Advances in the Application of Mouse Models to Study Digestive Mucosal Immunity and Infectious Diseases

Abstract

The host digestive tract comprises trillions of commensal microbes, collectively called microbiota. These microbes interact with a various host cell types and have a significant impact on health and disease. High-throughput sequencing technologies have accelerated the identification of numerous poorly studied microbes associated with health and disease. Genetic and humanized mouse models with and without environmental exposure were established to study the roles of these microbes in human physiologies and pathologies. Important findings related to the microbiota, mucosal immunity, and infectious diseases in mouse models are summarized. Furthermore, challenges and opportunities in leveraging genetic approaches and environmental exposure to optimize mouse models are discussed.

Keywords

• mouse model
• microbiota
• host-microbial interactions
• mucosal immunity
• infectious disease