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Common Rat Models
Normal Rat Biochemistries
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Summary of Commercially Available Rat Models
The following information has been compiled from vendor
catalogs and websites: Ace,
B&K,
CRL,
Harlan,
HLA,
NIA,
NCI,
PhysioGenix,
RCC,
Rheoscience,
Scanbur,
Simonsen,
Taconic,
and Zivic.
Unless otherwise specified, models are available in
the US.
| Model |
Symbol |
Genome |
Coat Color |
Phenotype/Recommended
Use |
Vendors |
| Athymic Nude |
RNU |
Outbred |
Black, black & white, or albino |
The Athymic Nude rat strain exhibits
deficient T cell activity, with lymph nodes and
Peyer's patches showing lymphocyte depletion in
T-lymphocyte-dependent regions. |
Ace, CRL (US, Europe), Harlan
(Europe), HLA, NCI, Taconic |
| Bio Breeding |
BB |
Inbred |
Albino |
The BB rat is a model of spontaneous
Type I diabetes, with an incidence of approximately
77% (females) and 87% (males) before the age of
120 days. Insulitis is observed in 100% of the diabetic
animals. |
Taconic (Europe) |
| BD Nine |
BDIX |
Inbred |
Agouti |
The BDIX rat is highly susceptible
to the transplacental induction of the malignant
tumors of the central nervous system by ethyl nitrosourea. |
CRL (US, Europe), Harlan (Europe) |
| Borderline Hypertensive Rat |
BHR |
Hybrid |
Albino |
Male Borderline Hypertensive rats
express marginal hypertension (~150 mm Hg) under
normal conditions. When subjected to stress using
a variety of stressors, the male BHR develops severe
hypertension (~190 mm Hg). |
Taconic |
| Brown Norway |
BN |
Inbred |
Non-agouti brown |
The Brown Norway rat can be used
as an allergic respiratory model due to hyperresponsive
lungs. It is possible to chemically-induce several
autoimmune syndromes such as polyarthritis or T
helper cell autoimmunity in the Brown Norway rat
using mercuri chloride or cyclosporin A. The BN/Mol
has proven to be a perfect model for food allergy
and asthma studies. The BN/MolTac is also used as
a model for male reproduction, aging, physiology,
transplantation, immunology, and for studies of
bone marrow cancer and graft versus host diseases.
This model can also be used for oncology, leukemia,
and kidney research. Available as aged, caloric
restricted, or ad libitum fed. |
B&K, CRL (US, Europe, Japan),
Harlan (US, Europe), NIA, Taconic |
| Buffalo |
BUF |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Buffalo rat exhibits spontaneous
tumors of anterior pituitary (30%) and adrenal cortex
(25%) in older animals. |
CRL, Harlan (US, Europe) |
| Copenhagen |
COP |
Inbred |
Brown-hooded |
The Copenhagen rat is a spontaneous
thymus tumor model. |
CRL (US, Europe), Harlan (US,
Europe) |
| Cotton |
COT |
Inbred |
|
The Cotton rat is an excellent
research model for vaccine development. It is highly
susceptible to human infectious agents, including:
Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Herpes Simplex, Parainfluenze,
Monkey Pox, and emerging viruses. Special care and
husbandry is required as they are a very aggressive
model. |
CRL (Europe), Harlan |
| Dahl/Salt Sensitive |
SS |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Dahl/Salt Sensitive inbred
rat exhibits hypertension, diastolic heart failure,
and nephropathy. |
CRL, Harlan |
| Dark Agouti |
DA |
Inbred |
Agouti |
The Dark Agouti rat is widely-used
in transplantation studies and exhibits spontaneous
corneal degeneration. It is susceptible to the induction
of autoimmune thyroiditis and experimental allergic
encephalomyelitis. (Rose, 1975). It also has an
incidence of urinary bladder tumors at 54% in male
and 14% in female with a peak incidence at 25 -
30 months (Deeberg et al, 1985). Defective bile
acid transport occurs in females. (Reichen et al,
1986). This model is susceptible to the induction
arthritis by Mycoplasma arthritis (Binder et al,
1990). |
B&K, Harlan (US, Europe),
Scanbur (Europe), Taconic |
| Diet Induced Obesity |
DIO |
Outbred |
|
The Diet Induced Obesity rat has
the following characteristics: early onset of obesity
on a high fat diet, metabolic syndrome (Syndrome
X), hypertension, dyslipidaemia, impaired glucose
homeostasis, and reduced sensitivity to leptin. |
CRL, Rheoscience |
| Diet Resistant |
DR |
Outbred |
|
The Diet Resistant rat can be
used as an obesity control model, particularly for
the Diet Induced Obesity model. |
CRL, Rheoscience |
| F344BN |
F344BN |
Hybrid |
Non-agouti dark brown |
Available as aged, caloric restricted,
or ad libitum fed. |
Harlan, NIA |
| Fawn Hooded Hypertensive |
FHH |
Inbred |
Fawn-hooded (light brown) |
The Fawn Hooded Hypertensive exhibits
hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, and nephropathy.
