Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are both characterized by chronic inflammation and severe dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract. These two forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) represent distinct clinical disorders with diverse driving mechanisms; however, this divergence is not reflected in currently approved therapeutics that commonly target general proinflammatory pathways. A compelling need therefore remains to understand factors that differentiate the topology and the distinct clinical manifestations of CD versus UC, in order to develop more effective and specialized therapies. Animal models provide valuable platforms for studying IBD heterogeneity and deciphering disease-specific mechanisms. Both the established and the newly developed ileitis mouse models are characterized by various disease initiating mechanisms and diverse phenotypic outcomes that reflect the complexity of human CD-ileitis. Microbial dysbiosis, destruction of epithelial barrier integrity, immune cell deregulation, as well as the recently described genome instability and stromal cell activation have all been proposed as the triggering factors for the development of ileitis-associated pathology. In this review, we aim to critically evaluate the mechanistic underpinnings of murine models of CD-ileitis, discuss their phenotypic similarities to human disease, and envisage their further exploitation for the development of novel targeted and personalized therapeutics.

克罗恩病 (CD) 和溃疡性结肠炎 (UC) 均以胃肠道慢性炎症和严重功能障碍为特征。这两种形式的炎症性肠病 (IBD) 代表具有不同驱动机制的不同临床疾病；然而，这种差异并未反映在目前批准的通常针对一般促炎通路的治疗方法中。因此，迫切需要了解区分 CD 与 UC 的拓扑结构和不同临床表现的因素，以便开发更有效和专门的疗法。动物模型为研究 IBD 异质性和破译疾病特异性机制提供了有价值的平台。已建立和新开发的回肠炎小鼠模型的特点是各种疾病引发机制和不同的表型结果，反映了人类 CD 回肠炎的复杂性。微生物菌群失调、上皮屏障完整性破坏、免疫细胞失调以及最近描述的基因组不稳定和基质细胞激活都被认为是回肠炎相关病理学发展的触发因素。在这篇综述中，我们旨在批判性地评估 CD 回肠炎小鼠模型的机制基础，讨论它们与人类疾病的表型相似性，并设想进一步利用它们开发新型靶向和个性化疗法。上皮屏障完整性的破坏、免疫细胞失调以及最近描述的基因组不稳定和基质细胞激活都被认为是回肠炎相关病理学发展的触发因素。在这篇综述中，我们旨在批判性地评估 CD 回肠炎小鼠模型的机制基础，讨论它们与人类疾病的表型相似性，并设想进一步利用它们开发新型靶向和个性化疗法。上皮屏障完整性的破坏、免疫细胞失调以及最近描述的基因组不稳定和基质细胞激活都被认为是回肠炎相关病理学发展的触发因素。在这篇综述中，我们旨在批判性地评估 CD 回肠炎小鼠模型的机制基础，讨论它们与人类疾病的表型相似性，并设想进一步利用它们开发新型靶向和个性化疗法。