Morphologic features of spontaneous annular tears and disc degeneration in the aging sand rat (Psammomys obesus obesus)

Abstract

The sand rat, a member of the gerbil family, is a valuable small animal model in which intervertebral disc degeneration occurs spontaneously as the animal ages. Radiographic features of cervical and lumbar degeneration resemble those in human spines. We conducted a retrospective analysis of spines of 140 animals 3−41 months old focusing specifically on the presence of annular tears that are not visible by radiography and have not been described previously in the sand rat disc. During degeneration of the nucleus pulposus, notochordal cell death occurs and granular material, which stains with Alcian blue for proteoglycans, accumulates. Lamellar architecture also deteriorates and annular tears occur that are morphologically similar to the concentric, radiating and transdiscal annular tears in human discs. These tears contain granular material that provides a “marker” that can be used to distinguish the annular tears from artefactual separations during sectioning. We observed lamellar degeneration and separation in the annulus fibrosus at 4 months with associated tears that contained granular material in the nucleus. Tears that contained granular material and displacement of the degenerating nucleus were common in cervical and lumbar discs of animals older than 9 months; some specimens showed tears at 4 and 5 months. With advanced degeneration, granular globules were displaced dorsally adjacent to and into the spinal cord area and also ventrally into regions where osteophytes formed. We present morphologic data that expand the utility of this rodent model of spontaneous age-related disc degeneration and provide novel information on annular tears and disc degeneration.

Key words:

• animal model
• annular fissures
• annular tears
• annulus fibrosus
• disc degeneration
• nucleus pulposus
• Psammomys obesus obesus
• sand rat

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Brian Gordon, D.V.M., and V. Michelle Chenault, Ph.D. for helpful discussions; Cliff Williams for early assistance with animal husbandry; and Jane Ingram, Michael Cox and Natalia Zinchenko for expert assistance with histology. We also acknowledge the support of the Brooks Back Pain Research Endowment for general laboratory support.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.