Biozzi mice: Of mice and human neurological diseases

In 1972 Guido Biozzi selectively bred mice to study the immunopathological mechanisms underlying polygenic diseases. One line, the Biozzi antibody high (AB/H) mouse (now designated the ABH strain) was later found to be highly susceptible to many experimentally induced diseases such as autoimmune encephalomyelitis, autoimmune neuritis, autoimmune uveitis, as well as virus-induced demyelination and has thus been a key mouse strain to study human inflammatory neurological diseases. In this paper we discuss the background of the Biozzi ABH mouse and review how studies with these mice have shed light on the pathogenic mechanisms operating in chronic neurological disease.