Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2024, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (4): 633-638.doi: 10.12307/2023.862

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Animal models of femoral bone defects: preparation status and characteristics

Zhou Shibo1, Guan Jianbin1, Yu Xing2, Zhao He2, Yang Yongdong2, Liu Tao1   

  1. 1First Clinical School of Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China; 2Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China
  • Received:2022-10-31 Accepted:2023-01-10 Online:2024-02-08 Published:2023-07-14
  • Contact: Yu Xing, MD, Chief physician, Dongzhimen Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China
  • About author:Zhou Shibo, MD candidate, Physician, First Clinical School of Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The repair and clinical outcome of bone defects remains a hot and difficult area of clinical research, which is a common problem that plagues clinicians. Constructing suitable, reproducible and infinitely close to clinical animal experimental models and their scientific evaluation are essential for further clinical treatment of related diseases.
OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively analyze the preparation methods and characteristics of common animal models of femoral bone defects and to assess their strengths and weaknesses, thereby providing some reference for relevant researchers to select appropriate animal models of femoral bone defects.
METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, and CNKI were retrieved for relevant literature published from January 1, 2000 to August 1, 2022. The keywords were “bone defect, bone, bones, defect, defects, defective, animal model, animal, model, laboratory, laboratory animal, animal laboratory” in English and “bone defect, animal model, experiment” in Chinese.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Twenty-seven randomized controlled animal experiments involving rats, mice, New Zealand rabbits, and sheep were included, analyzed and assessed. The most common types of bone defects were cylindrical bone defects and segmental osteotomy bone defects, generally found in the middle and distal femur. These models are mostly used to evaluate the effects of bone repair materials, drugs, drug-loaded active substances and physical therapy on bone defect repair and explore defect healing mechanisms, particularly the weight-bearing bone defect repair mechanism. Different defect kinds and femoral bone defect ranges have been found in different animal experiments. Researchers can select the suitable animal model and bone defect type based on the goal of the experiment and then set an acceptable bone defect value. Current studies have shown that cylindrical and segmental osteotomy-induced bone defects, mainly in the distal and middle femur, are mostly used in the animal models of femoral bone defects and that the surgical methods and postoperative management are more mature and operable to provide mature experimental animal models. In terms of cylindrical bone defects, rats and New Zealand rabbits are more suitable, whereas segmental osteotomy has no special requirements and all types of animals can meet the experimental requirements.

Key words: femur, bone defect, animal model, assessment, critical-size bone defect

CLC Number: