Exploration of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Mice: Chemically Induced Murine Models of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic multifactorial inflammatory disorder characterized by periods of activation and remission of intestinal inflammation, with potentially severe complications, that can lead to mortality. Experimental animal models of intestinal inflammation are crucial for understanding the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), the two major human IBD phenotypes. Animal models have been instrumental in unveiling the molecular background of IBD, and although a single model is not able to capture the complexity of this disease, each of them provided valuable insight into its different aspects. Chemically induced models of intestinal inflammation, mainly dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)- and 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis, are widely used. This article describes DSS- and TNBS-induced colitis models and their relevance to IBD pathophysiology and pre-clinical therapeutic management. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.