It is also used for alcohol research. |
CRL |
| Fischer 344 |
F344 |
Inbred |
|
The Fischer 344 rat is the most
widely used inbred rat strain, particularly for
toxicology and teratology. It is commonly used for
cancer, carcinogen and aging research. It can also
be used in ophthalmology and autoimmune research.
This model has a longer life span, smaller body
size and lower spontaneous tumor rate than non-inbred
rats. It is resistant to development of salt hypotension,
autoimmune thyroiditis, and autoimmune glomerular
nephritis. It has an incidence of nephritis at 21%-30%.
The F344 is susceptible to experimental allergic
encephalomyelitis. Available as aged, caloric restricted,
or ad libitum fed. |
B&K, CRL (US, Europe, Japan),
Harlan (US, Europe), HLA, NCI, NIA, Scanbur (Europe),
Simonsen, Taconic |
| Genetically Hypertensive |
GH |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Genetically Hypertensive rat
exhibits hypertension as well as cardiac hypertrophy
and vascular lesions. |
PhysioGenix |
| Goto-Kakizaki |
GK |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Goto-Kakizaki rat is a non-obese
model of Type II diabetes. It exhibits similar metabolic,
hormonal and vascular disorders to the human diabetes
disease. Characteristics of the Goto-Kakizaki rat
include fasting hyperglycemia, impaired secretion
of insulin in response to glucose both in vivo and
in isolated pancreatic cells, hepatic and peripheral
insulin resistance. Late complications such as retinopathy,
microangiopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy have
been described in literature. |
CRL (Japan), Taconic (US, Europe) |
| HLA-B27 |
HLA-B27 |
Transgenic |
|
The HLA-B27 transgenic rat, expressing
HLA-B27 and human ß2m, exhibits a phenotype similar
to humans suffering B27 related rheumatic disorders
such as reactive arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis,
psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. This rat
model is useful for research and pharmacological
studies of spontaneous systemic inflammation, arthritis,
inflammatory bowel disease and skin diseases including
psoriasis and alopecia. |
Taconic |
| Russell |
JCR |
Outbred |
|
The JCR rat exhibits the following
characteristics: cardiovascular plaque formation,
myocardial infarction, atherosclerotic lesions,
ischemic lesions, obesity, wound healing, and nephropathy. |
CRL |
| Lewis |
LEW |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Lewis rat is commonly used
for immunological studies and to produce autoimmune
models. It is also used in diabetes research due
to its high susceptibility for induction of Type
I diabetes by streptozotocin. This model exhibits
increased levels of serum thyroxine, insulin, and
growth hormone. It can be used in transplantation
and endocrinology studies, and is susceptible to
the induction of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. |
B&K, CRL (US, Europe, Japan),
Harlan (US, Europe), HLA, Taconic (US, Europe) |
| Long Evans |
LE |
Outbred |
Black-hooded with pigmented eyes |
The Long Evans rat is used for
neurological, toxicological and ophthalmologic studies.
Because it demonstrates better resistance to respiratory
problems than many other outbred rats, the Long
Evans rat is often the preferred stock for surgical
procedures requiring extended use of inhalant anesthetics. |
CRL (US, Europe), Harlan, Simonsen,
Taconic |
| Long Evans (Blue Spruce) |
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Outbred |
Black-hooded |
The Long Evans (Blue Spruce) rat
is a diet-induced obese model. Experimental allergic
encephalomyelitis can also be induced in this rat.
It is resistant to mammary tumors. |
Harlan |
| LOU |
LOU |
Inbred |
Albino |
|
Harlan (US, Europe), NCI |
| Noble |
NBL |
Inbred |
Black-faced with black stripe
down spine |
The Nobel rat is highly susceptible
to hormone-induced tumors of bladder, prostate,
and mammary gland. |
CRL |
| PVG |
PVG |
Inbred |
Black-hooded |
The PVG rat is recommended for
use in toxicology, aging, and immunology research.
It is susceptible to entamoeba histolytica (Neal
and Harris 1975) and middle ear disease, but is
resistant to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis
and induction of autoimmune thyroiditis (Rose 1975). |
B&K, Harlan (US, Europe),
Scanbur (Europe) |
| Spontaneously Hypertensive Obese/
Koletsky |
SHROB |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Spontaneously Hypertensive
Obese rat has the following characteristics: hypertension,
obesity, nephropathy, retinopathy, metabolic syndrome
(Syndrome X), and hyperlipidemia. |
CRL |
| SHROB Lean |
|
Inbred |
Albino |
The SHROB Lean rat exhibits hypertension
and retinopathy. |
CRL |
| Spontaneous Heart Failure |
SHHF |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Spontaneous Heart Failure
model has the following characteristics: Type II
diabetes, nephropathy, hypertension, obesity, and
congestive heart failure. |
CRL |
| Spontaneously Hypertensive |
SHR |
Inbred |
Albino |
|
CRL (US, Europe, Japan), Harlan
(US, Europe) |
| Spontaneously Hypertensive |
SHR |
Outbred |
Albino |
|
HLA, Taconic |
| Sprague Dawley® |
SD |
Outbred |
Albino |
The SD rat is a widely accepted,
dependable, general purpose research model used
in virtually all disciplines of biomedical research
including toxicology, reproduction, and pharmacology.
