Air-Pouch Models of Inflammation and Modifications for the Study of Granuloma-Mediated Cartilage Degradation

Animal models are essential for the study of the pathophysiological basis of disease this particularly holds true for the study of inflammation and inflammatory disease. The inflammatory response in vivo involves multiple interactions between signaling pathways which have developed a high degree of redundancy and synergy. Although it is possible to dissect individual inflammatory events in detail with in vitro studies, the interactions involved in the inflammatory response in vivo are difficult to simulate in vitro. The complex etiology of inflammatory disease has led to the development of many different models of both acute and chronic inflammation that have distinct advantages and limitations (1 ).