{"doi":"10.1242/dmm.045385","title":"Rabbit model of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> implant-associated spinal infection","abstract":"ABSTRACT Post-surgical implant-associated spinal infection is a devastating complication commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Biofilm formation is thought to reduce penetration of antibiotics and immune cells, contributing to chronic and difficult-to-treat infections. A rabbit model of a posterior-approach spinal surgery was created, in which bilateral titanium pedicle screws were interconnected by a plate at the level of lumbar vertebra L6 and inoculated with a methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) bioluminescent strain. In vivo whole-animal bioluminescence imaging (BLI) and ex vivo bacterial cultures demonstrated a peak in bacterial burden by day 14, when wound dehiscence occurred. Structures suggestive of biofilm, visualized by scanning electron microscopy, were evident up to 56 days following infection. Infection-induced inflammation and bone remodeling were also monitored using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT). PET imaging signals were noted in the soft tissue and bone surrounding the implanted materials. CT imaging demonstrated marked bone remodeling and a decrease in dense bone at the infection sites. This rabbit model of implant-associated spinal infection provides a valuable preclinical in vivo approach to investigate the pathogenesis of implant-associated spinal infections and to evaluate novel therapeutics.","journal":"Disease Models & Mechanisms","year":2020,"id":104047,"datarank":0.48283137373023016,"base_score":3.2188758248682006,"endowment":3.2188758248682006,"self_citation_contribution":0.48283137373023016,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.48283137373023016,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":24,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.952,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2020-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":479124,"name":"Robert J. Miller","orcid":"0000-0002-7662-6136","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":506159,"name":"John M. Thompson","orcid":"0000-0002-7981-2882","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":241541,"name":"Alvaro A. Ordoñez","orcid":"0000-0002-8571-0655","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":491466,"name":"Mariah H. Klunk","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":411987,"name":"Dustin Dikeman","orcid":"0000-0003-1716-1479","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":506160,"name":"Daniel Joyce","orcid":"0000-0001-8530-0798","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":241542,"name":"Camilo A. Ruiz-Bedoya","orcid":"0000-0002-0653-4244","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":479130,"name":"Lloyd Miller","orcid":"0000-0002-8332-2210","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":241543,"name":"Sanjay K. Jain","orcid":"0000-0001-9620-7070","position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":506158,"name":"Oren Gordon","orcid":"0000-0002-3159-8426","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":40,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-18T22:43:22.755723Z","pmid":"32586832","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}