It is also recommended for use in behavioral, nutrition,
aging, oncology, teratology, and immunology research.
Available as aged. |
Ace, B&K, CRL (US, Europe,
Japan), Harlan, HLA, Scanbur (Europe), Taconic (US,
Europe), Zivic |
| SS-13BN |
SS-13BN |
Inbred |
Albino |
The SS-13BNrat
can be used as a control for the Dahl/SS rat. |
CRL |
| Stroke Prone SHR |
SHR/SP |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Stroke Prone rat model exhibits
the following characteristics: stroke, ADHD, nephropathy,
hypertension, and osteoporosis. |
CRL |
| T2DN |
T2DN |
Inbred |
Albino |
T2DN, a unique rat model of Type
II diabetes, develops diabetic nephropathy, mimicking
the pattern of disease progression seen in patients. |
PhysioGenix |
| WAG |
WAG |
Inbred |
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CRL (Europe), Harlan (Europe) |
| Wistar |
WI |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Wistar inbred rat is recommended
for toxicology, teratology, and immunology research.
15-22% of these rats develop leukemia that is characterized
by an unusual type of mononuclear cell containing
reddish granules. This strain carries a distinctive
heteropyenotic Y chromosome which may be used a
cellular marker (Zieverink and Moloney 1965). |
Scanbur (Europe) |
| Wistar |
WI |
Outbred |
Albino |
The Wistar outbred rat is recommended
for toxicology, nutritional, oncology, teratology,
aging, immunology, drug addiction, and alcohol research
It has a median life-span of over 50 months, as
well as hepatic resistance to insulin (Sugiyama
et al, 1989). After 82 weeks, cataracts develop,
which are comparable to human senile cataracts (Takemoto
et al, 1991; Koch et al, 1978). |
CRL (US, Europe, Japan), Harlan,
HLA, RCC, Scanbur (Europe), Simonsen |
| Wistar Furth |
WF |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Wistar Furth rat is susceptible
to audiogenic seizures of Grand Mal type epilepsy,
and exhibits macrothrombocytopenia and leukemia.
It is recommended for immunology and transplantion
research. This model has an incidence of pituitary
tumors in 38% of rats over 10 months of age, increasing
to a maximum of 69% at 28-32 months. The incidence
of tumors is higher in females (71%) than males
(35%). This strain carries a distinctive heteropyenotic
Y chromosome which may be used a cellular marker. |
CRL (US, Europe), Harlan |
| Wistar Han |
WH |
Outbred |
Albino |
The Wistar Hannover rat is used
as both a toxicology model and a general, all purpose
outbred model for use in biomedical research. Its
body weight averages less than Sprague Dawley rats
yet it exhibits comparable reproductive performance.
It exhibits spontaneous corneal degeneration, and
is recommended for carcinogenicity, oncology, toxicology,
teratology, and aging research. Available as aged. |
B&K, CRL (US, Europe, Japan),
Harlan, Taconic (US, Europe) |
| Wistar Kyoto |
WKY |
Inbred |
Albino |
The Wistar Kyoto inbred rat is
often preferred for its genetic uniformity as the
normotensive control for the SHR. |
CRL (US, Europe, Japan), Harlan
(US, Europe), Taconic |
| Wistar Kyoto |
WKY |
Outbred |
Albino |
The Wistar Kyoto outbred rat is
widely used as the normotensive control for the
SHR. Ten week old males exhibit blood pressures
of 125 to 140 mm Hg. |
Taconic |
| Zucker Diabetic Fatty |
ZDF |
Inbred |
Black-hooded with black stripe
down spine |
Obese homozygous ZDF males rats
develop hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia by 8 weeks
of age and diabetes by 12 weeks when fed Purina
diet #5008. Obese female ZDF rats can be made diabetic
in approximately one month when fed a diabetogenic
diet. This model exhibits Type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia,
glucose intolerance, obesity, nephropathy, and induced
retinopathy. |
CRL (US, Europe) |
| ZSF1 |
ZSF1 |
Hybrid |
Black-hooded with black stripe
down spine |
The ZSF1 rat is a cross between
a ZDF female and an SHHR male rat. It exhibits hypertension,
Type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia, nephropathy, metabolic
syndrome, and neuropathy. |
CRL |
| Zucker |
ZKR |
Outbred |
Predominantly brown, brown and
white, predominantly black, or black and white. |
The Zucker rat is used for obesity
studies. |
CRL (US, Europe, Japan), Harlan
(US, Europe) |
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