Mice as an Experimental Model to Understand the Pathobiology of Diseases

Abstract

Murine models are widely used in scientific research because they share many genetic similarities with humans, making them a valuable tool for studying various diseases. C57BL/6 is an experimental mouse model to study the demyelination and inflammation aetiology of multiple sclerosis (MS). Intracranial inoculation of neurotropic murine β-coronavirus strain of mouse hepatitis virus in C57BL/6 mice induces demyelination with or without axonal loss, providing many insights regarding the mechanism of MS as well as SARS-CoV-2-mediated pulmonary and neuropathology in humans. By selectively using knockout mice in the wild-type C57BL/6 background, researchers can gain insights into the immunomodulatory nexus and can identify pathways involved in immune regulation which further can be efficiently studied with CD4−/−, CD40−/−, and CD40L−/− mice. In addition, C57BL/6 mice can also be used to generate syngeneic mouse models to investigate the aetiology and mechanism of various cancers, including ovarian cancer. Similarly, along with C57BL/6 mice, different immunocompromised mice models, such as nude mice, SCID mice, and NOD/SCID mice, can be used to study the aetiology, host-tumour interaction, function of the microenvironment, and tumour heterogeneity in tumour metastasis.