A Novel Rat Model of Venous Hypertensive Myelopathy Produced by Arteriovenous Bypass Plus Venous Stenosis
Yinqing Wang, Chengbin Yang, Jiachen Wang, Mengping Wei, Qing Xu, Zhanjing Wang, Tianqi Tu, Yuxiang Fan, Zihao Song, Wanru Duan, Chunmei Chen, Hongqi Zhang, Yongjie Ma- Neurology (clinical)
- Surgery
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Venous hypertensive myelopathy (VHM), mainly induced by the spinal dural arteriovenous fistula, is a congestive spinal cord injury that currently has no appropriate animal model available in preclinical research.
METHODS:
Sprague Dawley rats (280-320 g) were used. The rats were divided into 3 groups: (1) Group 1, which underwent renal artery-dorsal spinal venous bypass (AVB group); (2) Group 2, which underwent renal artery-dorsal spinal venous bypass and drainage vein stenosis (AVB/VS group); and (3) Control group, with T13 dorsal vein ligation. The success of the model was assessed using Doppler ultrasound and 7.0-T magnetic resonance imaging. Transmission electron microscopy, histochemistry, proteomics, and western blot analysis were used to evaluate ultrastructural, pathological, and molecular features in the spinal cord and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
RESULTS:
The success rate of the arteriovenous bypass was 100% at 5 days and 83% at 2 weeks. The locomotor assessment showed decreased lower extremity strength in the AVB/VS group (
CONCLUSION:
These findings suggest that the AVB/VS model can effectively mimic the clinical and molecular characteristics of VHM. Furthermore, they suggest that impaired deep intramedullary venous drainage is the key reason for the VHM.