An overview of animal models for investigating the pathogenesis and therapeutic strategies in acute hepatic failure

Table 1 Main AHF animal models in different species

Animal model	Species	Advantages/disadvantages
Surgical
Total/partial hepatectomy	Pig, dog, rabbit, rat, mouse	Hepatic encephalopathy; reproducible/no reversibility; no long-term survival
Total/partial devascularization	Pig, dog, rabbit, rat	Hepatic encephalopathy; reproducible/no reversibility; no long-term survival
Chemical
Acetaminophen	Pig, dog, rabbit, rat, mouse	Hepatic encephalopathy; no hazard/non-reproducible; variable interval between damage and death; species and age variability
Amanitin	Pig	Hepatic encephalopathy; specific toxic effects; large animal
Azoxymethane	Mouse	Hepatic encephalopathy; reproducible/small size; hazard
Carbon tetrachloride	Pig, rabbit, rat, mouse	Hepatic encephalopathy/non reproducible; extrahepatic toxicity; small time window before death
Concanavalin A	Rat, mouse	Hepatic encephalopathy/small size
Galactosamine	Pig, dog, rabbit, rat, mouse	Hepatic encephalopathy; biochemical markers/non-reproducible; hazard; variable interval between damage and death; species differences
Lipopolysaccharide	Rat, mouse	Hepatic encephalopathy/non-reproducible; small size; hazard; small time window before death
Thioacetamide	Rabbit, rat, mouse	Hepatic encephalopathy; reproducible; large time window before death/hazard
Viral
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease	Rabbit	Hepatic encephalopathy; reproducible; no hazard