ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis and Therapy
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1643905
A localized vertebral infection model of pyogenic spondylitis induced by Staphylococcus aureus in rats
Provisionally accepted
Qinpeng Xu1
Yang Guihe2
Jiaju Ma1
XINGZHI JING1Fei Jia1Xingang Cui1Jianlong Li3Xiaoyang Liu1*Hongdong Tan3*- 1Shandong Provincial Hospital, Jinan, China
- 2Beijing Jishuitan Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University Department of Spine Surgery, Beijing, China
- 3Shandong University, Jinan, China
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Background and purpose: Pyogenic spondylitis (PS) is clinically challenging and induces disastrous consequences for patients. The pathogenesis of PS is difficult to explore due to a lack of ideal animal models. Thus, we aimed to reproduce the local pathogenesis of PS in an innovative animal model induced by Staphylococcus aureus. Methods: Rats were injected with planktonic Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and grouped according to different concentrations. We identified the optimal bacterial inoculum concentration based on general physical signs and radiological, hematological, and histological parameters in rats. Models with the optimal bacterial concentration were used to investigate changes in physical, radiological, and inflammatory parameters at different time points. Results: Our results revealed that infected rats experienced rapid weight loss, high fever, and significantly increased white blood cell count, interleukin 1β, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the short term. Radiographic examination revealed bone damage in groups that received 2×103/20 μl, 2×105/20 μl and 2×107/20 μl bacterial concentrations. The optimal concentration was identified as 2×105/20 μl, based on the high survival rate, obvious bone destruction, and inflammation. Histological staining confirmed the living bacteria, inflammatory cells, bone destruction, and scarce bone formation in infected vertebrae. Conclusions: This study provides an innovative PS animal model that simulates a local iatrogenic vertebral infection and develops innovative and effective strategies for its treatment, but does not simulate the hematogenous dissemination characteristics of most clinical cases of pyogenic spondylitis.
Keywords: Pyogenic spondylitis, Spinal infection, animal model, Staphylococcus aureus, rat
Received: 09 Jun 2025; Accepted: 04 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Guihe, Ma, JING, Jia, Cui, Li, Liu and Tan. 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:
Xiaoyang Liu, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Jinan, China
Hongdong Tan, Shandong University, Jinan, China
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