TY - JOUR
KW - Animals
KW - Biomedical Research
KW - Computer Simulation
KW - Disease Models, Animal
KW - Estrus
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Mice
KW - microbiota
KW - Models, Animal
KW - Rabbits
KW - Rats
KW - Sheep
KW - Species Specificity
KW - Swine
KW - Swine, Miniature
KW - Vagina
KW - Vaginal Diseases
KW - Vaginal microbiome
KW - Vaginal tissue model
AU - Jennifer M. McCracken
AU - Gisele A. Calderon
AU - Andrew J. Robinson
AU - Courtney N. Sullivan
AU - Elizabeth Cosgriff-Hernandez
AU - Julie C. E. Hakim
AB - While developments in gynecologic health research continue advancing, relatively few groups specifically focus on vaginal tissue research for areas like wound healing, device development, and/or drug toxicity. Currently, there is no standardized animal or tissue model that mimics the full complexity of the human vagina. Certain practical factors such as appropriate size and anatomy, costs, and tissue environment vary across species and moreover fail to emulate all aspects of the human vagina. Thus, investigators are tasked with compromising specific properties of the vaginal environment as it relates to human physiology to suit their particular scientific question. Our review aims to facilitate the appropriate selection of a model aptly addressing a particular study by discussing pertinent vaginal characteristics of conventional animal and tissue models. In this review, we first cover common laboratory animals studied in vaginal research-mouse, rat, rabbit, minipig, and sheep-as well as human, with respect to the estrus cycle and related hormones, basic reproductive anatomy, the composition of vaginal layers, developmental epithelial origin, and microflora. In light of these relevant comparative metrics, we discuss potential selection criteria for choosing an appropriate animal vaginal model. Finally, we allude to the exciting prospects of increasing biomimicry for in vitro applications to provide a framework for investigators to model, interpret, and predict human vaginal health.
BT - Reproductive Sciences
DA - 2021-06
DO - 10.1007/s43032-021-00529-y
IS - 6
LA - eng
N2 - While developments in gynecologic health research continue advancing, relatively few groups specifically focus on vaginal tissue research for areas like wound healing, device development, and/or drug toxicity. Currently, there is no standardized animal or tissue model that mimics the full complexity of the human vagina. Certain practical factors such as appropriate size and anatomy, costs, and tissue environment vary across species and moreover fail to emulate all aspects of the human vagina. Thus, investigators are tasked with compromising specific properties of the vaginal environment as it relates to human physiology to suit their particular scientific question. Our review aims to facilitate the appropriate selection of a model aptly addressing a particular study by discussing pertinent vaginal characteristics of conventional animal and tissue models. In this review, we first cover common laboratory animals studied in vaginal research-mouse, rat, rabbit, minipig, and sheep-as well as human, with respect to the estrus cycle and related hormones, basic reproductive anatomy, the composition of vaginal layers, developmental epithelial origin, and microflora. In light of these relevant comparative metrics, we discuss potential selection criteria for choosing an appropriate animal vaginal model. Finally, we allude to the exciting prospects of increasing biomimicry for in vitro applications to provide a framework for investigators to model, interpret, and predict human vaginal health.
PY - 2021
SP - 1759
EP - 1773
ST - Animal Models and Alternatives in Vaginal Research
T2 - Reproductive Sciences
TI - Animal Models and Alternatives in Vaginal Research: a Comparative Review
VL - 28
SN - 1933-7205
ER -