Congenital diaphragmatic hernia: comparison of animal models and relevance to the human situation

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) occurs in 1 in 3,000 newborns. Mortality and morbidity are due to the amount of pulmonary hypoplasia (PH), the response on artificial ventilation and the presence of therapy-resistant pulmonary hypertension. The pathogenesis and etiology of CDH and its associated anomalies are still largely unknown despite all research efforts over the past years. Several animal models have been proposed to study CDH. In this review we compare surgical, pharmacological and transgenic models, and discuss their strengths and limitations to study PH.