A Rat Tibial Growth Plate Injury Model to Characterize Repair Mechanisms and Evaluate Growth Plate Regeneration Strategies

A third of all pediatric fractures involve the growth plate and can result in impaired bone growth. The growth plate (or physis) is cartilage tissue found at the end of all long bones in children that is responsible for longitudinal bone growth. Once damaged, cartilage tissue within the growth plate can undergo premature ossification and lead to unwanted bony repair tissue, which forms a "bony bar." In some cases, this bony bar can result in bone growth deformities, such as angular deformities, or it can completely halt longitudinal bone growth. There is currently no clinical treatment that can fully repair an injured growth plate. Using an animal model of growth plate injury to better understand the mechanisms underlying bony bar formation and to identify ways to inhibit it is a great opportunity to develop better treatments for growth plate injuries. This protocol describes how to disrupt the rat proximal tibial growth plate using a drill-hole defect. This small animal model reliably produces a bony bar and can result in growth deformities similar to those seen in children. This model allows for investigation into the molecular mechanisms of bony bar formation and serves as a means to test potential treatment options for growth plate injuries.