Artlett Carol M
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Open Access Rheumatol. 2014 Jul 1;6:65-81. doi: 10.2147/OARRR.S50009. eCollection 2014.
Without doubt, animal models have provided significant insights into our understanding of the rheumatological diseases; however, no model has accurately replicated all aspects of any autoimmune disease. Recent years have seen a plethora of knockouts and transgenics that have contributed to our knowledge of the initiating events of systemic sclerosis, an autoimmune disease. In this review, the focus is on models of systemic sclerosis and how they have progressed our understanding of fibrosis and vasculopathy, and whether they are relevant to the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis.
毫无疑问，动物模型为我们理解风湿性疾病提供了重要的见解；然而，没有一种模型能准确复制任何自身免疫性疾病的所有方面。近年来，出现了大量的基因敲除和转基因动物模型，这些模型有助于我们了解系统性硬化症（一种自身免疫性疾病）的起始事件。在这篇综述中，重点是系统性硬化症的模型，以及它们如何推动我们对纤维化和血管病变的理解，以及它们是否与系统性硬化症的发病机制相关。
