Study the epidermal regulation of mesenchymal tissue behavior using a novel rabbit animal model

In order to identify tissue specific differences in epithelial behavior following injury, we developed a novel animal model of epithelial-restricted injury in the New Zealand White rabbit. A grid of shallow incisional wounds, which extended through the entire epithelium but did not significantly damage the underlying connective tissue, were created on the skin and vaginal mucosa, and samples were taken at various times post-surgery for histology and molecular analysis. All wounds were completely re-epithelialized between 1 and 2 days post-surgery. A microarray analysis was performed on RNA extracted from the cutaneous and mucosal epithelium at 0 hour, 12 hours, 1 day, 3 days, and 5 days following injury, as well as unwounded control tissue. Multiple biological replicates (4 to 6 biological replicates) were measured at each condition. A custom Agilent 4x44K rabbit microarray was utilized.