Animal models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and their role in drug discovery and development: a critical review

Recent advances in animal models include the introduction of transgenic mice with an increased propensity to develop COPD-associated features, such as emphysema, and animals exposed to relevant environmental agents other than cigarette smoke, in particular biomass smoke and other air pollutants. Other animal species, including zebrafish, pigs, ferrets and non-human primates, are also increasingly being used to gain insights into human COPD. Furthermore, three-dimensional organoids and humanized mouse models are emerging as technologies for evaluating novel therapeutics in more human-like models. However, despite these advances, no model has yet fully captured the heterogeneity and progression of COPD as observed in humans. Therefore, further research is needed to develop improved models incorporating humanized elements in experimental animals, that may better predict therapeutic responses in clinic settings and accelerate the development of new treatments for this debilitating disease.