Demonstration of the Rat Ischemic Skin Wound Model

Summary

The rat, due to its size, availability, and rather docile behavior, has been utilized as a research model for many years. The goal of this protocol is to utilize the rat as an ischemic skin wound healing model to provide valuable insight into the pathophysiology of chronic wounds.

Abstract

The propensity for chronic wounds in humans increases with ageing, disease conditions such as diabetes and impaired cardiovascular function, and unrelieved pressure due to immobility. Animal models have been developed that attempt to mimic these conditions for the purpose of furthering our understanding of the complexity of chronic wounds. The model described herein is a rat ischemic skin flap model that permits a prolonged reduction of blood flow resulting in wounds that become ischemic and resemble a chronic wound phenotype (reduced vascularization, increased inflammation and delayed wound closure). It consists of a bipedicled dorsal flap with 2 ischemic wounds placed centrally and 2 non-ischemic wounds lateral to the flap as controls. A novel addition to this ischemic skin flap model is the placement of a silicone sheet beneath the flap that functions as a barrier and a splint to prevent revascularization and reduce contraction as the wounds heal. Despite the debate of using rats for wound healing studies due to their quite distinct anatomic and physiologic differences compared to humans (i.e., the presence of a panniculus carnosus muscle, short life-span, increased number of hair follicles, and their ability to heal infected wounds) the modifications employed in this model make it a valuable alternative to previously developed ischemic skin flap models.

Introduction

Effective drug development and other wound healing therapeutics require appropriate in vivo models, despite known problems in translating findings in animal models to human therapies¹. What follows is a description of a detailed protocol for the use of a rat model of ischemic skin wound healing to investigate mechanisms that further the understanding of pathological wound healing. The rat species, often employed due to its wide availability, size and docile nature is used for wound healing studies as it is large enough to provide a suitable skin area for incisional and excisional wounding, imaging and tissue collection². However it shoul....

Protocol

NOTE: Approval for all animal procedures presented below was obtained from the University of South Florida’s Animal Care Committee (IACUC) and abide by all requirements of the Animal Welfare Act and the Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

1. Preparation of Silicone Sheets and Surgical Instruments

1. Precut strips (10.5 cm x 3.0 cm) of non-reinforced 0.01 thickness, medical grade silicone sheeting and sterilize using an autoclave.
2. Clean and sterilize suitable surgical instruments (scissors, forceps and drapes or towels to create a sterile field during surgery).

2. Experiment....

Results

The rat ischemic wound healing model protocol should take approximately 20 min per animal if performed efficiently. Prior to application of a dressing the model should appear as represented in Figure 1G. It will be important to verify that the bipedicled flap and wounds therein are ischemic. Subcutaneous oxygen tension (PscO₂) at the level of the wounds has been measured during validation of this model⁵ by placing a polarographic electrode in the subcutaneous tissue between the two .......

Discussion

Wound healing in rats has often been the subject of debate due to their ability to heal infected wounds and high rate of interanimal variability⁵. One of the original goals of the model during its development was to decrease this variation. Modifications to the width of the flap, reducing the number of wounds with specific placement (centered on the flap with consistent cranio-caudal location) and introduction of a silicone sheet has accomplished this goal. Wound healing by contraction has also been reduced an.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Sil-Tec medical grade sheeting	Technical Products Inc.	500-3	nonreinforced, 0.01 inches in thickness
Mini Iris scissors, 8 cm, curved, SS	World Precision Instruments	#503671
Ethilon Nylon Sutures	Ethicon	1964G	black, size 4.0, PC-3 16 mm needles (3/8 circle)
Laser Doppler Imager	Moor Instruments	moorLDI2-IR	Standard blood flow imager: http://us.moor.co.uk/product/moorldi2-laser-doppler-imager/8
ImageJ	NIH	free download	http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/
Mastisol	Henry Schein	Cat # 7289210	Fisher Scientific NC9774929
Tegaderm	Medical Specialties	3M1624W	Fisher Scientific NC9922128