Injury thresholds and early-warning biomarkers for horizontal acceleration induced cervical damage in New Zealand rabbits.

Cervical injury is a common occupational health concern among pilots. At present, most studies in this area concentrate on post-injury diagnosis or retrospective analysis of high-risk exposure factors. In contrast, research on candidate early warning biomarkers remains limited. To address this gap, we employed New Zealand rabbits as an experimental model to investigate cervical spine injuries induced by horizontal acceleration under conditions relevant to pilots. By integrating approaches of imaging, histopathological evaluation, and multi-omics profiling, we determined the injury thresholds for single impact and cumulative exposure to the cervical spine. Furthermore, the potential biomarkers for candidate early cervical injury warning were identified. The study demonstrated that a single impact of -5Gx could cause acute injury to the trapezius muscle, while a single impact of -9Gx could lead to acute intervertebral disc injury in New Zealand rabbits. Additionally, cumulative exposure to -6Gx over 3 weeks could induce degenerative changes in the cervical intervertebral discs. Furthermore, this research identified four serum-based and five intervertebral disc-derived biomarkers associated with early-stage injury. This study provides theoretical support for the injury thresholds for cervical damage among pilots and proposes candidate biomarkers for pre-injury early warning systems.