A new surgical model of skeletal muscle injuries in rats reproduces human sports lesions

Skeletal muscle injuries are the most common sports-related injuries in sports medicine. In this work, we have generated a new surgically-induced skeletal muscle injury in rats, by using a biopsy needle, which could be easily reproduced and highly mimics skeletal muscle lesions detected in human ath...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Contreras Muñoz, Paola, Fernández-Martín, A., Torrella Guio, Joan Ramon, Serres, X., De la Varga, M., Viscor Carrasco, Ginés, Järvinen, T.A., Martínez-Ibáñez, V., Peiró Ibáñez, José Luis, Rodas Font, Gil, Marotta Baleriola, Mario
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2016
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/121704
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/121704
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Cirurgia
Lesions esportives
Músculs
Surgery
Sports injuries
Muscles
Description
Summary:Skeletal muscle injuries are the most common sports-related injuries in sports medicine. In this work, we have generated a new surgically-induced skeletal muscle injury in rats, by using a biopsy needle, which could be easily reproduced and highly mimics skeletal muscle lesions detected in human athletes. By means of histology, immunofluorescence and MRI imaging, we corroborated that our model reproduced the necrosis, inflammation and regeneration processes observed in dystrophic mdx-mice, a model of spontaneous muscle injury, and realistically mimicked the muscle lesions observed in professional athletes. Surgically-injured rat skeletal muscles demonstrated the longitudinal process of muscle regeneration and fibrogenesis as stated by Myosin Heavy Chain developmental (MHCd) and collagen-I protein expression. MRI imaging analysis demonstrated that our muscle injury model reproduces the grade I-II type lesions detected in professional soccer players, including edema around the central tendon and the typically high signal feather shape along muscle fibers. A significant reduction of 30% in maximum tetanus force was also registered after 2 weeks of muscle injury. This new model represents an excellent approach to the study of the mechanisms of muscle injury and repair, and could open new avenues for developing innovative therapeutic approaches to skeletal muscle regeneration in sports medicine