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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1541577
Mechanical stress contributes to ligamentum flavum hypertrophy by inducing local inflammation and myofibroblast transition in the innovative surgical rabbit model
Provisionally accepted- Nanjing Jiangning Hospital, Nanjing, China
Background: Lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) ranks as a prevalent spinal disorder in senior populations. Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy (LFH) is a significant feature of LSCS, yet its cause is unclear. The purpose of this study was to create a novel animal model for LFH and explore the pathological mechanisms involved. Methods: A novel rabbit model for intervertebral mechanical stress decreased bleeding, and reduced technical difficulty and molding costs. Conclusion:This novel rabbit model is able to replicate the moderate pathological features of human LFH. Mechanical stress is an independent factor leading to LFH, which can promote the TGF-β1 secretion in LF cells and some inflammatory cells, subsequently induce the myofibroblast transition, and finally result in collagen accumulation and LF fibrosis.
Keywords: TGF-β1, Ligamentum Flavum, Fibrosis, Mechanical Stress, Rabbit model
Received: 08 Dec 2024; Accepted: 27 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ma, Feng, Chen, Zhang and Sun. 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:
Chao Sun, Nanjing Jiangning Hospital, Nanjing, China
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