Progress in animal model research on obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder, and its pathophysiological mechanism complex and not fully understood. This article elaborately explores three categories of OSA animal models: natural, direct and indirect, emphasizing their advantages and disadvantages in simulating OSA pathophysiological processes. Natural OSA models primarily focus on spontaneous upper airway obstructions. Direct OSA models induce OSA through direct obstruction of the airway, while indirect OSA models mainly investigate the impacts of chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) and sleep deprivation (SD) on the organism. Although these models have played a pivotal role in studying the pathophysiological mechanisms of OSA and developing new therapeutic methods, they also present certain limitations and challenges. Future research directions include the development of non-invasive monitoring technologies, establishing OSA-combined models, and the application of gene-editing technologies, aiming to more comprehensively and accurately simulate the complexity and diversity of human OSA, providing more insights into its mechanisms and developing new therapeutic methods.