Abstract
Background: Tissue engineering technologies aiming to enhance maxillofacial wound healing are often tested in vivo in preclinical models that do not necessarily reflect the complexity of the clinical need. The aim of this study was to develop a rabbit model of compromised craniofacial wound healing that more accurately mimics clinical scenarios. Materials and Methods: An experimental group of rabbits received fractionated radiation of the mandible totaling 36 Gy. Four weeks after irradiation, both the experimental group and control group (n = 10/group) underwent a surgical procedure creating a critical size defect in the mandibular bone. Four weeks after surgery, tissue healing was assessed using microcomputed tomography (μCT), maximum intensity projection (MIP) scoring, and histopathology. Results: μCT analysis and MIP scoring showed decreased mineralized tissue in the defect area of irradiated animals compared to the control group. Histopathology showed necrosis in the experimental group. Conclusions: Irradiated animals showed significantly compromised wound healing compared to controls. This preclinical model presents a clinically relevant environment for the investigation of novel wound healing technologies in a compromised critical size bone defect. Maxillofacial defects often present the clinical challenge of a compromised wound bed. Preclinical evaluation of tissue engineering techniques developed to facilitate healing and reconstruction typically involves animal models with ideal wound beds. The healthy wound bed scenario does not fully mimic the complex clinical environment in patients, which can lead to technology failure when translating from preclinical in vivo research to clinical use. The reported preclinical animal model of compromised wound healing enables investigation of tissue engineering technologies in a more clinically relevant scenario, potentially fostering translation of promising results in preclinical research to patients.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 160-167 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Tissue Engineering - Part C: Methods |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors acknowledge support by a Peter Geistlich Research Award from the Osteo Science Foundation to SY and FKK and UTHealth Rising STARs award to SY. The authors thank Connie Dieringer and the UT Health Oral Pathology Histology Laboratory for tissue processing and histology assistance. The authors thank Dr. J. Nathaniel Holland, Office of Research, UT Health School of Dentistry at Houston, for statistical support. The authors acknowledge Brian Dawson and the Brendan Lee Lab, Baylor College of Medicine, for micro-CT support. The authors thank Stephanie Lampe and the Accredited Dosimetry Calibration Laboratory, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, for radiation assistance. The authors thank Dr. Vlad Sandulache, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Bay-lor College of Medicine, for scientific discussions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Stacey L. Piotrowski et al. Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Keywords
- Bone tissue engineering
- Irradiation model
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Bioengineering
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Biomedical Engineering