The rabbit as a model to study asthma and other lung diseases

No single animal model is able to reproduce all the features of human asthma. However, the similarities between neonatally immunised rabbits and human asthma highlight the value of this model in the investigation of asthma pathophysiology and in the development of therapeutic agents. Airway inflammation and airway responses to various stimuli including histamine, adenosine 5′monophosphte and antigen in allergic rabbits have shown similarities with the responses observed in asthmatics. Furthermore, functional studies in rabbit airways show they are poorly responsive to capsaicin as are human airways. Chronic pre-treatment with capsaicin desensitises the TRPV1 receptor enabling studies into the effect of this drug in both rabbits and man. The allergic rabbit model has been used extensively in assessing the various classes of anti-asthma drugs and is sensitive to similar drugs as patients with asthma, including β-adrenoceptor agonists, corticosteroids, phosphodiesterase inhibitors and theophylline. This article highlights the usefulness of the rabbit as a species to study lung biology.