Animal models of human pneumonia

Abstract

Pneumonia is a medical and public health priority, and advances against this disease will require improved knowledge of biological mechanisms. Human pneumonia is modeled with experimental infections of animals, most frequently mice. Mouse models are leading to important discoveries relevant to pneumonia, but their limitations must be carefully considered. Several approaches to establishing pneumonia in mice have been developed, and each has specific strengths and weaknesses. Similarly, procedures for characterizing microbial and host responses to infection have unique advantages and disadvantages. Mice are not small humans, and the applicability of results from murine models to human disease depends on understanding the similarities and differences between species. Additional considerations such as mouse strain, microbe strain, and prior mouse-microbe interactions also influence the design and interpretation of experiments. Results from studies of pneumonia in animals, combined with complementary basic and translational studies, are elucidating mechanisms responsible for susceptibility to and pathophysiology of lung infection.

Extracellular Superoxide Dismutase in Macrophages Augments Bacterial Killing by Promoting Phagocytosis

“…[1][2][3] In the lung, alveolar macrophages and neutrophils are phagocytic inflammatory cells that have a central role in the elimination of bacterial infections. As the first line of defense, macrophages and neutrophils produce potent molecules such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proteases in an attempt to eliminate microbes.…”

Studies on cell junctions in an ex vivo human lung infection model

“…Mice and humans differ in many important issues relevant to lung infection, e.g. differences in structural anatomy and cellular composition of the murine respiratory tract [258,259].…”

N-terminal PEGylation of human serum albumin and investigation of its pharmacokinetics and pulmonary microvascular retention

“…The increment of endothelial permeability is an indicator of lung injury in murine models (19). In this study, vascular permeability of native and PEGylated HSA was evaluated using a LPS-induced acute lung injury model.…”