Recent Updates in the Animal Models of Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory, autoimmune disease characterized by neuronal demyelination of the Central Nervous System (CNS). It affects more than 2 million people worldwide. Animal models are of great importance in elucidating immune-pathological mechanisms of MS. The three most commonly studied categories of MS animal models are (1) the Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE); (2) chronic demyelinating disease models through virus inoculation known as Theiler's Murine Encephalomyelitis Virus (TMEV) infection and (3) toxin-induced models of demyelination, comprising the focal toxin-induced demyelination by lysolecithin (lysophosphatidylcholine), ethidium bromide, antigalactocerebroside (GaIC) antibody) and systemic toxin-induced demyelination by cuprizone. EAE is a widely accepted animal model that reflects the pathological mechanisms of MS, making it highly useful to analyze new therapeutic approaches. However, TMEV infection and toxin-induced models are most suitable for studying the role of de and remyelination processes and axonal injury or repair in MS. Furthermore, Zebrafish models have also emerged in recent years as novel animal models for MS because of their swift development and controllable genetic manipulations. In a nutshell, despite their limitations, animal models remain the most useful research tools to answer specific research questions related to pathological mechanisms and to validate potential experimental therapies for MS.

Keywords: Animal models, Demyelination, Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, Remyelination, Theiler`s Murine Encephalomyelitis Virus, Zebrafish.