EXPERIMENTAL MODELING OF SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS — ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES: LITERATURE REVIEW

Яцишин Р.І., Заяць Л.М., Доскалюк Б.В.

Summary. Objective: to conduct a systematic lite­rature review for analysis of available scienti­fic information about the methods of experimental mode­ling of the diseases of autoimmune origin, particularly systemic sclerosis (SSc). Materials and methods. The selection of scientific sources was performed in accordance with established requirements for a comprehensive lite­rature search, which utilized the following scientific databases: MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and HINARI. The inclusion criteria for the articles were their proper design in the form of original articles or literature reviews and compliance with the used search keywords: «modeling», «systemic sclerosis», «animal mo­dels», «autoimmune pathology»; scientific publications in the form of abstracts or clinical studies involving patients with SSc were excluded from the review. Results. This article presents the results of the analysis of literature sources that correspond to the given topic. A description of five well established techniques for induction of SSc in laboratory animals was presented and their pathogene­tic concepts were analyzed. The article highlights the strengths and limitations each of the models, and outlines the need for their improving to ensure a comprehensive reproduction of the pathogene­tic mechanisms of SSc development. Conclusion. Experimental techniques are not able to fully reproduce the complex pathogenetic processes underlying the SSc. None of the models are without disadvantages, but only through laboratory methods of research, scientists have the exclusive ability to thoroughly analyze a number of vital indicators at various stages of the disease development and to provide a safe search for new potentially effective agents for SSc management.