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Abidin İ, Keser H, Şahin E, Öztürk H, Başoğlu H, Alver A, Aydin-Abidin S. Effects of housing conditions on stress, depressive like behavior and sensory-motor performances of C57BL/6 mice. Lab Anim Res 2024; 40:6. [PMID: 38369507 PMCID: PMC10874523 DOI: 10.1186/s42826-024-00193-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The effects of housing conditions on animal physiology, behavior or stress are still debated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three different housing systems, individually ventilated cages (IVC), classical small cages with floor surface area of 500 cm2 (CC500) and classical large cages with floor surface area of 800 cm2 (CC800) on body weight, sensory-motor performances, depression-like behavior, plasma corticosterone and brain oxidative stress parameters in C57BL/6 mice. The mice housed in one of the cages from birth to 6 months of age. Hang wire and adhesive removal tests were performed to evaluate somatosensory and motor performances. The extent of depression was determined by the forced swim test. Blood corticosterone levels were measured. In addition, brain malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant status (TAS) and total oxidant status (TOS) levels were analyzed. RESULTS The depression-like behavior of the groups was similar. Although there were no significant differences in hang wire test among groups, CC500 group required longer durations in adhesive removal test. The body weight and plasma corticosterone levels of CC800 group were significantly higher than other groups. The oxidative stress parameters were highest in CC500 cage. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that the least stressful housing condition was IVC cage systems. Interestingly, the number of mice in the classical cages had a significant effect on stress levels and sensory-motor performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- İsmail Abidin
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey
| | - Hatice Keser
- Ataturk Vocational School of Health Services, Afyonkarahisar University of Health Sciences, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
| | - Elif Şahin
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey
| | - Hilal Öztürk
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey
| | - Harun Başoğlu
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey
| | - Ahmet Alver
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey
| | - Selcen Aydin-Abidin
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biophysics, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey.
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Schweizer U, Wirth EK, Klopstock T, Hölter SM, Becker L, Moskovitz J, Grune T, Fuchs H, Gailus-Durner V, Hrabe de Angelis M, Köhrle J, Schomburg L. Seizures, ataxia and parvalbumin-expressing interneurons respond to selenium supply in Selenop-deficient mice. Redox Biol 2022; 57:102490. [PMID: 36182809 PMCID: PMC9526222 DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2022.102490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Mice with constitutive disruption of the Selenop gene have been key to delineate the importance of selenoproteins in neurobiology. However, the phenotype of this mouse model is exquisitely dependent on selenium supply and timing of selenium supplementation. Combining biochemical, histological, and behavioral methods, we tested the hypothesis that parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the primary somatosensory cortex and hippocampus depend on dietary selenium availability in Selenop-/- mice. Selenop-deficient mice kept on adequate selenium diet (0.15 mg/kg, i.e. the recommended dietary allowance, RDA) developed ataxia, tremor, and hyperexcitability between the age of 4-5 weeks. Video-electroencephalography demonstrated epileptic seizures in Selenop-/- mice fed the RDA diet, while Selenop± heterozygous mice behaved normally. Both neurological phenotypes, hyperexcitability/seizures and ataxia/dystonia were successfully prevented by selenium supplementation from birth or transgenic expression of human SELENOP under a hepatocyte-specific promoter. Selenium supplementation with 10 μM selenite in the drinking water on top of the RDA diet increased the activity of glutathione peroxidase in the brains of Selenop-/- mice to control levels. The effects of selenium supplementation on the neurological phenotypes were dose- and time-dependent. Selenium supplementation after weaning was apparently too late to prevent ataxia/dystonia, while selenium withdrawal from rescued Selenop-/- mice eventually resulted in ataxia. We conclude that SELENOP expression is essential for preserving interneuron survival under limiting Se supply, while SELENOP appears dispensable under sufficiently high Se status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrich Schweizer
- Institut für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie, Uniklinikum Bonn, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
| | - Eva K Wirth
- Institut für Experimentelle Endokrinologie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas Klopstock
- Friedrich-Baur-Institute, Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Ziemssenstraße 1a, 80336, Munich, Germany; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Munich, Germany; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany
| | - Sabine M Hölter
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany; Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Lore Becker
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Jackob Moskovitz
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Tilman Grune
- Department of Molecular Toxicology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), 14558, Nuthetal, Germany; German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), 10117, Berlin, Germany; Department of Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Ingolstaedter Landstraße. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Helmut Fuchs
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Valerie Gailus-Durner
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Martin Hrabe de Angelis
