Research Advances in Mongolian Gerbil Models of Cerebral Ischemia and Auditory Impairment

Abstract

The Mongolian gerbil currently used as laboratory animals worldwide all originates from China. As early as the 1930s, wild Mongolian gerbils were domesticated and introduced into medical research. Today, they have become recognized multifunctional laboratory animals and are extensively used in various fields such as brain nerve studies, parasitology and microbiology, and oncology, etc. Mongolian gerbils possess unique anatomical characteristics in the basal cerebral arteries, such as a congenital absence of the Willis' circle, making it possible to construct cerebral ischemia or cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury models with simple procedures of unilateral common carotid artery ligation, while also enabling intra-individual control. These anatomical features also increase their sensitivity to cerebral ischemia and make them more prone to cochlear ischemia, therefore playing a crucial role in the preparation of auditory impairment models. The disease progression and pathological manifestations in Mongolian gerbils show many similarities to those observed in human patients. Researchers have successfully used Mongolian gerbils to develop models of cerebral ischemia, cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, cochlear ischemia, cochlear implantation, and sensorineural hearing loss, achieving significant results. This article focuses on the current methods and assessment indicators for constructing Mongolian gerbils models of cerebral ischemia and auditory impairment. It discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various modelling techniques, and explores their application progress, aiming to provide a theoretical basis and reference for the application of Mongolian gerbils in these two important research areas.

Keywords

• mongolian gerbil
• cerebral ischemia model
• auditory impairment model
• willis’ circle