18 – Role of Animal Models in the Study of Rheumatoid Arthritis: an Overview

摘要: This chapter reviews the use of animal models in study rheumatoid arthritis (RA), including a glimpse direction that new model studies are taking. The identification an is representative human RA critical to further understanding disease pathophysiology and identifying strategies for its treatment. Numerous experimentally induced models, ranging from adjuvant streptococcal cell wall rat murine collagen-induced antigen-induced arthritis, have been characterized with hope reproducing clinical as means this several different viewpoints. From pharmacologist's perspective, predictive key characterizing therapeutic modalities well future drug discovery strategies. Animal enable aspects be evaluated under tightly controlled conditions using significant number subjects, which turn allows side-by-side comparisons multiple variables. ease tissue sampling enables variables at molecular, cellular, levels evaluated. provides starting point potential trials.