The adoptive T cell transfer colitis model can be a powerful tool in translatable inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research. This widely acclaimed method utilizes precisely paired mouse strains to replicate human colitis in the laboratory, enhancing both basic research and the pursuit of novel treatments. This method relies on paired strains on the same genetic background, with an immunocompetent donor (usually an inbred strain such as C57BL/6 or BALB/c) donating naïve CD4+ T cells to a T cell-deficient strain such as a scid mouse or Rag2 knockout on the same strain background. The availability of paired suites of donor-recipient strains, including genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models, makes this assay a powerful tool for dissecting disease mechanisms. The simplicity of the model makes it well-suited to drug screening, and a range of readouts are possible.

In this webinar, Dr. Philip Dubé introduces the T cell adoptive transfer colitis model, reviews commonly used donor-recipient pairs, and touches on the broader group of relevant GEMs for more sophisticated experiments. He also offers an in-depth review of typical protocols and readouts for this model and a high-level comparison of this assay against other types of colitis models, such as chemically-induced and spontaneous models.