Abstract
Osteoarthritis affects one in eight American adults over the age of 25 y and is a leading cause of chronic disability in the US. Translational research to investigate treatments for this naturally occurring joint disease requires an appropriate animal model. The authors conducted a retrospective study to assess the potential of naturally occurring osteoarthritis in the domestic rabbit as a model of the human disease. Analysis of radiographic images showed that the presence and severity of osteoarthritis were significantly influenced by both age and body weight. The most commonly affected joints were the knee and the hip. The findings reported here suggest that the rabbit is an excellent model of spontaneously arising osteoarthritis that may be useful in translational research pertaining to the human disease.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
We are sorry, but there is no personal subscription option available for your country.
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kinds, M.B. et al. A systematic review of the association between radiographic and clinical osteoarthritis of hip and knee. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 19, 768–778 (2011).
Lawrence, R.C. et al. Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the United States. Part II. Arthritis Rheum. 58, 26–35 (2008).
Bendele, A.M. Animal models of osteoarthritis in an era of molecular biology. J. Musculoskelet. Neuronal Interact. 2, 501–503 (2002).
Dinser, R. Animal models for arthritis. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Rheumatol. 22, 253–267 (2008).
Bendele, A.M. Progressive chronic osteoarthritis in femorotibial joints of partial medial meniscectomized guinea pigs. Vet. Pathol. 24, 444–448 (1987).
Bendele, A.M. & White, S.L. Early histopathologic and ultrastructural alterations in femorotibial joints of partial medial meniscectomized guinea pigs. Vet. Pathol. 24, 436–443 (1987).
van der Kraan, P.M., Vitters, E.L., van de Putte, L.B. & van den Berg, W.B. Development of osteoarthritic lesions in mice by “metabolic” and “mechanical” alterations in the knee joints. Am. J. Pathol. 135, 1001–1014 (1989).
van der Kraan, P.M., Vitters, E.L., van Beuningen, H.M., van de Putte, L.B. & van den Berg, W.B. Degenerative knee joint lesions in mice after a single intra-articular collagenase injection. A new model of osteoarthritis. J. Exp. Pathol. 71, 19–31 (1990).
O'Driscoll, S.W. The healing and regeneration of articular cartilage. J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. 80, 1795–1812 (1998).
Bendele, A.M. & Hulman, J.F. Spontaneous cartilage degeneration in guinea pigs. Arthritis Rheum. 31, 561–565 (1988).
Bendele, A.M., White, S.L. & Hulman, J.F. Osteoarthrosis in guinea pigs: histopathologic and scanning electron microscopic features. Lab. Anim. Sci. 39, 115–121 (1989).
Bendele, A.M. & Hulman, J.F. Effects of body weight restriction on the development and progression of spontaneous osteoarthritis in guinea pigs. Arthritis Rheum. 34, 1180–1184 (1991).
Silberberg, R., Saxton, J., Sperling, G. & McCay, C. Degenerative joint disease in Syrian hamsters. Federation Proceedings 11, 427–432 (1952).
Chen, H. et al. MRI and histologic analysis of collagen type II sponge on repairing the cartilage defects of rabbit knee joints. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. B. Appl. Biomater. 96, 267–275 (2011).
Isaac, D.I., Meyer, E.G., Kopke, K.S. & Haut, R.C. Chronic changes in the rabbit tibial plateau following blunt trauma to the tibiofemoral joint. J. Biomech. 43, 1682–1688 (2010).
Shirai, T. et al. Chondroprotective effect of alendronate in a rabbit model of osteoarthritis. J. Orthop. Res. 29, 1572–1577 (2011).
Vaseenon, T. et al. Organ-level histological and biomechanical responses from localized osteoarticular injury in the rabbit knee. J. Orthop. Res. 29, 340–346 (2011).
Arøen, A., Heir, S., Løken, S., Reinholt, F.P. & Engebretsen, L. Articular cartilage defects in a rabbit model, retention rate of periosteal flap cover. Acta. Orthop. 76, 220–224 (2005).
Altman, R. et al. Design and conduct of clinical trials in patients with osteoarthritis: recommendations from a task force of the Osteoarthritis Research Society. Results from a workshop. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 4, 217–243 (1996).
Boulocher, C.B. et al. Radiographic assessment of the femorotibial joint of the CCLT rabbit experimental model of osteoarthritis. BMC Med. Imaging, published online, doi:10.1186/1471-2342-10-3 (20 January 2010).
Rovati, L.C. Radiographic assessment. Introduction: existing methodology. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 7, 427–429 (1999).
