Animal inflammatory bowel disease

Colon inflammation 1. AEA levels are elevated in the colon of DNBS-treated mice and in the colon submucosa of TNBS-treated rats, two animal models of inflammatory bowel diseases, and in the biopsies of patients with ulcerative colitis, to control inflammation 1. Inhibitors of degradation (both FAAH and cellular re-uptake)... 

In conclusion, phytic acid forms soluble complexes with Ca2+ at intestinal pH under a variety of conditions and fails to inhibit Ca2 bioavailability to mice in our experimental system. Despite the hazard in direct extrapolation of results obtained with animals kept on a well-defined dietary regimen to humans consuming a complex diet, many elements of which affect Ca2+ bioavailability, our data demonstrate the need for a reevaluation of the putative antinutritional properties of dietary phytate. Our further contention that adequate levels of dietary phytate may actually be beneficial due to its food preserving properties and its protection against colonic cancer will warrant a prospective epidemiological human study designed to assess the longterm effects of dietary phytate on mineral bioavailability and inflammatory bowel diseases. 

The nonobese diabetic mouse (NOD), as well as the biobreeding (BB) rats are the two rodent models whose diabetes-related immunopathology is considered to be quite similar to that in humans. Studies in these animal models have revealed that autoreactive T cells that mediate islet 8 cell destruction belong to the Thl subset of T cells (produce IL-2 and IFN-7), whereas regulatory T cells are of the Th2 type (produce IL-4 and IL-10). Because Thl and Th2 cells are mutually inhibitory, there have been many trials using IL-4 and/or IL-10 for the prevention of autoimmune disease, like autoimmune diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis (Evans et al., 1996 Boyle et al., 1999), and inflammatory bowel disease (Rogy et al., 2000). 

Interferons are proteins or glycoproteins that are produced either by animal cells or plant cells in response to stimuli or DNA recombinant technology. These drugs are active against malignant neoplasms and have immunomodulating effects. These are useful in chronic hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hairy cell leukemia, myeloid leukemia, follicular lymphoma, carcinoid tumor, multiple myeloma, renal cell carcinoma, multiple sclerosis, chronic granulomatous diseases, blood disorders, common cold, herpes simplex, inflammatory bowel disease, and leishmaniasis. 

Vice versa, the disease may affect the immunogenicity of biopharmaceuticals. For instance, the activated immune system in diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel disease is likely to produce a faster and/or stronger response to biopharmaceuticals. Inasmuch as this applies to patients, the same issue may have relevance for safety testing that is, application of a relevant inflammatory disease model may give greater insight and better predictability than healthy animals do. 

Hoffmann JC, Pawlowski NN, Kuhl AA, Hohne W, Zeitz M. Animal models of inflammatory bowel disease an overview. Pathobiology 2002-2003 70 121-30. 

Other experiments that use antibodies in animal models have shown results similar to those obtained with knockout mice. In disease models of immune diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease, anti-IFNy antibodies alleviate... 

Today, several animal models for psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases are available [149-151], and these should allow investigations to be made of the benefits of targeted therapy approaches in these diseases. 

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20 5n-3) and docosahex-aenoic acid (DHA, 22 6n-3) are n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in fish oil. Supplementation of fish oil or n-3 PUFA such as EPA has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of a series of inflammatory, autoimmune, and atherosclerotic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease (5-8). The blocking of the production of inflammatory mediators such as cytokines and eicosanoids has been suggested as one of the mechanisms that contribute to the beneficial effects of n-3 fatty acids (5-12). The n-3 fatty acids have been shown to decrease TNF-a production in animal and human stodies (8-12), yet the mechanisms remain to be elucidated. 

The use of animal models has added our understanding of various human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), carcinogenesis, tumor biology, and the... 

Unfortunately, the knowledge about the effects of mycotoxin exposure on the human microbiome is still limited and reported studies mainly refer to the role played by intestinal microflora in mycotoxin detoxification in animals. Nonetheless, mycotoxins may actually affect the gut microflora, as some of them exhibit antimicrobial activities in animals. In addition, it has been proven that chronic exposure to low doses of DON may induce a shift towards intestinal aerobic bacteria in pigs. Since the number and composition of intestinal microflora are significantly modified in inflammatory bowel diseases in humans, with an increase in the number of aerobic bacteria and a parallel decrease in the number of anaerobic bacteria, mycotoxin exposure might represent a potential risk factor for chronic intestinal inflammatory diseases. Since data supporting or contrasting these hypothesis are still poor, further studies should be addressed to better understand the role played by mycotoxins in the imbalance of intestinal microflora in humans. 

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