Animal models of rheumatoid arthritis

Animal models have been used extensively in studies of rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis. Despite the inherent limitations of all animal models, several rodent models have significantly progressed our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underpinning rheumatoid arthritis and contributed to several current major advances in treatment. These models include the induced arthritis models such as collagen-induced arthritis, collagen-antibody-induced arthritis, zymosan-induced arthritis, and the methylated BSA model, and the genetically manipulated or spontaneous arthritis models such as the TNF-alpha-transgenic mouse, K/BxN mouse, and the Skg mouse. Here, we describe these animal models and discuss their advantages and limitations.