Objective To establish and evaluate the rabbit knee osteoarthritis model by cartilage defect in rabbits.
Methods Animals were randomly divided into 3 groups according to body weight and gender: sham operation group, model group and positive control glucosamine group, with 12 animals in each group. After 4 weeks of modeling, intragastric administration was started, once a day, for 4 consecutive weeks. After the last administration, the animals were sacrificed, the levels of IL-1β and TNF-a in serum and synovial fluid were detected by ELISA kit, HE staining was performed on articular cartilage and synovium, and Makin's score was performed on articular cartilage to evaluate its damage.
Results Compared with the sham operation group, the levels of IL-1β and TNF-a in the serum and synovial fluid of the model group were significantly increased, while glucosamine donor could reduce the levels of IL-1β and TNF-a in the serum and synovial fluid. HE staining showed that the cartilage structure was changed and defected in the model group, and the synovium was infiltrated by inflammatory cells; the cartilage score was significantly higher than that of the sham operation group. Administration of glucosamine can alleviate cartilage defects, reduce synovitis cell infiltration, and reduce cartilage scores.
Conclusion Drilling of articular cartilage can establish a rabbit knee osteoarthritis model, reflecting its main characteristics, and can reduce the damage and inflammatory response by giving positive control drugs. The model can be used for the evaluation and screening of drugs for treating arthritis.