ABSTRACT
Robust animal models of human disease serve several salutary ends: they allow mechanistic analysis of pathogenesis, permit preclinical testing of proposed therapies, and foster the generation of hypotheses that can be examined for relevance to the corresponding human disease. Animal models come in two overall varieties, spontaneous and induced, both of which have their experimental strengths. Ideally, animal models of a given disease should be available in a variety of species, including the mouse, the premier mammalian species for genetic and immunological manipulation (1), as well as in larger species to facilitate toxicological and physiological studies. The generation of animal model systems that faithfully mimic human diseases, although neither obligatory nor in all cases possible, is one of the surest means of developing treatments and cures.
