1. 'SMASH' recommendations for standardised microscopic arthritis scoring of histological sections from inflammatory arthritis animal models
- Author
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Marije I. Koenders, Christina Geka, Nina Woodworth, Marietta Armaka, Birgit Niederreiter, Stephan Blüml, Margriet J. Vervoordeldonk, Anita Fischer, Maria C Denis, Johan Bäcklund, George Kollias, Rikard Holmdahl, Markus H. Hoffmann, Florence Apparailly, Kutty Selva Nandakumar, Silvia Hayer, Cellules Souches, Plasticité Cellulaire, Médecine Régénératrice et Immunothérapies (IRMB), and Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Montpellier] (CHRU Montpellier)
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,rheumatoid ,experimental ,Inflammatory arthritis ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Immunology ,Arthritis ,Mice, Transgenic ,Bioinformatics ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,Arthritis, Rheumatoid ,03 medical and health sciences ,Preclinical research ,Psoriatic arthritis ,Mice ,0302 clinical medicine ,Rheumatology ,Synovitis ,medicine ,Immunology and Allergy ,Animals ,Humans ,Cartilage damage ,030203 arthritis & rheumatology ,Task force ,business.industry ,Reproducibility of Results ,Recommendation ,medicine.disease ,Arthritis, Experimental ,3. Good health ,Rats ,Disease Models, Animal ,030104 developmental biology ,arthritis ,Rheumatoid arthritis ,psoriatic ,business ,synovitis - Abstract
Animal models for inflammatory arthritides such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis are widely accepted and frequently used to identify pathological mechanisms and validate novel therapeutic strategies. Unfortunately, many publications reporting on these animal studies lack detailed description and appropriate assessment of the distinct histopathological features of arthritis: joint inflammation, cartilage damage and bone erosion. Therefore, the European consortium BeTheCure, consisting of 38 academic and industrial partners from 15 countries, set as goal to standardise the histological evaluation of joint sections from animal models of inflammatory arthritis. The consensual approach of a task force including 16 academic and industrial scientists as well as laboratory technicians has resulted in the development of the Standardised Microscopic Arthritis Scoring of Histological sections (‘SMASH’) recommendations for a standardised processing and microscopic scoring of the characteristic histopathological features of arthritis, exemplified by four different rodent models for arthritis: murine collagen-induced arthritis, collagen–antibody-induced arthritis, human tumour necrosis factor transgenic Tg197 mice and rat pristane-induced arthritis, applicable to any other inflammatory arthritis model. Through standardisation, the SMASH recommendations are designed to improve and maximise the information derived from in vivo arthritis experiments and to promote reproducibility and transparent reporting on such studies. In this manuscript, we will discuss and provide recommendations for analysis of histological joint sections: identification of the regions of interest, sample preparation, staining procedures and quantitative scoring methods. In conclusion, awareness of the different features of the arthritis pathology in animal models of inflammatory arthritis is of utmost importance for reliable research outcome, and the standardised histological processing and scoring methods in these SMASH recommendations will help increase uniformity and reproducibility in preclinical research on inflammatory arthritis.
- Published
- 2021
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