Animal models of inflammatory bowel disease.

In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), experimental models have proven to be important tools for detecting potential therapeutic agents and for investigating the mechanisms of pathogenesis. This review is intended to cover recent advances in basic IBD model applications. The use of more than 20 animal models has allowed the detection of numerous protective pharmacological agents, including a number of immunomodulatory agents that have entered the therapeutic armamentarium. The models have been classified into five main categories based on the methods of induction: gene knockout (KO), transgenic, chemical, adoptive transfer, and spontaneous (each with subcategories).