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Comparisons between needle puncture and chondroitinase ABC to induce intervertebral disc degeneration in rabbits

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to compare the effect of needle puncture and chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) injection on inducing intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration (IVDD) in rabbits.

Methods

Sixteen New Zealand white rabbits were used in this study. Briefly, the rabbits were divided into four groups. In the annulus fibrosis (AF) needle puncture group, a 16-G needle was used to puncture the L5-6 and L6-7 IVDs, while in the sham group, these IVDs were not punctured. In the ChABC group, 30 μL 0.5 Unit/mL ChABC was injected into L5-6 and L6-7 IVDs using a 26-G needle, while in the vehicle group, these IVDs were injected with 30 μL phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). X-ray and MRI scans were performed at the 4th, 12th and 16th weeks postoperatively. Histological, immunohistochemical and biochemical analyses were performed at the 16th week postoperatively.

Results

Both needle puncture and ChABC successfully established IVDD in rabbits at 4th, 12th and 16th weeks, confirmed by X-ray and MRI scan. The progression of IVDD went in a time-dependent manner. The IVDD in the ChABC group was less severe than in the needle puncture group throughout the study. Aggrecan and type II collagen significantly decreased, while tumor necrosis factor-α and superoxide dismutase 2 increased in the needle puncture and ChABC groups, compared with the sham and PBS groups.

Conclusions

Both AF needle puncture and ChABC injection can successfully induce IVDD in rabbits. Compared with ChABC injection, AF needle puncture can induce more severe IVDD.

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Data Availability

The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Abbreviations

AB:

Alcian blue

ADAMTs:

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs

AF:

Annulus fibrosis

ChABC:

Chondroitinase ABC

COL2:

Type II collagen

DHI:

Disc height index

ECM:

Extracellular matrix

H&E:

Hematoxylin and eosin

IL-1:

Interleukin-1

IL-17:

Interleukin-17

IQR:

Interquartile range

IVD:

Intervertebral disc

IVDD:

Intervertebral disc degeneration

LBP:

Low back pain

MMPs:

Matrix metalloproteinases

NP:

Nucleus pulposus

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

ROI:

Region of interest

SO/FG:

Safranin O/Fast green

SOD2:

Superoxide dismutase 2

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor-α

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Acknowledgements

We would like to give special thanks to Mr. Samuel Rudd, who is from The University of Queensland, Australia, for checking and editing the language used in this paper.

Funding

This study was supported by Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (No. H2021108006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Hospital of Xingtai, 202 Bayi Street, Xingtai, 054000, China

    Ke Yang, Zhanfeng Song, Dingding Jia, Jianqing Ma & Zhanyong Wu

  2. Orthopaedic Research Institute of Xingtai, Xingtai, 054000, China

    Ke Yang, Zhanfeng Song, Dingding Jia, Jianqing Ma & Zhanyong Wu

  3. Department of Spine Surgery, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, China

    Ke Yang, Yachong Huo, Yachao Zhao, Wei Zhang, Wenyuan Ding & Sidong Yang

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  1. Ke Yang
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Contributions

SY, ZW, WD and WZ: were responsible for study design. SY, ZS, DJ, YH, YZ and KY: contributed to surgical implementation and sample processing. SY, JM, YH and KY: were responsible for data analysis. KY: drafted the manuscript. SY and KY: edited and revised the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final submitted manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sidong Yang.

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These authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical approval

All research protocols have been approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Orthopedic Hospital of Xingtai.

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Yang, K., Song, Z., Jia, D. et al. Comparisons between needle puncture and chondroitinase ABC to induce intervertebral disc degeneration in rabbits. Eur Spine J 31, 2788–2800 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-022-07287-8

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