Neurotoxin-induced animal model of multiple sclerosis: Molecular mechanism focus

Background: Neurotoxins can alter the central nervous system. They induce severe clinical symptoms such as encephalopathy, convulsions, muscle paralysis, and respiratory failure. Hence, the neurotoxin can mimic human central nervous system disorders such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) to study pathophysiology and drugs of development. Objective: This mini-review compared the neurotoxins for mimicking MS in animal models. Method: This study was a narrative review using the scientific electronic databases Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar.  All related articles by keywords animal models, multiple sclerosis, and neurotoxins were collected by YP and BW. All authors contributed to manuscript development. Result: Cuprizone, ethidium bromide, lysolecithin, Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG), and Myelin Essential Protein (MBP) are neurotoxins for MS animal models. Cuprizone is particularly relevant for use in studies addressing toxic mechanisms of the demyelination process and studies of therapeutic interventions. Ethidium bromide causes spinal cord demyelination with distinctive features in the oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. However, it is a carcinogen agent. Lysolecithin is suitable for old animal models because the duration for remyelination is relatively longer than others. MOG and MBP are preferable to resemble MS pathophysiology in humans. Conclusion: MOG and MBP are appropriate for generating animal multiple sclerosis models for further in vivo experiments.