Three-Dimensional Printed Hydroxyapatite Bone Substitutes Designed by a Novel Periodic Minimal Surface Algorithm Are Highly Osteoconductive.

Autologous bone remains the gold standard bone substitute in clinical practice. Therefore, the microarchitecture of newly developed synthetic bone substitutes, which reflects the spatial distribution of materials in the scaffold, aims to recapitulate the natural bone microarchitecture. However, the natural bone microarchitecture is optimized to obtain a mechanically stable, lightweight structure adapted to the biomechanical loading situation.

Transplantation of Autologous Dermo-Epidermal Skin Substitutes in a Pig Model.

Due to its similarity of skin anatomy and physiology, the pig appears to be a well-suited animal model for preclinical studies of skin analog transplantations. The choice of the location of the skin defect and appropriate postoperative measures are essential for the protection of the transplanted graft. This protocol describes in detail a porcine skin transplantation model including peri- and postoperative measures taken to improve and refine the study outcome.

Preventive Trichuris suis ova (TSO) treatment protects immunocompetent rabbits from DSS colitis but may be detrimental under conditions of immunosuppression.

Trichuris suis ova (TSO) have been tested for therapeutic application in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) yet understanding of the underlying mechanisms and safety in an immunocompromised host is limited due to lack of a suitable animal model. We used a recently established rabbit model of dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) induced colitis to study the efficacy, mechanisms and safety of TSO therapy in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed animals. TSO treatment prevented the DSS induced weight loss, delayed the onset of DSS induced symptoms by 2 days and significantly reduced the disease activity (DAI).

Echinomycin did not affect the safety of fracture healing: an experimental pilot study on a murine femur fracture model.

Background: There is a need for effective drugs in the prevention and treatment of heterotopic ossifications (HO) after fractures. Echinomycin has been shown to prevent formation of HO in an animal model. However, before it may be considered as an option against HO, it needs to be studied whether it prevents fracture healing similar to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS).

Comparison of medetomidine, thiopental and ketamine/midazolam anesthesia in chick embryos for in ovo Magnetic Resonance Imaging free of motion artifacts.

Non-invasive assessment of the perfusion capacity of tissue engineered constructs grown on the chorioallantoic membrane by MRI is often hampered by motion artifacts. Therefore, we examined the suitability of three anesthetic regimes for sufficient sedation of the chick embryo. Medetomidine at a dosage of 0.

HLA-B27-Homodimer-Specific Antibody Modulates the Expansion of Pro-Inflammatory T-Cells in HLA-B27 Transgenic Rats.

Objectives: HLA-B27 is a common genetic risk factor for the development of Spondyloarthritides (SpA). HLA-B27 can misfold to form cell-surface heavy chain homodimers (B272) and induce pro-inflammatory responses that may lead to SpA pathogenesis. The presence of B272 can be detected on leukocytes of HLA-B27+ Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients and HLA-B27 transgenic rats.

Oral administration of dextran sodium sulphate induces a caecum-localized colitis in rabbits.

Trichuris suis ova (TSO) have shown promising results in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) but the mechanisms which underlies this therapeutic effect cannot be studied in mice and rats as T. suis fails to colonize the rodent intestine, whilst hatching in humans and rabbits. As a suitable rabbit IBD model is currently not available, we developed a rabbit colitis model by administration of dextran sodium sulphate (DSS).

2D motion analysis of rabbits after Achilles tendon rupture repair and histological analysis of extracted tendons: can the number of animals be reduced by operating both hind legs simultaneously?

Background: Considering the 3Rs principle in animal experiments, there is a demand to perform research experiments with the fewest number of animals possible while warranting the welfare of the animals. Orthopaedic experimental studies involving operations on the hind legs of rabbits are either performed on one hind leg with the second hind leg serving as control or on both hind legs simultaneously (control: rabbits with no operations at all).

Methods: The Achilles tendon of rabbits was transected and sutured, and the two-dimensional motion pattern of animals having only one leg operated was compared to rabbits having both hind legs operated (control: non-treated animals).

Human miR223 promoter as a novel myelo-specific promoter for chronic granulomatous disease gene therapy.

Targeting transgene expression to specific hematopoietic cell lineages could contribute to the safety of retroviral vectors in gene therapeutic applications. Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), a defect of phagocytic cells, can be managed by gene therapy, using retroviral vectors with targeted expression to myeloid cells. In this context, we analyzed the myelospecificity of the human miR223 promoter, which is known to be strongly upregulated during myeloid differentiation, to drive myeloid-restricted expression of p47(phox) and gp91(phox) in mouse models of CGD and in primary patient-derived cells.

Combining sevoflurane anesthesia with fentanyl-midazolam or s-ketamine in laboratory mice.

Laboratory mice typically are anesthetized by either inhalation of volatile anesthetics or injection of drugs. Here we compared the acute and postanesthetic effects of combining both methods with standard inhalant monoanesthesia using sevoflurane in mice. After injection of fentanyl-midazolam or S-ketamine as premedication, a standard 50-min anesthesia was conducted by using sevoflurane.

Burrowing behavior as an indicator of post-laparotomy pain in mice.

Detection of persistent pain of a mild-to-moderate degree in laboratory mice is difficult because mice do not show unambiguous symptoms of pain or suffering using standard methods of short-term observational or clinical monitoring. This study investigated the potential use of burrowing performance - a spontaneous and highly motivated behavior - as a measure of post-operative pain in laboratory mice. The influence of minor surgery on burrowing was investigated in adult C57BL/6J mice of both genders in a modified rodent burrowing test (displacement of food pellets from a pellet-filled tube) within the animal's home cage.

Coronary optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) for in vivo evaluation of stent healing: comparison with light and electron microscopy.

Aims: Coronary late stent thrombosis, a rare but devastating complication, remains an important concern in particular with the increasing use of drug-eluting stents. Notably, pathological studies have indicated that the proportion of uncovered coronary stent struts represents the best morphometric predictor of late stent thrombosis. Intracoronary optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI), a novel second-generation optical coherence tomography (OCT)-derived imaging method, may allow rapid imaging for the detection of coronary stent strut coverage with a markedly higher precision when compared with intravascular ultrasound, due to a microscopic resolution (axial approximately 10-20 microm), and at a substantially increased speed of image acquisition when compared with first-generation time-domain OCT.

Isoflurane and sevoflurane provide equally effective anaesthesia in laboratory mice.

Isoflurane is currently the most common volatile anaesthetic used in laboratory mice, whereas in human medicine the more modern sevoflurane is often used for inhalation anaesthesia. This study aimed to characterize and compare the clinical properties of both anaesthetics for inhalation anaesthesia in mice. In an approach mirroring routine laboratory conditions (spontaneous breathing, gas supply via nose mask, preventing hypothermia by a warming mat) a 50 min anaesthesia was performed.