Mori M, Hattori A, Sawaki M, Tsuzuki N, Sawada N, Oyamada M, Sugawara N, Enomoto K
Department of Pathology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Japan.
Am J Pathol. 1994 Jan;144(1):200-4.
The LEC rat is an inbred mutant strain with spontaneous hepatitis isolated from Long-Evans rats. Since approximately 40% of LEC rats die of fulminant hepatitis, the rat serves an animal model for studying the pathogenesis and treatment of human fulminant hepatitis. The remaining 60% of LEC rats survive and develop chronic (prolonged) hepatitis and subsequently develop liver cancer. Therefore, the LEC rat serves an important animal model for studying the significance of chronic hepatitis in the development of human liver cancer, which often develops in association with chronic hepatitis. The LEC rat can also be used as an animal model of Wilson's disease, since recent studies have disclosed high copper accumulation in the liver and low ceruloplasmin concentration in the serum of this mutant rat.
LEC大鼠是从Long-Evans大鼠中分离出的一种患有自发性肝炎的近交突变品系。由于约40%的LEC大鼠死于暴发性肝炎，该大鼠可作为研究人类暴发性肝炎发病机制和治疗方法的动物模型。其余60%的LEC大鼠存活下来并发展为慢性（持续性）肝炎，随后发展为肝癌。因此，LEC大鼠是研究慢性肝炎在人类肝癌发生过程中意义的重要动物模型，人类肝癌常与慢性肝炎相关联。LEC大鼠也可作为威尔逊病的动物模型，因为最近的研究发现这种突变大鼠肝脏中铜蓄积量高，血清中铜蓝蛋白浓度低。
