Translational Rodent Models for Research on Parasitic Protozoa-A Review of Confounders and Possibilities.

ABSTRACT: Rodents, in particular Mus musculus, have a long and invaluable history as models for human diseases in biomedical research, although their translational value has been challenged in a number of cases. We provide some examples in which rodents have been suboptimal as models for human biology and discuss confounders which influence experiments and may explain some of the misleading results. Infections of rodents with protozoan parasites are no exception in requiring close consideration upon model choice. We focus on the significant differences between inbred, outbred and wild animals, and the importance of factors such as microbiota, which are gaining attention as crucial variables in infection experiments. Frequently, mouse or rat models are chosen for convenience, e.g., availabilit

SUBMITTER: Ehret T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5461347 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature