ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1494352
Challenges and limitations in developing of a new maxillary standardized rat alveolar bone defect model to study bone regenerative approaches in oral and maxillofacial surgery
Provisionally accepted
Naïma Ahmed Omar1
Jéssica Roque1Céline Bergeaut2Laurent Bidault2
Amedee Joelle1
Didier LETOURNEUR3Jean-Christophe Fricain1
Mathilde Fenelon1*- 1INSERM U1026 Bioingénierie Tissulaire, Bordeaux, France
- 2SILTISS, Saint-Viance, France
- 3INSERM U1148 Laboratoire de Recherche Vasculaire Translationnelle, Villetaneuse, Île-de-France, France
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Innovative biomaterials are increasingly being investigated for guided bone regeneration (GBR) in oral and maxillofacial surgery. This study aimed to propose a standardized and reproducible maxillary bone defect model in rats that could be relevant to evaluate new materials for GBR. We first compared three defect sizes (2.8, 3.3, and 4.5 mm in diameter) in rat maxillary, and assessed until 12 weeks post-surgery, bone regeneration using longitudinal micro-computed tomography and histological analysis. The defect was subsequently filled by an osteoconductive bone substitute (GLYCOBONE), then covered either by a new natural polysaccharide membrane supplemented with hydroxyapatite, or by a commercial collagen membrane (BIO-GIDE). Results showed little spontaneous tissue regeneration for empty defects (bone volume fractions (BVF) below 40 % after 12 weeks). The smallest size defect (2.8 mm) was the most reproducible and was thus selected for testing GBR membranes. Defects filled with GLYCOBONE and covered with membranes displayed for both materials accelerated and substantial bone regeneration (with BVF that reached 80 % after 12 weeks).Histological sections showed immature bone formation for the empty defects, whereas the defects filled with the GBR membranes highlighted a lamellar structured bone. The polysaccharide membrane was as effective as the commercial collagen membrane to guide bone tissue regeneration. This study provides a step-by-step protocol of a new standardized rat maxillary bone defect model. In line with ethical and financial considerations, this rodent model should be considered as a preliminary level before performing larger animal experiments.
Keywords: preclinical model, Micro-computed tomography, Guided bone regeneration, membrane, Bone graft substitute
Received: 10 Sep 2024; Accepted: 18 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ahmed Omar, Roque, Bergeaut, Bidault, Joelle, LETOURNEUR, Fricain and Fenelon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mathilde Fenelon, INSERM U1026 Bioingénierie Tissulaire, Bordeaux, France
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