A New Method for Modeling Rabbit Growth Plate Injury for the Study of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds

Establishing a suitable animal model of growth plate injury is necessary to evaluate the effect of tissue engineering scaffolds on repairing the injured growth plate. However, the currently used animal models have limitations. Therefore in this study, we reported and evaluated a new modeling method termed the longitudinal disruption method, which is to make a longitudinal defect in the region of growth plate. To compare this new method with the traditional transverse disruption method, we constructed the models by both methods, respectively. To observe whether bone bridges were formed, histological sections were analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Masson staining at 3 weeks after modeling. The HE and Masson staining results showed the formation of bone bridges in both groups, implying that the two methods successfully injured the growth plate. However, it was unclear whether the exact injury to growth plate caused by both methods was consistent. Therefore, to evaluate the accuracy and precision of modeling method, the X-ray and micro-computed tomography (CT) were performed immediately after modeling. The percentages of accurate defect position in the longitudinal and transverse modeling groups were 88.89% and 55.56%, respectively. The micro-CT results revealed irregularly shaped defect cross sections in the transverse modeling group, whereas the defects in the longitudinal modeling group had regular shapes. The mean defect areas were 10.06 ± 0.86 and 12.30 ± 2.13 mm² in the longitudinal and transverse modeling groups, respectively, while the difference between the actual area and the expected area were -1.94 ± 0.86 and -7.70 ± 2.13 mm², respectively, showing the high precision of this new method. Altogether, we successfully demonstrated a new method for establishing a rabbit model of growth plate injury, which provides a simple and rapid modeling process, good modeling effect, high modeling accuracy, and convenient scaffold implantation. The new method provides an effective animal model for tissue engineering research on the repair and regeneration of injured growth plate. Impact Statement In recent years, an increasing number of studies have used tissue engineering scaffolds in the repair and regeneration of growth plate. However, the currently used animal models have certain limitations in the study of tissue engineering scaffold for growth plate. In this study, a new method is presented to establish a rabbit model of growth plate injury. This method is characterized by simple and rapid modeling process, good modeling effect, high modeling accuracy, and convenient scaffold implantation, which is suitable for the study of the repair effects of tissue engineering scaffolds. Altogether, this method provides an effective animal model for tissue engineering research on growth plate and facilitates the development of tissue engineering research on the repair and regeneration of injured growth plate.