ABSTRACT
Animal models in dermatological research can serve at least three important purposes: to identify the molecular basis of the disease, to study the pathophysiology of the disease, and to test novel therapies for a disease. This chapter discusses the necessity for all three of these aspects of models. It focuses on the abnormalities related to human hair structure since the salient analytical principles can be discerned without wallowing in a mass of clinical nosology. The pathophysiology responsible for most of the noninfectious diseases affecting human hair and skin are as yet unknown, and animal models can provide a major clue for the basis of such diseases. The chapter discusses mouse hair and skin defects with defined genetic and physiological basis which may be models for human diseases. Two genetically based approaches have been applied to the problem of defining the molecular basis of inherited disorders: positional cloning and transgenic or knockout mouse technology.
