Animal models of skin disease for drug discovery

“1 Cutaneous wound healing Cutaneous wound healing is a complex multifaceted biological process that involves multiple tissue types influenced by local as well as systemic factors (Figure 6) [116,117].”

“Discrepancies exist in both innate and adaptive immunity, including balance of leukocyte subsets, defensins, Toll receptors, inducible NO synthase, cytokines and cytokine receptors, Th1/Th2 differentiation, Ag-presenting function of endothelial cells, and chemokine and chemokine receptor expression [12].”

“These mice also showed elevated serum levels of IgE and IgG1 and decreased IgG2a [64].”

“Later on in 1982, Ralph Brinster in collaboration with Richard Palmiter inserted the structural gene for human growth hormone into mouse embryos, and noticed that the mice with the foreign gene grew much larger in size than those without the gene and also passed this trait to its offspring (Figure 2) [27].”

“In addition, models of beta cell regeneration and the use of knockout and transgenic models in diabetic wound research are also considered by many researchers [133].”

“Stat3C mice [83], and K14/IL-6 and K14/IL-1atransgenic mice [84].”

“Excessive exposure to solar UVR causes severe acute damages to the skin, which include erythema, sunburn, immunosuppressant, and also long-term effects such as photoaging and skin cancer [150-154].”

“Pig skin is also similar to human skin in its histological and biochemical properties, such as thickness, having follicular structures that extend deeply into the dermis, well-developed rete ridges and dermal papillary bodies, epidermal turnover time, abundant subdermal adipose tissue, vascular anatomy and collagen st…”

“106 An overview of animal models for a wide range of skin conditions, with an emphasis on their application to drug discovery, has been published by Avci et al. 107 Of particular interest are the chimeric models, in which living human skin is grafted on to the skin of severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice.”

“Currently, the primary means of identifying therapeutics for these diseases require the use of animal models (Avci et al., 2013), increasing not only the cost of drug development, but also the cost for consumers.”

“…primates, pigs, dogs, cats, rodents, rabbits and fish, for use in medical research including studies on skin xenotransplan‐ tation, has been a major focus over the past decade (Abdullahi et al., 2014; Avci et al., 2013; Badyal & Desai, 2014; Boneva, Folks, & Chapman, 2001; Ge, Zheng, & Wei, 2009).”

“Nevertheless, mouse in vivo models have been used to greatly expand our current knowledge of the causes, pathogenesis, and treatment of Ps [21,60].”