title: A review of pinealectomy-induced melatonin-deficient animal models for the study of etiopathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
abstract: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a common orthopedic disorder of unknown etiology and pathogenesis. Melatonin and melatonin pathway dysfunction has been widely suspected to play an important role in the pathogenesis. Many different types of animal models have been developed to induce experimental scoliosis mimicking the pathoanatomical features of idiopathic scoliosis in human. The scoliosis deformity was believed to be induced by pinealectomy and mediated through the resulting melatonin-deficiency. However, the lack of upright mechanical spinal loading and inherent rotational instability of the curvature render the similarity of these models to the human counterparts questionable. Different concerns have been raised challenging the scientific validity and limitations of each model. The objectives of this review follow the logical need to re-examine and compare the relevance and appropriateness of each of the animal models that have been used for studying the etiopathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in human in the past 15 to 20 years.
authors.forename: Gene Chi Wai
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Man
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. geneman@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Man Gene Chi
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Wai
authors.forename: William Wei Jun
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China. drwilliamwang@163.com.
authors.forename: Wang William Wei
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.forename: Annie Po Yee
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Yim
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. anniepym@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yim Annie Po
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Yee
authors.forename: Jack Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. jack1993@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Wong Jack
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Tzi Bun
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. tzibunng@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Ng Tzi
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Bun
authors.forename: Tsz Ping
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. tplam@ort.cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Lam Tsz
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Ping
authors.forename: Simon Kwong Man
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Lee Hysan Clinical Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. simonlee@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Lee Simon Kwong
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Man
authors.forename: Bobby Kin Wah
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. bobng@ort.cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Ng Bobby Kin
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Wah
authors.forename: Chi Chiu
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. ccwang@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Wang Chi
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China. scoliosis2002@sina.com.
authors.forename: Qiu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yong
authors.forename: Chun Yiu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Joint Scoliosis Research Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, Hong Kong, China. jackcheng@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Cheng Jack Chun
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Yiu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D000882:Haplorhini; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000502:physiology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010641:Phenotype; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery*; D011187:Posture; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012377:Rodentia; D012399:Rotation; D012474:Salmon; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013045:Species Specificity; D016474:Weight-Bearing
chemical_list: D008550:Melatonin