Patent ID: 8389792

Claim:
A method for evaluating the ability of a test compound to modulate spontaneous ulcerative colitis, comprising: administering the test compound to a transgenic postnatal mouse whose genome comprises homozygous null mutations in each of the endogenous T-bet and Rag2 genes, wherein said homozygous null mutations have been introduced into said mouse genome by homologous recombination, said mouse having a phenotype, relative to a wild-type phenotype, of spontaneous ulcerative colitis comprising increased permeability of the colonic epithelium, increased apoptosis in the colonic epithelium and colonic wall thickening associated with prolapsed rectal mucosa; and determining the ability of the test compound to modulate permeability of the colonic epithelium, apoptosis in the colonic epithelium or colonic wall thickening associated with prolapsed rectal mucosa; to thereby evaluate the ability of the test compound to modulate spontaneous ulcerative colitis.