Protocol for the Splinted, Human-like Excisional Wound Model in Mice
Katharina Fischer,
Ben Litmanovich,
Dharshan Sivaraj,
Hudson Kussie,
William Hahn,
Andrew Hostler,
Kellen Chen,
Geoffrey Gurtner
Affiliations
Katharina Fischer
Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
Ben Litmanovich
Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
Dharshan Sivaraj
Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USADepartment of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Hudson Kussie
Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
William Hahn
Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
Andrew Hostler
Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
Kellen Chen
Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
Geoffrey Gurtner
Department of Surgery, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
While wound healing in humans occurs primarily through re-epithelization, in rodents it also occurs through contraction of the panniculus carnosus, an underlying muscle layer that humans do not possess. Murine experimental models are by far the most convenient and inexpensive research model to study wound healing, as they offer great variability in genetic alterations and disease models. To overcome the obstacle of contraction biasing wound healing kinetics, our group invented the splinted excisional wound model. While other rodent wound healing models have been used in the past, the splinted excisional wound model has persisted as the most used model in the field of wound healing. Here, we present a detailed protocol of updated and refined techniques necessary to utilize this model, generate results with high validity, and accurately analyze the collected data. This model is simple to conduct and provides an easy, standardizable, and replicable model of human-like wound healing.
