. The
Non-obese diabetic (NOD) strain of mouse also exhibits a heritable susceptibility to diabetes
relative to most strains of mice and has been used as a spontaneous model for type 1 diabetes.
• Although the appearance of diabetes in the NOD mouse is spontaneous, the occurrence of the
disease is associated with environmental factors. Thus, the NOD mouse model is described as
a spontaneous model because diabetes arises without experimental intervention, even though
the disease is triggered by environmental factors.
• Although spontaneous models are typically associated with genetically inherited diseases,
some of these models may represent diseases for which the inducing agent, such as virus,
bacterium, or chemical, has not been identified.
• Once the inducing agent has been identified and applied by the researcher, the model would
be described as an induced model. Example: type 1 diabetes, for which it has been
demonstrated that viral infections can either destroy beta cells directly or induce an
autoimmune response that destroys the cells. If the researcher employs the virus to induce
diabetes in the NOD mouse, then this becomes an experimental model.
 Genetically modified animal model
• The genetically modified animal model is one in which the animal has been
selectively modified at the genetic level.
• As these models are produced from manipulation by researchers, models using
genetically modified animals are actually a special example of the experimental
model.
• Genetically modified models may result from breeding or chemically induced
mutations.
• These may also include animals that have been modified through the use of
recombinant DNA — a subgroup of genetically modified animal models referred to
as transgenic animal models.
• Such transgenic models can involve gene deletions, replacements, or additions. The
development of genetically modified animal models has rapidly expanded as
technologies for genetic engineering have advanced.
• For example, a transgenic model for staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) has been
developed in mice that were genetically modified to express human leukocyte
antigens DR3 and CD4. These mice have an increased sensitivity to SEB and develop
an immune response more similar to that of humans relative to the parent strain of
mouse.
 Negative model
• In a negative model, the agent that causes disease in humans does not cause disease
in the animal.
• In the early stages of development of an animal model for disease, the lack of disease
would often cause the animal to be rejected as a model.
• However, exploring why an agent does not cause disease can also provide insights
into the disease process. This may be applied across species.
• For example, the resistance of bovines to shiga toxins relative to the sensitivity of rabbits and
mice is caused by the relative levels of expression of receptors for the toxin.
• Negative models are particularly powerful when differences are identified between
strains of a species, thereby allowing a comparison within the same species.
• Example: Lyons and colleagues observed that the sensitivity of mice to Bacillus anthracis could
vary more than 10‐fold, depending on the strain of mouse tested. Comparing the response to
infection between these strains of mice should provide significant insights into the disease
process.
• The use of transgenic models provides additional power to the negative model;
animals may be genetically engineered to create an isogenetic change. This was
applied as described earlier for SEB to create a more sensitive animal by inserting
the gene for human leukocyte antigens.
 Orphan models
• Orphan models are those with no known correlation to human
disease.
• However, as we increase our understanding of these animal diseases
and human diseases, correlations may become apparent in the future.
• Some orphan models may have direct comparison to human disease,
such as the realization that the enteritis and death caused by
administering antibiotics to hamsters were related to
antibiotic‐associated pseudomembranous colitis in humans by
facilitating the overgrowth of toxigenic Clostridium difficile.
• Once an orphan model is linked to a human disease, it is no longer
considered an orphan model.
 Surrogate model
• A newer descriptive category is the surrogate model.
• In a surrogate model, a substitute infectious agent is used to model a human
disease.
• In some cases, the substitution may be obvious, as when feline leukemia virus
in felines is used to model human immunodeficiency virus, Salmonella
typhimurium in mice is used to model Salmonella typhi infection in humans, or
monkeypox virus is used to model smallpox due to the stringent restrictions
on the access to or possession of variola virus and its strong tropism and
resultant clinical disease only seen in humans.
• However, more subtle differences also apply such as a human pathogen
adapted to infect the species used for the animal model.
• For instance, Ebola Zaire virus can infect and cause disease in mice and guinea
pigs after it is serially passaged in these species. The fact that the virus has to
be adapted to the new host implies that the virus undergoes a change; the
Ebola virus adapted to the mouse and guinea pig cannot be considered
identical to the human virus and must be considered a surrogate agent.
 Surrogate model
• More difficult to define are the unintentional changes that occur to a
pathogen with the mere passaging of organisms in the laboratory
• propagation of human viruses in nonhuman primate cell lines or the cultivation of
bacteria in artificial media.
• The potential for genetic drift in the strains of organisms emphasizes the
need to minimize the passage of strains to maintain identity to the
original clinical isolate.
• Incumbent on the interpretation of results in the surrogate model is the
understanding that not only does the animal differ from humans but the
infectious agent in the animal model differs from the agent that infects
humans.
• This adds to the extrapolation of the results from the animal to the
human disease.
• An animal model can be described more than one way.
• For example, the mouse used to analyze SEB can be described as a
genetically modified, induced model.
• Alternatively, a model may be described in a different way
depending on the experimental design.
• For instance, the spontaneous mouse model for diabetes may be
described as an induced model if the experimenter uses a virus to
cause destruction of the beta cells.
 IDENTIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANIMAL MODEL
• Finding a model of disease depends first on identifying animals or tissues that are responsive to the
agent. Then, the intrinsic factors in humans, such as pathological progression of the disease, must be
related to the factors of the disease in the model to support its validity.

