Establishment of a rabbit model of spinal tuberculosis using Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv

This study aimed to establish a spinal tuberculosis model by implanting Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv into the lumbar vertebral body of New Zealand white rabbits. A hole was first drilled into the top of the 6th lumbar vertebra of each rabbit, which was then filled with a gelatin sponge to adsorb 0.2 ml of M. tuberculosis suspension (10(7) CFU /ml) for the infection group or normal saline for the control group. The holes were then closed with sutures. CT findings demonstrated that 5 and 10 rabbits developed spinal tuberculosis at 4 and 8 weeks, respectively, after this procedure. MRI examinations revealed that 7 and 15 rabbits had positive results at 4 and 8 weeks, respectively, after this procedure. HE staining of the vertebral body and paravertebral soft tissue biopsies of infected rabbits indicated inflammatory cell infiltration or necrosis in 15 rabbits. M. tuberculosis was cultured in 67% of the abscesses. The modeling success rate was 68.1%. By implanting an appropriate dosage of M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv into a local lumbar vertebral body of New Zealand white rabbits, we successfully established a spinal tuberculosis model, the pathological changes of which are similar to those of human spinal tuberculosis.