Interspecies Comparative Genomics Identifies Optimal Mouse Models of Scleroderma (Tsk2)

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is confounded by considerable disease heterogeneity. Animal models of SSc that recapitulate distinct subsets of disease at the molecular level have not delineated. We applied interspecies comparative analysis of genomic data from multiple mouse models of SSc and patients with SSc to determine which animal models best reflect the SSc intrinsic gene expression subsets. Gene expression measured in skin from mice with sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease, bleomycin-induced fibrosis, or Tsk1/+ and Tsk2/+ mice was mapped to human orthologs and compared to SSc skin biopsy-derived gene expression.