This protocol clarifies the disputed operations in T1DM wound modeling. Concerns on the STZ injection protocols, T1DM induction success criteria, blood glucose stabilization time, and wound location and size have been addressed in this work. Furthermore, the pathological characteristics and measurable parameters for T1DM wound healing assessment have been clarified.
The rats fasted for 18 h before the STZ injection to avoid the competitive binding of glucose or its analogs to β-cells, which could affect the efficacy of STZ. The most commonly used method to induce T1DM is a single high dose of STZ, which increases blood glucose by damaging the islets and decreasing insulin secretion21. Pre-experimental trials revealed that the optimal STZ dose for a high success rate and a low mortality rate was 55 mg/kg, which is lower than the optimal doses reported in previous studies22,23,24. In this protocol, T1DM was induced using a single intraperitoneal injection of 55 mg/kg STZ.
The blood glucose levels were all higher than 16.7 mmol/L 3 days after the STZ injection. However, a blood glucose level higher than 16.7 mmol/L on day 7 after STZ injection is the recommended criterion for successful T1DM modeling, because the extent of islet damage varies among rats, and an appropriate extension of the diagnostic time can reduce the false-negative rate. In addition, the blood glucose fluctuations stabilized 5 weeks after the STZ injection, and the rats gradually gained weight during this period, consistent with previous findings25,26. This indicates that the blood glucose level in the T1DM model should be stabilized for at least 6 weeks, and an increase in rat weight after 6 weeks reduces the mortality rates during the wound modeling. Hence, this protocol conducted wound modeling 8 weeks after the STZ injection.
The wound closure rate on day 7 and day 14 after wounding was significantly lower in the diabetic than in the normal wound group, indicating slow healing. Moreover, wound re-epithelialization and angiogenesis were significantly lower in the diabetic than in the normal group. This demonstrates that the T1DM wound model shows slower wound healing and delayed re-epithelialization than in normal rats, which may be related to the pathological changes of reduced wound angiogenesis. However, on day 14, the T1DM wound healing rate was also above 90%, which is different from the chronic non-healing characteristic of human diabetic wounds. This could be because rodents' physiological mechanisms for wound healing differ from those of humans27. Consequently, the best wound diameter is at least 20 mm, which is large enough to allow time to assess an intervention's efficacy in a diabetic wound study. The wound location should avoid the scapula and spine, as continuous motion in these two sites could disrupt wound healing.
In conclusion, the construction of the T1DM wound model using the method of this protocol is effective. The protocol replicates some of the characteristics of chronic diabetic wounds, such as slower wound healing, delayed re-epithelialization, and reduced angiogenesis compared to normal rat wounds. However, it is unknown whether the model can replicate other chronic phenotypes of diabetic wounds. Furthermore, this protocol describes the most fundamental and widely used method, which does not account for the issue of skin contraction in rats. Future research can incorporate the use of wound splints into this protocol or explore additional models of chronic diabetic wounds, which will be a significant challenge for researchers in the future.