A New and Simple Method for Spinal Cord Injury Induction in Mice

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a devastating disease with poor clinical outcomes. Animal models provide great opportunities to expand our horizons in identifying SCI pathophysiological mechanisms and introducing effective treatment strategies. The present study introduces a new murine contusion model.

A simple, cheap, and reproducible novel instrument was designed, which consisted of a body part, an immobilization piece, and a bar-shaped weight. The injury was inflicted to the spinal cord using an 8-g weight for 5, 10, or 15 minutes after laminectomy at the T9 level in male C57BL/6 mice. Motor function, cavity formation, cell injury, and macrophage infiltration were evaluated 28 days after injury.

The newly designed instrument minimized adverse spinal movement during injury induction. Moreover, no additional devices, such as a stereotaxic apparatus, were required to stabilize the animals during the surgical procedure. Locomotor activity was deteriorated after injury. Furthermore, tissue damage and cell injury were exacerbated by increasing the duration of weight exertion. In addition, macrophage infiltration around the injured tissue was observed 28 days after injury.

This novel apparatus could induce a controllable SCI with a clear cavity formation in mice. No accessory elements are needed, which can be used in future SCI studies.