Osteoporotic vertebral fracture (OVF) is a worldwide health concern and lacks sufficient basic studies. Suitable animal models should be the foundation for basic study and treatment of OVF. There have been few studies on the development of animal models of osteoporotic vertebral bone defects. OVF models using various animal species should be developed to evaluate the therapeutic strategy in preclinical testing. We developed an OVF model in rats. Rat osteoporosis was induced by ovariectomy (OVX), and 3 months after OVX, a 3 mm diameter hemispheric vertebral bone defect was developed in lumbar vertebra 6 (L6). Sagittal plain X-rays of the rats, their bone quantity, bone microarchitecture, and histomorphology were analyzed: 3 months after OVX, rats showed significantly lower bone quantity, relative bone volume, and total volume bone mineral density. After the vertebral bone defect had developed for 16 weeks, no significant indication of self-healing could be observed from the sagittal plain X-rays, three-dimensional images, and histomorphology. These results indicate that the rat model of osteoporotic vertebral bone defect, induced by OVX and a 3 mm diameter hemispheric vertebral bone defect, can sufficiently mimic OVF patients in clinic and provide a sound basis for subsequent studies.
Keywords: Pathology Section; osteoporosis; ovariectomy; rat; vertebral bone defect/fracture.