title: Evaluating the effects of subclinical, cyclic ischemia-reperfusion injury on wound healing using a novel device in the rabbit ear.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cyclic ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury on wound healing using a novel rabbit ear model.
  
  
  METHODS
  A lightweight clamp apparatus was developed for reversible occlusion of the central ear artery. Ventral ear wounds were analyzed postoperatively for epithelialization and granulation as well as gene expression after 3 consecutive days of IR cycling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By postoperative day #7, ears showed no gross tissue necrosis, but histologic analysis of wounds confirmed a significant impairment in epithelial and granulation tissue gaps as well as total epithelial and granulation tissue areas (P < 0.001). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis of IR wounds indicated significant up-regulation of heat shock protein-70 and down-regulation of superoxide dismutase 1 relative to sham controls (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A novel rabbit ear model for the induction of subclinical, cyclic IR injury in cutaneous tissue has been developed that will serve as a valuable tool for the testing of new therapeutics.
authors: From the Division of Plastic Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors: Jordan P
authors: JP
authors: Steinberg
authors: Anandev N
authors: AN
authors: Gurjala
authors: Shengxian
authors: S
authors: Jia
authors: Seok Jong
authors: SJ
authors: Hong
authors: Robert D
authors: RD
authors: Galiano
authors: Thomas A
authors: TA
authors: Mustoe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004431:Ear, External / Q000098:blood supply*; D005260:Female; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011817:Rabbits; D015427:Reperfusion Injury / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*