Unconventional animal models: a booster for new advances in host—pathogen interactions

Circadian Control of Antibacterial Immunity: Findings from Animal Models

“…Animals often serve, therefore, as models in immunology in order to investigate pathogenesis relating to bacterial infection. In addition, they are also used to explore host defense mechanisms in response to infection (Conti et al, 2014 ). Animals are also subject to transitions between day and night, and their immune systems are shown to adapt to these transitions.…”

Combining Multiple Approaches and Models to Dissect the Genetic Architecture of Resistance to Infections in Fish

“…There are no vaccines against many viral diseases and no vaccine protecting against fish parasites (Collins et al, 2019;Ma et al, 2019). Recent discoveries on probiotics raise hope for beneficial adjustment of gut microbiota, but no such treatment has been fully validated to date (Conti et al, 2014). Hence, genetic selection of fish with improved resistance to the main infectious diseases in a given environment remains a highly sought-after objective in aquaculture (Houston et al, 2020).…”

Optimizing selection of large animals for antibody production by screening immune response to standard vaccines

“…Small animals are much more common, due to their ease of use and the availability of genetic manipulation systems; but large animals including goats, sheep, horses, donkeys and camelids all have distinct advantages. Large animals tend to be better than murine models for diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza, asthma and Crohn’s disease, among others (Conti et al, 2014). Traditionally, horses have been used in the production of antisera for the treatment of various diseases.…”

“…Additionally, with the advent of recombinant single-domain antibodies (termed nanobodies), which are now routinely used in both research and clinical applications, interest in using camelid species for antibody production has climbed sharply (Hamers-Casterman et al, 1993; Harmsen and De Haard, 2007; Muyldermans, 2013; Fridy et al, 2014; Klarenbeek et al, 2015). While large domestic animals are crucial for these reasons, their use is often prohibitive due to the high cost associated with using them, the facilities necessary to house them, and the ethical issues associated with experimentation on large mammals (Hanly et al, 1995; Wilde et al, 1996; Hein and Griebel, 2003; Conti et al, 2014). …”