Examining the Morphological and Physiological Comparisons of OVX Murine Bone vs. Mini Pigs, Rats, and Humans

Abstract

Osteons are the structure and the base foundation of the human skeletal system. This cylindrical structure contains blood vessels and nerves that supply the bone matrix in humans. To study bone remodeling and bone diseases, mini pigs and rats have mainly been effective models for humans. This study was conducted to examine mouse bone structures in comparison to human, mini pig, and rat bone structures. This addresses the Three Rs principle of clinical testing on animals and proves that mice should be used as models for humans instead of mini pigs and rats. Many scientists prefer not to use mice as models for studying human bone diseases because it has been suggested that their skeletal systems are morphologically and physiologically different–as seen through aging effects. Because mice are easier to produce and can grow at a faster rate, they are more cost and time efficient to use in labs compared to rats and mini pigs. Aniline blue, Ploton silver, picrosirius red stains and TRAP and ALP cellular assays were conducted to analyze bone structures to compare with humans, mini pigs, and rats. Our data did support the hypothesis as explicit similarities between mice bone and other samples such as rats, mini pig, and human was deduced. This study concluded that there were little limitations present by using murine bone as samples for human when studying bone diseases.