Hunter, D.J. & Felson, D.T. Osteoarthritis. BMJ 332, 639–642 (2006).
Jackson, D.W., Simon, T.M. & Aberman, H.M. Symptomatic articular cartilage degeneration: the impact in the new millennium. Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res. 391 Suppl, 14–25 (2001).
Davis, M.A., Ettinger, W.H., Neuhaus, J.M. & Hauck, W.W. Sex differences in osteoarthritis of the knee. The role of obesity. Am. J. Epidemiol. 127, 1019–1030 (1988).
Coan, P. et al. In vivo x-ray phase contrast analyzer-based imaging for longitudinal osteoarthritis studies in guinea pigs. Phys. Med. Biol. 55, 7649–7662 (2010).
Dieppe, P.A. Recommended methodology for assessing the progression of osteoarthritis of the hip and knee joints. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 3, 73–77 (1995).
Muraki, S. et al. Association of radiographic and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis with health-related quality of life in a population-based cohort study in Japan: the ROAD study. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 18, 1227–1234 (2010).
Szebenyi, B. et al. Associations between pain, function, and radiographic features in osteoarthritis of the knee. Arthritis Rheum. 54, 230–235 (2006).
Mollenhauer, J. et al. Diffraction-enhanced X-ray imaging of articular cartilage. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 10, 163–171 (2002).
Messner, K., Fahlgren, A., Persliden, J. & Andersson, B.M. Radiographic joint space narrowing and histologic changes in a rabbit meniscectomy model of early knee osteoarthrosis. Am. J. Sports Med. 29, 151–160 (2001).
Lietman, S.A., Miyamoto, S., Brown, P.R., Inoue, N. & Reddi, A.H. The temporal sequence of spontaneous repair of osteochondral defects in the knees of rabbits is dependent on the geometry of the defect. J. Bone Joint Surg. Br. 84, 600–606 (2002).
Otsuka, Y. et al. Requirement of fibroblast growth factor signaling for regeneration of epiphyseal morphology in rabbit full-thickness defects of articular cartilage. Dev. Growth Differ. 39, 143–156 (1997).
Little, C.B. & Smith, M.M. Animal models of osteoarthritis. Current Rheumatology Reviews 4, 175–182 (2008).
Chu, C.R., Szczodry, M. & Bruno, S. Animal models for cartilage regeneration and repair. Tissue Eng. Part B Rev. 6, 105–115 (2010).
Mitchell, N. & Shepard, N. The resurfacing of adult rabbit articular cartilage by multiple perforations through the subchondral bone. J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. 58, 230–233 (1976).
Verwoerd-Verhoef, H.L., ten Koppel, P.G., van Osch, G.J., Meeuwis, C.A. & Verwoerd, C.D. Wound healing of cartilage structures in the head and neck region. Int. J. Pediatr. Otorhinolaryngol. 43, 241–251 (1998).
Hunziker, E.B. Articular cartilage repair: basic science and clinical progress. A review of the current status and prospects. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 10, 432–463 (2002).
Wei, X., Gao, J. & Messner, K. Maturation-dependent repair of untreated osteochondral defects in the rabbit knee joint. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. 34, 63–72 (1997).
Shapiro, F., Koide, S. & Glimcher, M.J. Cell origin and differentiation in the repair of full-thickness defects of articular cartilage. J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. 75, 532–553 (1993).
Kaweblum, M. et al. Histological and radiographic determination of the age of physeal closure of the distal femur, proximal tibia, and proximal fibula of the New Zealand white rabbit. J. Orthop. Res. 12, 747–749 (1994).
Silver, F.H. & Glasgold, A.I. Cartilage wound healing. An overview. Otolaryngol. Clin. North Am. 28, 847–864 (1995).
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a grant from the US National Institutes of Health and an Innovative Research Grant from the Arthritis Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arzi, B., Wisner, E., Huey, D. et al. A proposed model of naturally occurring osteoarthritis in the domestic rabbit. Lab Anim 41, 20–25 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0112-20
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0112-20
This article is cited by
-
Mechanical osteoarthritis of the hip in a one medicine concept: a narrative review
BMC Veterinary Research (2023)
-
Models of Osteoarthritis: Relevance and New Insights
Calcified Tissue International (2021)
-
Animal models of osteoarthritis: classification, update, and measurement of outcomes
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research (2016)
-
Qualitative and quantitative measurement of the anterior and posterior meniscal root attachments of the New Zealand white rabbit
Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics (2016)