Animal Models of Human Pathology 2014

In this special issue we gather together 23 articles (15 reviews, 7 research articles, and 1 methodology report) with diverse information presently available on animal models of human disease. The use of animal for studying human diseases, from the pathogenesis to the clinical aspects of diagnosis and therapy, has always been a very useful tool and indeed, has contributed enormously to our understanding of the mechanisms of diseases and to the development of numerous drugs. The 15 comprehensive reviews critically inform the reader of the latest developments in the animal models of diseases such as Parkinson (Blesa et al.), glaucoma (Bouhenni et al.), dermatophytoses (Shimamura et al.), colitis (Perse and Cerar), HCV infections (Carcamo and Nguyen), Glo-merulonephritis (Urushihara et al.), and posterior circulation stroke (Lekic and Ani). Moreover, Underbayev et al. provide a clear and concise review on the applications of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) for human disease mouse mod-eling, focusing on the use of microRNA manipulation in the generation and differentiation of iPS. Goldsmith and Jobin propose the use of zebrafish model to study human disease. Moro and colleagues review the significance of mouse models in the study of human cancer progression with particular emphasis on the possible application of patient-derived xenograft in the evaluation of chemoresistance, while Mendes-Braz et al. review the mechanisms of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury in animal models, and its translation to the clinical practice. Greco et al. describe the basic principles of high resolution imaging ultrasound equipment and the most important applications in preclinical studies, Li et al. examine different MRI sequences to explore a murine model of intracerebral hemorrhage, whereas Gargiulo et al. provide a review of the use of PET/CT for examining mouse models of myocardial ischemia and Sergi et al. propose an important role of hepatocellular to cholangiocytic metapla-sia (as expressed by switch in keratin expression) in the causation of liver graft dysfunction (including cholestasis) in case of ischemia/reperfusion injury, based on personal observations and evidence from the literature. Di Domenico et al. present an exhaustive analysis of the role played by the vascular endothelial growth factor and some cytokines in periodontal ligament remodeling and bone resorption at the pressure side of orthodontic tooth movement. The research articles deal with the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of a particular disease. Vitale et al. report synaptic differences between wild-type and FDDki mice, essentially in the expression levels of selected proteins, in …