Animal models to investigate the pathogenesis of rheumatic heart disease

Rush, Catherine M., Govan, Brenda L., Sikder, Suchandan, Williams, Natasha L., and Ketheesan, Natkunam (2014) Animal models to investigate the pathogenesis of rheumatic heart disease. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 2. 116. pp. 1-6.

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Abstract

Rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are sequelae of group A streptococcal (GAS) infection. Although an autoimmune process has long been considered to be responsible for the initiation of RF/RHD, it is only in the last few decades that the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory condition have been unraveled partly due to experimentation on animal models. RF/RHD is a uniquely human condition and modeling this disease in animals is challenging. Antibody and T cell responses to recombinant GAS M protein (rM) and the subsequent interactions with cardiac tissue have been predominantly investigated using a rat autoimmune valvulitis model. In Lewis rats immunized with rM, the development of hallmark histological features akin to RF/RHD, both in the myocardial and in valvular tissue have been reported, with the generation of heart tissue cross-reactive antibodies and T cells. Recently, a Lewis rat model of Sydenham's chorea and related neuropsychiatric disorders has also been described. Rodent models are very useful for assessing disease mechanisms due to the availability of reagents to precisely determine sequential events following infection with GAS or post-challenge with specific proteins and or carbohydrate preparations from GAS. However, studies of cardiac function are more problematic in such models. In this review, a historical overview of animal models previously used and those that are currently available will be discussed in terms of their usefulness in modeling different aspects of the disease process. Ultimately, cardiologists, microbiologists, immunologists, and physiologists may have to resort to diverse models to investigate different aspects of RF/RHD.

Item ID: 37654
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 2296-2360
Copyright Information: © 2014 Rush, Govan, Sikder, Williams and Ketheesan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Funders: National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC)
Projects and Grants: NHMRC grant 1026753
Date Deposited: 04 Mar 2015 02:30
FoR Codes: 11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1108 Medical Microbiology > 110801 Medical Bacteriology @ 100%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9201 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) > 920103 Cardiovascular System and Diseases @ 50%
92 HEALTH > 9201 Clinical Health (Organs, Diseases and Abnormal Conditions) > 920109 Infectious Diseases @ 50%
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