What animal model should I use to study necrotizing enterocolitis?

• Published in: Seminars in pediatric surgery Vol. 32; no. 3; p. 151313
• Main Authors: Won, Mitchell M., Mladenov, Georgi D., Raymond, Steven L., Khan, Faraz A., Radulescu, Andrei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.06.2023
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - diagnosis; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - etiology; Enterocolitis, Necrotizing - therapy; Mice; Mouse; Necrotizing enterocolitis; Rat; Rats; Swine; Animal models; VLBW; UVC; Rat; Necrotizing enterocolitis; NICU; IGF-1; NEC; LPS; NF-κB; Mouse; C-section; UAC; Sirt1; TLR4; PN; Rag1
• ISSN: 1055-8586; 1532-9453
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sempedsurg.2023.151313

Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with the statement: “Necrotizing enterocolitis remains the leading cause of gastrointestinal surgical emergency in preterm neonates”. It's been five decades since the first animal models of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) were described. There remains much investigative work to be done on identifying various aspects of NEC, ranging from the underlying mechanisms to treatment modalities. Experimental NEC is mainly focused on a rat, mouse, and piglet models. Our aim is to not only highlight the pros and cons of these three main models, but to also present some of the less-used animal models that have contributed to the body of knowledge about NEC. Choosing an appropriate model is essential to conducting effective research and answering the questions asked. As such, this paper reviews some of the variations that come with each model.