An Ear Punch Model for Studying the Effect of Radiation on Wound Healing

In the 2011 study, researchers developed a mouse ear punch model to study the effects of radiation on wound healing. They used two mouse strains, MRL/MpJ and C57BL/6, and created 2 mm surgical wounds on the mice's ears, followed by local radiation. The study found that radiation significantly delayed wound healing in a dose-dependent manner. For instance, non-irradiated MRL/MpJ mice wounds healed 90% in 21 days, while those irradiated with 7, 10, and 15 Gy took 28, 70, and over 100 days, respectively. The addition of sublethal whole-body irradiation further delayed healing. Histological analysis showed delayed wound repair and regeneration, and radiation-induced apoptosis in epidermal cells. The study, which included groups of four mice and was consistent across two experiments, concluded that the ear punch model is valuable for studying radiation's impact on wounds and could aid in developing medical countermeasures. Advanced microscopy techniques were used, and the study was supported by the National Institute of Health.