The Transferrin Receptor CD71 Delineates Functionally Distinct Airway Macrophage Subsets during Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating progressive disease with limited therapeutic options. Airway macrophages (AMs) are key components of the defense of the airways and are implicated in the pathogenesis of IPF. Alterations in iron metabolism have been described during fibrotic lung disease and in murine models of lung fibrosis.

Collagen II antibody-induced arthritis in Tg1278TNFko mice: optimization of a novel model to assess treatments targeting human TNFα in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Novel molecules that specifically target human TNFα in rheumatoid arthritis pose problems for preclinical assessment of efficacy. In this study collagen antibody-induced arthritis (CAIA) has been induced in human TNFα transgenic mice to provide a novel model that has been optimised for the evaluation of molecules targeting human TNFα.

Methods: Tg1278TNFko mice lack murine TNFα and are heterozygous for multiple copies of the human TNFα transgene that is expressed under normal physiological control.