Surgical Simulation of a Posttraumatic Spinal Cord Glial Scar in Rats.

G B Telegin,V N Manskikh,N A Konovalov,A G Gabibov,D S Asyutin,A N Minakov,A S Chernov

doi:10.32607/20758251-2019-11-3-75-81

Abstract

We developed and verified an original, minimally invasive method for surgical simulation of a posttraumatic spinal cord glial scar in rats. The model is intended for use as a biological platform for testing the stimulation of regenerative processes in the central nervous system. Unification of the model enables one to achieve versatility both for implantation techniques and for the development of system-action approaches. Faced with a standard structural defect of the spinal cord, researchers will have the unique opportunity to test in vivo promising methods for spinal function recovery in the posttraumatic period. We developed anesthetic support, surgical tactics, and a set of rehabilitation measures for the chronic postoperative period. Experimental exposure effects were preliminarily assessed in vivo using a standard technique for recording the motor activity of rats in the postoperative period of spinal cord injury. Our final conclusions were drawn based on an analysis of histological sections of the rat spinal cord glial scar in three mutually perpendicular planes.

Highlights

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the main causes of disability [1], which is associated with the inevitable formation of a glial scar in the posttraumatic period, which prevents regenerative axonal growth and nerve impulses
In the case of biomodeling on the spinal cord, which is associated with surgical intervention, minimization of the animal size faces obvious limitations due to the need for a sufficient amount of a simulated posttraumatic scar which allows for its use in the development of methods for spinal function recovery
Surgical approach development The investigation of spinal function recovery requires the modeling of a posttraumatic glial scar – standard and minimal in volume

Summary

Introduction

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the main causes of disability [1], which is associated with the inevitable formation of a glial scar in the posttraumatic period, which prevents regenerative axonal growth and nerve impulses. In the case of biomodeling on the spinal cord, which is associated with surgical intervention, minimization of the animal size faces obvious limitations due to the need for a sufficient amount of a simulated posttraumatic scar which allows for its use in the development of methods for spinal function recovery. The use of small rodents is considered most suitable for the modeling of SCI thanks to the common pathophysiology between the injury and clinical practice [3, 4]. Based on all these described conditions, species preference for use as an animal model was given to laboratory rats

Methods

Results

Conclusion