• If a disease‐causing agent is novel, and no animal models are described, the researcher must identify
and develop animal models.

• By identifying the relationship of a novel agent to known pathogens with established animal models
(e..g, through identification and rRNA sequencing), animals for modeling may be initially selected
based on known models for the related organisms.

• In lieu of known models, animals for modeling will have to be identified empirically, and this selection
should start with the evaluation of animals that are well supported by reagents for research (e.g.,
mouse) and progress to less‐supported animals only as needed to meet the requirement of mirroring
the disease in humans.
 IDENTIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANIMAL MODEL
The basic steps to identify and develop an animal model are as follows:

• Define the research objective.

• Define the intrinsic factors associated with the biological phenomenon under investigation, such
as the pathological progression of the disease process.
• Define the extrinsic factors associated with the biological phenomenon under investigation such
as the method used to prepare the pathogenic bacteria.
• Create a search strategy and review the literature of previous animal models.
• Create a biological information matrix.
• Define unique research resources.
• Identify preliminary animal models of choice.
• Conduct research to fill critical gaps of knowledge in the biological information matrix for the
preliminary animal models of choice.
• Evaluate the validity of the animal models of choice.
• Identify animal models of choice.
 Present Use of Animal Models
Animals in Routine Diagnostic Use
• Currently, animal models are only used for a few routine and very specific
purposes
• Genetic amplification techniques such as PCR and other methods have almost
obliviated the need for propagation in animals
• able to detect even very small amounts of bacteria in clinical samples
• Bacterial cloning and production of various antigenic structures have reduced the
use of animals for bacterial cultivation products for tests and vaccine production,
although in vitro cultivation is still not possible for all human pathogenic bacteria,
e.g. Treponema pallidum
• A large number of animals, often rabbits, are still used for production of
antibodies to various bacterial compounds used in routine diagnostics, e.g.
Pneumococcus- and Salmonella-type sera
• For direct diagnosis of infections such as detection of special bacterial products,
e.g. the mouse toxin neutralization test for Clostridium botulinum toxin in clinical
materials
• Such tests are performed in specialized reference laboratories.
 Animal Models in Research
• For research purposes the aims are to study one or more of the following
five objectives:
(1) the associations between bacteria and diseases;
(2) the pathophysiology and the immune response;
(3) different antimicrobial treatments, new drugs and efficacy of different
regimens, beside toxicity studies;
(4) prophylaxis, and
(5) vaccine development, efficacy and toxicity.
 Associations between bacteria and disease

• New associations between bacteria and disease have renewed the

interest in experimental animal models for studying such relationships
under standardized conditions
• e.g. the possible aetiologic role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in atherosclerosis,
• the possible relationship between H. pylori and chronic gastritis and associated
malignancies
• The need for animal models for confirmation of various associations
between bacteria and disease will continue
 Pathophysiology and the immune response
• It would have been impossible to gain the insight into the pathophysiology
of meningitis without the use of animal models
• The complicated interaction between bacterial substances or products,
various cells, e.g. the immune functioning cells, and various mediators such
as the cytokines represent a rapidly expanding field
• The overall aim of these studies is to understand the mechanism in order
to enable preventive efforts to minimize the sequelae, which are still seen
despite the most optimal antibiotic treatment of meningitis
• In many other models, such as skin infection models, abdominal infection
model, endocarditis models, pneumonia models etc., the
pathophysiological features are also studied in detail together with the
treatment possibilities.
 Antimicrobial treatments
• The increasing problems with antibiotic resistance in common
pathogens such as pneumococci, Enterobacteriaceae and
staphylococci have renewed the interest in studying the efficacy of
various antibiotics in experimental animal models.
• Not only new antibiotics, but also new applications of older drugs and
refined treatment regimens are pursued to optimize the use of the
antibiotic drugs.
• By optimizing the choice of antibiotic and its pharmacokinetic
behavior, it is often possible to treat infections caused by bacteria
with reduced susceptibility to the drug as well as minimizing the risk
of further development of resistance.
 Antimicrobial treatments
• Animal models are widely used in the tests of new antibiotics, both
for studies of efficacy as well as for toxicity.
• Usually the more simple screening test such as the mouse peritonitis
model or the mouse thigh model are used for efficacy studies,
because many different bacteria can be tested in a short time.
• For toxicity studies different animal species are needed; for
registration purposes a drug must have been tested on different
species, both small and large.
• Furthermore, depending on the type of drug, specialized conditions
or organ systems need to be surveyed, e.g. possible teratogenic side
effects, or toxicity studies on cartilage or bone structures.
 Antibiotic prophylaxis

• Antibiotic prophylaxis for surgical procedures as sutures, implantation

of various foreign bodies and various kinds of bacterial challenge are
studied in a number of different models
• The importance of defining the concentration of various drugs
needed for how long at the infectious site to prevent various
infections can be studied in most models.
 Vaccine development
• The use of animal models in the development of bacterial vaccines
aims at finding epitopes inducing protective neutralizing antibodies or
inducing specific cytotoxic effects.