A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord, resulting in varying degree of paralysis, sensory loss, and bladder/bowel dysfunction. It is associated with not only decreased life expectancy and disability but also an enormous financial burden for families and society at large. To develop therapies for individuals suffering from this disease, Creative Biolabs conducts contract studies in various animal models of SCI to test the efficacy of potential therapeutics.
Introduction of SCI Models
Animal SCI models have proved invaluable in better understanding the mechanisms involved in traumatic SCI and evaluating the effectiveness of experimental therapeutic interventions. To date, numerous experimental models have been developed to recreate different features of human SCI, including the spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury model, spinal cord traumatic injury model, photochemical-induced SCI model, spinal cord transection model, and bidirectional distraction SCI model. At Creative Biolabs, we are capable of providing different traumatic injury models such as contusion models, compression models, and transection models.
Contusion SCI Models
Contusion models, in which a transient force is applied to displace and damage the spinal cord, include weight-drop, electromagnetic and air pressure devices. The weight-drop was created in 1911 by Allen and was later considered as a standard experimental spinal cord contusion injury model. In recent years, the trend has been towards the use of rats for spinal cord injury studies. The MASCIS impactor is widely used and produces a validated and reproducible contusion injury in rat models. Creative Biolabs offers well-characterized SCI models in rats using weight-drop and the MASCIS impactor to induce contusion injury in selected regions (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) with defined severity (mild or severe).
Compression SCI Models
Compression injuries of the murine spinal cord are valuable animal models for the study of SCI and spinal regenerative therapy. Methods of a compression injury include calibrated forceps, aneurysm clips, or placing a weight directly on the spinal cord. Creative Biolabs provides compression injury models generated by using aneurysm clip or calibrated forceps. The clip compression method is relatively inexpensive and generates SCI of varying severity and is adaptable for use in all regions of the spine. The calibrated forceps model of compression injury is a convenient, low cost, and very reproducible animal model for SCI, but it lacks the acute impact component that clips compression and contusion paradigms possess.
Transection SCI Models
Complete and partial transection models have been utilized extensively to investigate neuronal regeneration following injury. They are beneficial for assessment of axonal regeneration and subsequent functional recovery. A full transection model encompasses a complete disassociation between the caudal and rostral segments and is advantageous in its easy reproducibility. Partial transection, unilateral transection, and hemisection of the spinal cord all refer to the process of selectively lesioning the spinal cord. These models simulate an injury more likely to be seen clinically than complete transection and provide for a comparison between injured and healthy fibers in the same animal.
Fig.1 Histopathological damage at 7 weeks after mild SCI is shown at the epicenter of the insult. Note patterns of the cavity and lesion formation in gray and white matter structures of A) vehicle, B) pyridoxal-5′-phosphate-6-azophenyl-2′-4′-disulphonic acid (PPADS) and C) Brilliant blue G (BBG) treated rats. (Matsunaga et al. 2012)
Assessments
For the testing and evaluation of drug candidates that have neuroprotection and neuroregeneration activities, we provide an extensive battery of measurements and behavior analysis, from short-term histological changes to long-term kinematic analysis. The assessments provided by Creative Biolabs include:
The extensive range of rodent neurological disease models available at Creative Biolabs includes:
As a leading contract research provider of in vivo pharmacology services in various disease areas, Creative Biolabs is providing reliable and affordable study services by using our established models or establishing new models. Moreover, all studies can be customized and adjusted to fit client's needs. Please contact us to start the conversation if you are interested in our services.
Reference
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