[Animal modeling] - Characteristics of changes in articular cartilage and subchondral bone in different animal models of osteoarthritis

  Objective: To investigate the pathological changes of subchondral bone and articular cartilage in different animal models of osteoarthritis

  Methods: Three kinds of SD rat models of osteoarthritis were used. Twenty four six month old female rats were randomly divided into four groups: sham operation control group (Sham, n=6), anterior cruciate ligament resection group (ACLT, n=6), papain intra-articular injection group (Papain, n=6), and ovariectomy group (OVX, n=6). The knee joint was taken 8 weeks after the model was made, the tibial plateau was scanned with Micro CT, the articular cartilage was stained with toluidine blue, and Mankin score was scored, Compare the changes of subchondral bone and articular cartilage

  Results: After 8 weeks of modeling operation, the degree of cartilage destruction in different OA models was different. The cartilage destruction in ACLT and Papain groups was more serious, while the cartilage change in OVX group was less. The subchondral cancellous bone in all OA models changed. The subchondral bone microstructure in OVX group was significantly loose compared with Sham control group, while the subchondral bone microstructure in ACLT and Papain groups was not significantly changed compared with Sham control group, but compared with OVX group, There is significant difference. The thickness of subchondral bone plate of three OA models is less than that of Sham group

  Conclusion: The subchondral bone and articular cartilage of the three animal models have obvious pathological changes, and the changes are different. Different OA models represent different pathology, indicating that the role of subchondral bone is different, which provides more evidence for further studying the mechanism of the occurrence and development of different types of OA, and taking subchondral bone as a possible target of OA treatment