Studies in murine experimental models have made significant contributions to the understanding of asthma pathophysiology and the discovery of innovative therapeutic approaches. Nonetheless, there is a plethora of options available for selecting mouse strains, sensitization methods, challenge routes and doses, as well as approaches to evaluating host response in murine asthma model protocols. Due to the diversity of models employed, comparing results across different studies proves exceedingly challenging. The study conducted a search of pertinent PubMed articles from 2022 to April 15th, 2024. After relevant publications had been selected, the characteristics of each study were extracted, including animal strains, animal sex, sensitization methods, challenge methods, and reported outcome measures. The modeling parameters of Ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma model, and House Dust Mite-induced asthma model were analyzed. Additionally, we extracted data on the dose of OVA sensitization, alum administration, challenge OVA dose, and alum/sensitization OVA ratio from seven included studies. Subsequently, we conducted an analysis to determine the correlation between each of these factors and the lung resistance index (RI). This study presents an overview of the current mouse asthma models, offering valuable methodological guidance for researchers. Furthermore, this study highlights that certain parameters like sensitization dose, challenge dose, and so on, exert specific effects on the asthma lung resistance. However, there is a lack of standardized criteria and guidelines in this regard. The effects and underlying mechanisms of parameters on asthma responses remain unclear, necessitating further investigation into model parameters.
Keywords: Asthma; allergy; animal models; methodology; mice.
Researchers have gained a wealth of knowledge about asthma through mouse studies, but the various methods used to establish asthma models make it difficult to compare results. We examined researches from 2022 to 2024 and reviewed different mouse asthma models in order to understand how factors such as the type of mouse, allergen exposure method, and dosage can impact study outcomes. Common models were analyzed, including those using egg protein (OVA) or house dust mite (HDM) as triggers for asthma. The study revealed that details like allergen dosage and exposure method can significantly influence results, making comparisons between studies challenging. This highlights the need for greater standardization in these models to improve our understanding of asthma and test new treatments.