Table 4.
Dry eye animal models.
| Animal models | Type | Species | Procedure | Experimental days | Effects to dry eye examinations | Pros | Cons | References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tear secretion volume | Tear film breakup time | CFS | ||||||||
| Lacrimal gland excision | Aqueous deficiency | C57BL/6 WT mice | Exorbital and intraorbital lacrimal gland excision | 14 days | ↓16.6% | ND | ↑↑↑ | Inducing severe aqueous deficiency model | More surgically invasive | (118) |
| Radiation-induced model | Aqueous deficiency | female New Zealand rabbit | Radiation 15 Gy | 3 days | ↓ | ND | ND | Objective surrogate parameters for radiogenic dysfunction | Requires special radioactive equipment | (30) |
| Drug-induced | Aqueous deficiency | Male New Zealand albino rabbits | 1.0% atropine sulfate eye drop | 2 days | ↓↓ | ND | ↑ | Producing the required symptoms rapidly | Only observed for 5 days, no longer time observation data | (35) |
| Drug-induced | Lacrimal Gland Denervation | Male Sprague-Dawley rats | 192-IgG-saporin was microinjected into the lacrimal gland | 3–4 weeks | No changes | ND | ND | Useful for exploring the mechanism underlying corneal hypoalgesia. | Microsurgery requirements; Normal basal tear production | (36) |
| Autoimmune model | Aqueous deficiency | NOD mice | Derived from the outbred Jcl:ICR line of mice | 10–14 weeks | ↓↓ | 61.43% 1~2 second | ↑ | Ideal model for autoimmune related DED | Discrepancies between preclinical studies and clinical outcomes | (54, 56, 119, 120) |
| Autoimmune model | Aqueous deficiency | MRL/lpr mice | Derived from the MRL/n mouse strain | 16–18 weeks (female) 18–20 (male) |
↓ | ND | ND | A pivotal model for neurological SLE | Lack of data in the literature | (121, 122) |
| Autoimmune model | Aqueous deficiency | Id3-deficient mice | Gene knockout | 8 weeks | ↓ | ND | ND | Ideal primary Sjogren's syndrome model | Technical challenges in gene knockout | (42) |
| Autoimmune model | Aqueous deficiency | IQI/Jic mice | Developed from outbred ICR mice | At least 9 months | ND | ND | ND | Model for secondary Sjogren's syndrome model | The age of onset limited its application | (48, 69) |
| Environmental stress | Evaporative dry eye model | Balb/c male mice | Exposed to an air fan 5 hours a day for 3 days | 3 days | ↓↓↓ | ↓↓↓ | ↑↑↑ | Promising model to study the ocular surface and corneal nerve changes | Only male mice and acute alterations were assessed | (71) |
| Environmental stress | Evaporative dry eye mode | Rabbit | Eyes were held open with an eye specula | 1–3 h | ND | ND | ↑↑ | Simply and short-term to implement | Not suitable for mechanism research | (74) |
| Meibomian gland dysfunction | Evaporative dry eye mode | New Zealand rabbit | Meibomian gland orifices were closed by electrical coagulation or light cautery | 1–14 days | ↓↓↓ (Observed on day 1–3) | ↓ (On day 3, 7, 14) | No difference | Suitable for MGD related dry eye research | Biochemistry and biophysics differences between rabbit and human meibum | (81, 123) |
CFS, corneal fluorescein staining; DED, dry eye disease; ICR, imprinting control region; MGD, meibomian gland dysfunction; ND, not determined; and SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.
↑, increased; ↓, decreased.