Animal Models of Joint Injury & Disease

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) are highly prevalent and have reached epidemic proportions in the US and worldwide. These joint diseases are characterized by inflammation, swelling (particularly in RA), pain, and limited mobility. Despite significant advances in developing anti-inflammatory therapies, biologics, and symptomatic pain relief measures, significant shortcomings in treating these diseases remain, buttressing the need for robust research to meet this urgent health predicament. A wide range of small animal models of joint disease, including RA and OA, has been developed in recent years and helped advance our understanding of disease pathology, underlying mechanisms, disease management and therapeutic intervention. However, the reproducible implementation of these models is challenging, especially in the hands of non-experts and due to scarcity of validated benchmark criteria across studies. At the same time, tests of animal behavior, sensitivity, and musculoskeletal function have demonstrated value in identifying symptoms and joint dysfunction in rodent models of arthritis. Yet, the full spectrum of creation of joint injury/disease models and evaluation of functional outcomes to achieve comprehensive analysis is rarely used by most research groups due to limited availability of essential resources. Core D will address this need by supporting model implementation and functional assessment as an integrated resource. Our ability to do so rests on the collective expertise of the Core leaders in inflammatory joint disease (Dr. Abu-Amer), post-traumatic OA (Drs. O’Keefe and Shen) and functional assessment of joint pain and dysfunction (Drs. Guilak and Setton). Notably, four of these investigators joined the WUSTL Research Community in the past few years, which has provided our Center with a unique opportunity to develop this Resource Core. Our long-term goal is to advance current knowledge to bridge gaps in our understanding of the cellular, molecular and functional basis of joint arthritis, and to develop and evaluate new therapeutic strategies. The Core will standardize protocols and support the reproducible implementation of RA and OA models for widespread use by the Research Community. We will facilitate collaboration with Cores B and C to enable comprehensive analyses. Importantly, the Core will organize critical resources, including a facility for testing murine musculoskeletal function and behavior. We will establish a new, organized biomaterial resource to collect and store tissue and serum samples from RA and OA mouse models, which will be made available as a standard resource for histology, gene and protein screens by all investigators. Finally, the Core will provide hands-on training and enrichment program to train the next generation of joint investigators.

Service available to Washington University and other non-profit organizations.

Priority service for Washington University only.

Additional information:

Investigators from outside of WashU please contact the core before scheduling services.

• Static Weight Bearing
• Sensitivity Threshold
• Controlled progressive force application
• Monitor spontaneous activity
• Evaluate the limb motor or muscular functions
• Test an animal’s sensitivity to pain resulting from exposure to heat or cold
• Consultation for and development of experimental mouse models of osteoarthritis (MLI, DMM) and rheumatoid arthritis (STIA, CIA, CAIA)
• Test of motor coordination, balance and fatigue in rodents
• Murine Fracture Models

• Static Weight Bearing – BIO-SWB
• Electronic Von Frey – Model EVF4
• SMALGO (Small Animal Algometer)
• Rodent Spontaneous Activity Wheels – BIO-ACTIVW
• Grip Strength Test Meter – BIO-GS3
• Thermal Analgesia Meter – BIO-CHP
• Activity Cage for Rodents – Open Field System LE8025C
• Rotarod – LE8205
• Treadmill – BIOSEB

Pricing is subject to core verification

All requests for Core services and equipment scheduling is available through iLab, under:

Musculoskeletal Research Center Cores

https://wustl.ilabsolutions.com/account/login