Murine models of intestinal inflammation have been widely used in biomedical research. Similarities in anatomy and physiology between such murine models and patients with inflammatory bowel diseases may allow a better understanding of the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Additionally, models of intestinal inflammation may be used for the analysis of potentially new therapeutic agents. One key class of models consists of chemically induced inflammation models. Within this group, colitis induced by the haptenizing agent oxazolone is an important model that results in induction of acute or chronic inflammation of the large bowel. Here, we describe the induction and the analysis of this experimental colitis model.
Keywords: Experimental colitis models; Inflammatory bowel disease; Intestinal mucosa; Oxazolone; Ulcerative colitis.