Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine. The major types are Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn’s Disease (CD). Human IBD is a chronic remitting/relapsing inflammatory condition of unknown origin that affects an estimated 3-4 million patients in Europe and the U.S.

The disease is characterized by infiltration of inflammatory cells into the mucosa of the digestive tract. UC and CD are distinguished by location and nature of the inflammation.

UC: continuous superficial mucosal inflammation almost exclusively restricted to the colon.

CD: discontinuous inflammation in any part of the digestive system (primarily the ileum of the Small Intestine and/or the colon) that extends deeply into the layers of the intestine wall. Most commonly CD affects the last part of the Small Intestine (terminal ileum) and parts of the large intestine. (CD is also referred to as granulomatous enteritis, enteritis or colitis).

WBI IBD Rodent Models

Animal models have proven to be useful in displaying conditions of intestinal inflammation in the Small Intestine and colon for both CD and UC that resemble important immunological and histopathological aspects of human IBD.

The following rodent models of IBD are available at WBI:

The WBI Models for IBD may be run as prophylactic or therapeutic studies.

Positive controls include sulfasalazine, prednisolone and Enbrel (etanercept).

A Custom Protocol is designed for a study to meet Sponsor’s requirements for dosing regimen and choice of deliverables.

Deliverables:

Blood (serum or plasma)
Disease scores, organ length and weight (colon or small intestine depending on model)
Final Report includes all materials, procedures, clinical scores of disease severity, body weights and statistical analysis of readouts.
Histopathology scoring of collected tissue (colon or small intestine), blocks and slides and photomicrographs.