title: Modic Changes and Disc Degeneration Caused by Inoculation of Propionibacterium acnes inside Intervertebral Discs of Rabbits: A Pilot Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether P. acnes could induce disc degeneration and Modic changes when inoculated into the discs of rabbits.
  
  
  METHODS
  A wild-type strain of P. acnes isolated from a patient associated with Modic change and disc degeneration was inoculated into the intervertebral discs of rabbits. Meanwhile, S. aureus was injected into the discs to establish a model of discitis as the comparison and a standard strain of P. acnes was inoculated as the control. MRI and histological change were observed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both the P. acnes-inoculated and S. aureus-inoculated rabbits showed hyperintense signals at endplates and hypointense signals at nucleus pulposus on T2WI. However, P. acnes only resulted in moderate disc degeneration and endplates rupture in histological examination, which was different from the pathological change of discitis caused by S. aureus. In addition, higher death rates (2/3 versus 0/5) were observed in S. aureus-inoculated rabbits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared to S. aureus, the pathological change caused by P. acnes would be considered as Modic-I change and disc degeneration rather than a discitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases with Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital North, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 201821, China.
authors.forename: Yuehuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases with Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Yucheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Jiaqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China.
authors.forename: Zezhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases with Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D055959:Intervertebral Disc Degeneration / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D011425:Propionibacterium acnes; D011817:Rabbits