Review of Animal Models to Study Urinary Bladder Function

Abstract

The urinary bladder (UB) serves as a storage and elimination organ for urine. UB dysfunction can cause multiple symptoms of failure to store urine or empty the bladder, e.g., incontinence, frequent urination, and urinary retention. Treatment of these symptoms requires knowledge on bladder function, which involves physiology, pathology, and even psychology. There is no ideal animal model for the study of UB function to understand and treat associated disorders, as the complexity in humans differs from that of other species. However, several animal models are available to study a variety of other bladder disorders. Such models include animals from rodents to nonhuman primates, such as mice, rats, rabbits, felines, canines, pigs, and mini pigs. For incontinence, vaginal distention might mimic birth trauma and can be measured based on leak point pressure. Using peripheral and central models, inflammation, bladder outlet obstruction, and genetic models facilitated the study of overactive bladder. However, the larger the animal model, the more difficult the study is, due to the associated animal ethics issues, laboratory facility, and budget. This review aims at facilitating adapted animal models to study bladder function according to facility, priority, and disease.

Establishment of an overactive bladder model in mice

“…The overactive bladder is an important part of urological research. Although cell biology and molecular biology have developed rapidly [ 16 , 17 ], the use of animal models to observe the biological activities and overall status of the body is necessary [ 18 ]. Rodent models are important for studying bladder physiology and pathophysiology [ 19 ].…”

Functional and Immunofluorescence Evaluations of Vascular and Neural Integrities in Urinary Bladder of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

“…The pathophysiology of diabetic bladder disease is multifactorial and includes detru-sor, neuronal, urothelial, and urethral disorders [7,26]. Several animal models, including mice, rats, rabbits, cats, canines, pigs, and minipigs, have been devised to study bladder diseases [27]. However, few studies have guided clinical practice for DBD management, and larger animal models are less available due to ethical issues, laboratory facility requirements, and cost constraints [27], and thus, mice provide near ideal experimental animal models [28].…”

“…Several animal models, including mice, rats, rabbits, cats, canines, pigs, and minipigs, have been devised to study bladder diseases [27]. However, few studies have guided clinical practice for DBD management, and larger animal models are less available due to ethical issues, laboratory facility requirements, and cost constraints [27], and thus, mice provide near ideal experimental animal models [28]. In addition, mice can be genetically manipulated to mimic almost any human disease or condition, which simplifies obtaining useful data for studies on human disease mechanisms [29].…”

Mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in treating overactive bladder

“…Legal, ethical and moral constraints make it difficult to use human tissue for scientific research, and existing treatment guidelines are limited to alleviating symptoms. The application of the animal model in basic research is ethical and plays an important role in the connection between basic experiment and clinic [ 15 ]. Although there is no ideal animal model that can fully simulate OAB, we can use animal models of detrusor overactivity (DO) or bladder overactivity to further our understanding of the pathophysiology of OAB and to search for potential treatment options [ 16 ].…”