Immunotherapy mouse models for allergic asthma: what are they good for?

Harbers, L.J.W. (2017) Immunotherapy mouse models for allergic asthma: what are they good for? Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.

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Abstract

Allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory system, characterized by airway inflammation, reversible airway obstruction, and hyper-responsiveness of the airways. Current treatment is mainly focused on treating symptoms. Immunotherapy is the only current treatment that is directed at treating the underlying mechanisms of allergic asthma instead of the symptoms. The heterogeneity and complexity of allergic asthma makes the disease difficult to study. To continue studying the mechanisms of allergic asthma animal models are used, mainly mouse models. However, the translation of mouse studies to humans has been shown to be difficult. There have been many promising pre-clinical results, but there has been a lack of new drugs on the market. Therefore, the question rises, what the clinical relevance of immunotherapy mouse models for allergic asthma is. There is not one single protocol which is followed regarding immunotherapy mouse models. There are many variations in the mouse models currently used. There are differences in mouse strain, used allergens, the use of adjuvants, the route of administration of the allergens, and the duration of sensitization and challenge. All these differences in protocol can influence the development of asthmatic symptoms in these models making it hard to compare these studies. Moreover, results have shown that current mouse models severely lack translational efficacy. These results show that the relevance of past years of allergic asthma research regarding mouse models is questionable. Unfortunately, there has not been a new mouse model discovered with a better translational efficacy. Different animal models all have their own limitations. With new advancements in technology coming, there might be new models available in the future. The current mouse models are severely lacking in terms of translation efficacy but even though they lack translation efficacy they are still the best model to do the vast majority of early research. Extrapolating results from these studies to the human disease should be done with great caution.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2018 08:30
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2018 08:30
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/15617

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