Objective To establish a stable knee osteoarthritis(KOA) rat model of quadriceps femoris muscle atrophy. Methods Forty female SD rats were randomly divided into ovariectomized group (OVX), ovariectomized + botulinum toxin group (OVX + BTX), botulinum toxin group (BTX) and control group (Control). Five rats were selected from each group at 4W and 9W after modeling. The grip strength and Lequesne MG score in each group were evaluated, and the sections of quadriceps femoris, synovium and knee joint were stained, Mankin score of articular cartilage and synovitis score were performed. Results At the 4th and 9th week after modeling, quadriceps muscle atrophy occurred significantly in OVX + BTX group and BTX group. At the 4th week after modeling, the Lequesne MG scores of OVX + BTX group and BTX group were significantly higher than those of OVX group and Control group (all P<0.05). At the 9th week, the Lequesne MG scores of OVX + BTX group, BTX group and OVX group were higher than those of Control group, all P< 0.01. Moreover, the four-limb grip weight ratio and two lower limb grip weight ratio of OVX + BTX group were significantly lower than those of Control group at the 4th and 9th week after modeling (all P<0.05), and the two lower limb grip strength and strength weight ratio of OVX + BTX group and BTX group were significantly lower than those of Control group at the 9th week after modeling (all P<0.05). At the 4th week after modeling, Mankin scores in the OVX + BTX group and BTX group were and, significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05), but compared with OVX group had no statistical difference (P<0.05). At the 9th week after modeling, the Mankin score of OVX + BTX group was significantly higher than that in OVX group, BTX group and control group, all the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Furthermore, synovitis was not obvious in each group at the 4th week, whilesynovitis was observed in the three model groups at the 9th week. The synovitis scores of the three model groups were significantly higher than those of the control group (P<0.01). The synovitis scores of the three model groups were significantly higher than those of the Control group (all P<0.01). Conclusion KOA model can be established by the three methods, and articular cartilage damage is more distinct in the KOA model established by botulinum toxin injection combined with ovariectomy, which is more comparable to the real pathological changes of muscle and bone in postmenopausal KOA. |