Recent advances in the management of autoimmune myocarditis: insights from animal studies

A growing body of evidence has been accumulating to demonstrate that human myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy involve a complex interaction with autoimmunity triggered by cardiotropic microbial infections. Animal experiments have provided direct evidence that infections with a particular microbe can incite autoimmune myocarditis, and this autoimmune response can be mimicked by immunization with the cardiac autoantigen, α- myosin. Animal models greatly advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of myocarditis, and various novel therapeutic strategies have been reported during the last two decades. In this review we present animal models of autoimmune myocarditis and describe the outlook of possible drug targets by showing the latest findings from animal studies.