title: Experimental models of hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
abstract: Experimental models of hypersensitivity pneumonitis are important tools for the study of the pathogenesis of this disease. In this paper we review the characteristics of the main animal models developed until now. The HP models in rats seem to be particularly appropriate for studying pigeon fancier's disease and the HP induced by chemicals, as well as for studying mediators of acute lesions induced by immunocomplexes. However, the HP models developed in rats are of less value in the evaluation of other aspects of the pathogenesis of this clinical entity in humans. The murine models of HP offer several advantages: the ease and simplicity of intranasal administration, the ability to produce acute and subacute pulmonary lesions similar to those found in humans, the possibility of reproducing lesions similar to those of nonaffected exposed subjects and the possibility of pharmacologically modulating the process. Their disadvantages lie in the different pulmonary lymphocyte response and the difficulty in reproducing a model of chronic fibrosis. The HP models in rabbits are extraordinarily useful for evaluating the immunological mechanisms through which subjects repeatedly exposed to the antigen do not develop clinical manifestations. However, the rabbit has several immunological differences when compared to humans, and the effect of some immunomodulators in this animal is different. The models of HP in guinea-pigs have as advantages the ease in handling the animals, the possibility of pharmacological manipulation, and the ability to induce an acute phase that is very similar to that observed in humans. The drawback, however, is the low lymphocyte response and the striking eosinophilic reaction that contrast with the bronchoalveolar data found in HP in humans. In conclusion, there is no ideal model to reproduce all the findings observed in humans, suggesting that the experimental animal and the method of developing HP should be selected on the basis of concrete research aims.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pérez Arellano
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Barrios González
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Martín Domínguez
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Sánchez Benítez de Soto
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jiménez López
mesh_terms: D000542:Alveolitis, Extrinsic Allergic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens; D001716:Bird Fancier's Lung / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D002417:Cattle; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D011323:Primates; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D013045:Species Specificity; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens