Hamster in preclinical research

Members of the family Cricetidae in the order Rodentia are characterized by large cheek pouches that are used to transport and store food. In biomedical research the hamster is the third most frequently used laboratory animal following the rat and mouse. Hamsters historically have been used in several fields, especially in infection disease research, in carcinogenesis research because of its low incidence of spontaneous tumors, in blood vessel physiology research because their cheek pouch vessels are very accessible and easy visualized. Due to some similarities between the metabo­lic processes of hamsters and humans, these animals are used as a model for lipid metabolism disorders, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and fatty liver desease. Hamsters are used in both bacterial and viral infection research. Recent studies have shown that the golden hamster is the most appropriate animal model of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection for pathogenesis understanding and therapeutic interventions testing compared to other small laboratory animal models. With the advent of technologies that make it possible to obtain genetically modified hamsters, the spectrum of disease models on hamsters have expanded significantly. In toxicology, the most widely used species of rodent is the rat. The protocols used for rats in various toxicity studies also apply to hamsters. Hamsters, as well as rats, are suitable for all kinds of toxicological studies, including reproductive toxicity, carcinogenicity. Currently, these animals are most commonly used when subbuccal or sublingual administration of compounds is required. For a number of drugs, especially certain dosage forms (eg, orally dispersible), hamsters may be the most appropriate laboratory animal species for assessing toxic effects and local tolerance.