Table 1.

Advantages and disadvantages of T2-driven asthma mouse models.

Mouse model	Advantages	Disadvantages
OVA models	High efficiency, reproducibility, low cost Well-characterized MHCI and MHCII epitopes OT1 and OT2 T-cell receptor transgenic mice can be used to study OVA-specific immune responses in the airways	Adjuvants are needed for sensitization Provides good mechanistic insights, but no clinical relevance
Aeroallergen models	Do not need adjuvants Mimic natural exposure to airborne allergens via nasal mucosa and airway tract	Need several consecutive applications of allergens Amount of allergen exposure might not reflect natural exposure of patients
Epicutaneous sensitization models	Allow studies on atopic march Mimics physiologic condition of repeated skin exposures to allergens	Needs intradermal applications of allergen or damaged skin barrier
Chronic models of asthma	Allows the study of a chronic phenotype as frequently observed in asthma patients Allows to investigate lung tissue remodeling	Longer duration of experiments with frequent allergen applications Risk of tolerance induction
Transgenic models	Allows evaluating the role of particular cells, receptors or mediators in asthma pathophysiology Helps evaluating disease development/progression	The genetic modification can affect other phenotypes in the model Challenges in translating murine biology in human biology
Humanized models	Help to mitigate the inherent differences between mouse and humans that limit translation of the findings	Paucity of humanized mouse models for asthma research Anatomical discrepancies between mice and humans (e.g., lung anatomy, cell composition in the airways)