Knee Osteoarthritis is a considerable public health concern, both in terms of life quality and treatment financial impacts. To investigate this disease, animal models are deemed a promising alternative. In fact, although a perfect model is generally farfetched, the creation of models that simulate human disease as accurately as possible remains an important research stake. This study aims to highlight the usefulness of the model induced by injected Mono-Iodo-Acetate and to standardize it for the rabbit species. Osteoarthritis was induced by an infra-patellar injection of 0.2 ml of an MIA solution in the left knee of 24 female New Zealand rabbits. The right knee served as a control by receiving an injection of physiological serum. The rabbits were divided into 4 groups of 6 individuals each according to the dose of MIA received per knee. All rabbits were euthanized 30 days after the injection. After sacrifice, the knees were carefully dissected and macroscopic and microscopic scores of cartilage, meniscal and synovial lesions were attributed to each group. Our study followed the laboratory animal care and management guideline published in 2017 by the Canadian Council of Animal Care. The control knees of all rabbits showed no macroscopic or microscopic lesions. The macroscopic lesions: osteophytes, meniscal lesions, fibrillation and erosion of the cartilage and microscopic lesions: disorganization of the chondrocytes, decrease in proteoglycans and synovial inflammation clinically diagnosed in human pathology were all detected and were similarly reproducible among the knees of the same group. Through this work, we highlighted the merits of the arthritis model induced by MIA, namely its simulation of several aspects of human pathology. Further advantages are low cost, speed, reproducibility. This model notably avoids delicate and risky surgical operations.
Purpose: Disc degeneration (DD) is a common cause of low back pain, which represents one of the most widespread public health problems in the world. Therefore, the establishment of a reproducible animal model is indispensable to understand the pathogenic mechanisms of DD and to test new therapeutic strategies. From this perspective, the fundamental objective of this study was to elucidate the effect of ovariectomy in establishing a new animal model of DD in rats.
Methods: 36 female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups of 9 rats: Group 1: Negative control (Sham): Only an abdominal skin incision and sutures were performed. Group 2: Ovariectomy (OVX): Removal of two ovaries through a transverse incision in the middle of the abdomen. Group 3: Puncture (Punct): Puncture of lumbar intervertebral discs (L3/4, L4/5, and L5/6) by a 21 G needle. Group 4: Puncture+ovariectomy (Punct+OVX): Removal of two ovaries and puncture of L3/4, L4/5, and L5/6 discs. The rats were euthanized 1, 3, and 6 weeks post-surgery, and the discs were harvested. Validity was assessed by radiography, histology, and biochemistry (water content).
Results: Disc height, water content, and histologic score decreased significantly in the last 3 groups and at all three-time points (
P
< 0.05). DD progressed over time in the Punct and Punct+OVX groups (
P
< 0.05). The changes were more severe in the Punct+OVX group compared to the Punct group and the OVX group.
Conclusion: The combination of puncture and ovariectomy induced rapid and progressive DD in the lumbar discs of rats without spontaneous recovery.
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