Introduction to Animal Models of Crohn’s Disease

Animal models of Crohn’s disease are essential tools for mimicking the pathological hallmarks of human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Preclinical studies typically induce disease through chemical agents—such as TNBS or DSS, which elicit transmural inflammation—genetic engineering—for example, IL‑10 knockout mice—or adoptive transfer of immune cells. These models faithfully recapitulate key features of Crohn’s disease, including disruption of the intestinal mucosal barrier, transmural inflammation, non-caseating granulomas, and “skip” lesions, making them indispensable in vivo platforms for investigating dysregulated intestinal immune tolerance, microbial dysbiosis, and for screening targeted therapeutics.

Advantages of the Aniphe Biolaboratory's Disease Animal Model Platform Services

Aniphe BioLab’s Crohn’s disease animal model platform boasts extensive expertise in inflammatory bowel disease modeling and pharmacological efficacy evaluation, offering a range of Crohn’s disease models and end-to-end research services to support both mechanistic studies and the development of innovative therapeutics.

	A wide variety of models to choose from It supports multiple Crohn’s disease models, including IL-10 gene knockout.
	Modeling is stable and reliable. Standardized modeling workflow, high model success rate, and excellent consistency in inflammatory phenotypes.
	Comprehensive evaluation metrics It encompasses changes in body weight, DAI scores, histopathological assessments, and measurements of inflammatory cytokines.
	Refinement of pharmacological studies Supports research on small-molecule drugs, antibody therapeutics, cell-based therapies, and microbiome modulation.
	The testing platform is fully equipped. It enables multi-dimensional analyses, including HE, IHC, ELISA, qPCR, and flow cytometry.

Modeling cycle	4–16 weeks
Laboratory animals	IL-10⁻/⁻ mice
Positive drug	Anti–IL-12p40 antibodies, probiotics (such as certain Lactobacillus strains), anti–TNF-α antibodies, and others.
Application areas	Investigates microbe-driven intestinal inflammation, host–microbiota interaction mechanisms, and immune-modulatory therapeutic strategies.

Construction of an Animal Model of Crohn’s Disease

The IL‑10 gene‑knockout (IL‑10 KO) mouse model of Crohn’s disease is generated by using genetic engineering to delete the IL‑10 gene, an anti‑inflammatory cytokine, in mice. This deletion impairs the host’s immune regulatory functions, leading to the spontaneous development of chronic intestinal inflammation. Under specific pathogen‑free conditions or standard housing, these animals gradually exhibit colonic and ileal inflammation, characterized by weight loss, diarrhea, thickening of the intestinal wall, inflammatory cell infiltration, and mucosal damage. This model effectively recapitulates the persistent intestinal inflammation and immune dysregulation observed in Crohn’s disease, making it widely applicable for investigating the pathogenic mechanisms of inflammatory bowel diseases and for evaluating the efficacy of anti‑inflammatory drugs, biologics, and gut microbiota‑based therapeutic strategies.