Animal Models of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that begins with severe memory loss, especially episodic memory. Currently, there is no effective treatment for AD, therefore, it is urgent to develop and characterize animal models for translational research and preclinical drug development.

AD and Animal Models

AD, characterized by progressive dementia, is a complex, multifactorial neurodegenerative disease. Typical pathological features of AD include pathological accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) and abnormally phosphorylated tau (accumulating intra-neuronally to form neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs)). Currently, several AD biomarkers have been reported, such as Aβ, phosphorylated, which directly or indirectly reflect the changes of neuropathological criteria for AD.

Different animal models greatly contribute to the basic research, pathological mechanism analysis, and new drug development for AD. These animal models not only provide valuable information on the molecular and cellular basis of AD but also evaluate multiple biomarkers relevant to disease diagnosis and progression, as well as therapeutic efficacy. Moreover, through providing preclinical testing in vivo, animal models allow the integration of brain pathologies with learning and memory deficits that are the first step in developing these new drugs.

Common Animal Models for AD

Scientists have developed many different animal models for the research of AD to advance a better understanding of the disease characteristics, including non-transgenic models and transgenic animals. The animal species varies from rodents (rats, mice, cavia), canine and non-human primate models.

Table.1 Model of Alzheimer’s disease. (Li, 2016)

Animal models of AD can be used to understand the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. Each model has its advantages and disadvantages, so choosing the best-fit animal model is important in the field of neuroscience research. Creative Biolabs provides a variety of antibodies, proteins, agonists/antagonists, toxins against various targets to meet our clients’ requirements. We also provide one-stop customized preclinical animal modeling services to advance the research of AD. If you are interested in our services and products, please do not hesitate to contact us for more detailed information.

Reference

1. Li, X.; et al. Experimental models of Alzheimer's disease for deciphering the pathogenesis and therapeutic screening. International journal of molecular medicine. 2016, 37(2): 271-283.