Oppi Sara, Lüscher Thomas F, Stein Sokrates
Center for Molecular Cardiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Heart Division, Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals and Imperial College, London, United Kingdom.
Front Cardiovasc Med. 2019 Apr 12;6:46. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2019.00046. eCollection 2019.
Atherosclerosis is one of the primary causes of cardiovascular disease and mortality. This chronic immunometabolic disease evolves during decades in humans and encompasses different organs and immune cell types, as well as local and systemic processes that promote the progression of the disease. The most frequently used animal model to study these atherogenic processes and inter-organ crosstalk in a short time frame are genetically modified mouse models. Some models have been used throughout the last decades, and some others been developed recently. These models have important differences in cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism, reverse cholesterol transport pathway, obesity and diabetes as well as inflammatory processes. Therefore, the disease develops and progresses differently in the various mouse models. Since atherosclerosis is a multifaceted disease and many processes contribute to its progression, the choice of the right mouse model is important to study specific aspects of the disease. We will describe the different mouse models and provide a roadmap to facilitate current and future atherosclerosis researchers to choose the right model depending on their scientific question.
动脉粥样硬化是心血管疾病和死亡的主要原因之一。这种慢性免疫代谢疾病在人类中会持续数十年,涉及不同器官和免疫细胞类型,以及促进疾病进展的局部和全身过程。在短时间内研究这些致动脉粥样硬化过程和器官间相互作用最常用的动物模型是基因改造小鼠模型。在过去几十年中使用了一些模型,最近又开发了一些其他模型。这些模型在胆固醇和脂蛋白代谢、胆固醇逆向转运途径、肥胖和糖尿病以及炎症过程方面存在重要差异。因此,该疾病在各种小鼠模型中的发展和进展有所不同。由于动脉粥样硬化是一种多方面的疾病,许多过程都有助于其进展,因此选择合适的小鼠模型对于研究该疾病的特定方面很重要。我们将描述不同的小鼠模型,并提供一个路线图,以帮助当前和未来的动脉粥样硬化研究人员根据他们的科学问题选择合适的模型。