title: An ear punch model for studying the effect of radiation on wound healing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Radiation and wound combined injury represents a major clinical challenge because of the synergistic interactions that lead to higher morbidity and mortality than either insult would produce singly. The purpose of this study was to develop a mouse ear punch model to study the physiological mechanisms underlying radiation effects on healing wounds.
  
  
  METHODS
  Surgical wounds were induced by a 2 mm surgical punch in the ear pinnae of MRL/MpJ mice. Photographs of the wounds were taken and the sizes of the ear punch wounds were quantified by image analysis. Local radiation to the ear was delivered by orthovoltage X-ray irradiator using a specially constructed jig that shields the other parts of body.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using this model, we demonstrated that local radiation to the wound area significantly delayed the healing of ear punch wounds in a dose-dependent fashion. The addition of sublethal whole body irradiation (7 Gy) further delayed the healing of ear punch wounds. These results were replicated in C57BL/6 mice; however, wound healing in MRL/MpJ mice was accelerated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data indicate that the mouse ear punch model is a valuable model to study radiation and wound combined injury.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Divino
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deoliveira
authors.forename: Yiqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.forename: Joel R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Kayla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Corbin
authors.forename: Qizhen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Greta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Toncheva
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anderson-Evans
authors.forename: Terry T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Yoshizumi
authors.forename: Benny J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Nelson J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Chao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004423:Ear / Q000293:injuries* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000503:physiopathology*