Experimental Models of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Experimental models of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are indispensable tools for dissecting the complex interplay between genetic susceptibility, mucosal immunity and environmental factors. Chemical‐induced colitis models, including dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS), reproduce key histological and immunological features of human ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, respectively. Genetically engineered mice lacking specific immune regulators or epithelial barrier components have revealed critical signalling pathways that govern intestinal homeostasis. Adoptive transfer of CD4+ T cells into immunodeficient hosts has further elucidated the role of adaptive immunity in sustaining chronic inflammation. Advances in gnotobiotic and microbiota‐associated models have underscored the central contribution of resident bacteria to disease initiation and progression. More recently, three‐dimensional organoid cultures and humanised mouse strains have bridged preclinical findings with patient‐derived phenotypes, enabling personalised investigations of epithelial repair and microbial interactions. Collectively, these diverse approaches provide complementary insights into disease mechanisms and offer platforms for preclinical testing of novel therapeutics, from small‐molecule inhibitors to microbiome‐based interventions. The global burden of IBD has spurred efforts to refine and combine models that capture both acute injury and chronic remodelling, improving translational relevance for drug discovery and biomarker development.

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Experimental Models of Inflammatory Bowel Disease publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in experimental models of inflammatory bowel disease across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS): A chemical irritant in drinking water that induces epithelial damage and innate immune activation, modelling ulcerative colitis.

Trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS): A haptenating agent delivered intrarectally to provoke a Th1-driven response mimicking Crohn’s disease features.

Gnotobiotic: An experimental system in which the microbial composition is known or controlled, often used to study host–microbiota interactions.

Adoptive T-cell transfer: A procedure in which specific T lymphocyte subsets are introduced into immunodeficient mice to induce chronic colitis via adaptive immunity.

Organoids: Three-dimensional epithelial cell cultures derived from patient tissue or stem cells, used to model intestinal barrier function and regeneration ex vivo.

References

1. Gut bacteria exacerbates TNBS-induced colitis and kidney injury through oxidative stress. Redox Biology (2024).
2. Clostridioides difficile aggravates dextran sulfate solution (DSS)-induced colitis by shaping the gut microbiota and promoting neutrophil recruitment. Gut Microbes (2023).
3. Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Review of Pre-Clinical Murine Models of Human Disease. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2022).