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany; Experimental Genetics, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technische Universität München, Alte Akademie 8, 85354, Freising, Germany; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Ingolstaedter Landstraße. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Josef Köhrle
- Institut für Experimentelle Endokrinologie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lutz Schomburg
- Institut für Experimentelle Endokrinologie, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Nunamaker EA, Reynolds PS. 'Invisible actors'-How poor methodology reporting compromises mouse models of oncology: A cross-sectional survey. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274738. [PMID: 36264974 PMCID: PMC9584398 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The laboratory mouse is a key player in preclinical oncology research. However, emphasis of techniques reporting at the expense of critical animal-related detail compromises research integrity, animal welfare, and, ultimately, the translation potential of mouse-based oncology models. To evaluate current reporting practices, we performed a cross-sectional survey of 400 preclinical oncology studies using mouse solid-tumour models. Articles published in 2020 were selected from 20 journals that specifically endorsed the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) preclinical reporting guidelines. We assessed reporting compliance for 22 items in five domains: ethical oversight assurance, animal signalment, husbandry, welfare, and euthanasia. Data were analysed using hierarchical generalised random-intercept models, clustered on journal. Overall, reporting of animal-related items was poor. Median compliance over all categories was 23%. There was little or no association between extent of reporting compliance and journal or journal impact factor. Age, sex, and source were reported most frequently, but verifiable strain information was reported for <10% of studies. Animal husbandry, housing environment, and welfare items were reported by <5% of studies. Fewer than one in four studies reported analgesia use, humane endpoints, or an identifiable method of euthanasia. Of concern was the poor documentation of ethical oversight information. Fewer than one in four provided verifiable approval information, and almost one in ten reported no information, or information that was demonstrably false. Mice are the "invisible actors" in preclinical oncology research. In spite of widespread endorsement of reporting guidelines, adherence to reporting guidelines on the part of authors is poor and journals fail to enforce guideline reporting standards. In particular, the inadequate reporting of key animal-related items severely restricts the utility and translation potential of mouse models, and results in research waste. Both investigators and journals have the ethical responsibility to ensure animals are not wasted in uninformative research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A. Nunamaker
- Animal Care Services, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
| | - Penny S. Reynolds
- Department of Anesthesiology, Statistics in Anesthesiology Research (STAR) Core, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Stover MG, Villano JS. Evaluation of Various IVC Systems According to Mouse Reproductive Performance and Husbandry and Environmental Parameters. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR LABORATORY ANIMAL SCIENCE : JAALAS 2022; 61:31-41. [PMID: 34980294 PMCID: PMC8786386 DOI: 10.30802/aalas-jaalas-21-000079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
IVC systems are marketed for improving the health and management of mouse colonies. The current study compared mouse reproductive performance and husbandry and environmental parameters among 3 high-density (HD) IVC rack systems (RS1, RS2, and RS3), which were present in separate but comparable rooms. Three breeding trios each of Swiss Webster (CFW) and BALB/c mice were placed in each rack (n = 36 female, n = 18 male). Reproductive indices were measured for 3 breeding cycles over 2 generations; indices included time to parturition, litter size and pup weight, survivability, and interbirth interval. Over 18 wk, personnel used scoring systems to evaluate each RS daily to every other week according to cage dirtiness, need for spot changing, ease of cage changing, daily health checks, and cage wash processing. Macroenvironmental parameters (temperature, relative humidity, noise, total particulate matter) were measured weekly over 14 wks. Microenvironmental parameters (temperature, relative humidity, NH₃, CO₂, O₂) of 2 cages each of male and female CFW mice (4 mice/cage) on each RS were measured at 6 time points over 2 wks. RS1 had significantly smaller mean litter sizes of CFW mice (mean ± 1 SD, 6.5 ± 2.9 pups) as compared with both RS2 (9.5 ± 1.7 pups) and RS3 (9.3 ± 3.8 pups). RS1 scored as being significantly easier to process through the cage wash. RS2 had significantly lower room noise levels (46.0 ± 5.0 dBA) but higher humidity (58.6% ± 8.9%) as compared with both RS1 (43.7% ± 9.9%) and RS3 (46.0% ± 12.0%) over the 2-wk cycle, particularly at 8 and 12 d after cage change. In conclusion, in terms of mouse reproductive performance and husbandry and environmental parameters, each system had at least 1 advantage over the other 2. Therefore, various factors should be considered when choosing an IVC system for mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchel G Stover
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Medicine, and
- Research Animal Resources, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jason S Villano
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, School of Medicine, and
- Research Animal Resources, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
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Guerra S, Chung R, Yerbury J, Karl T. Behavioural effects of cage systems on the G93A Superoxide Dismutase 1 transgenic mouse model for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2021; 20:e12735. [PMID: 33871173 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Revised: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Environmental factors inherent to animal facilities can impact on the neuro-behavioural phenotype of laboratory mice and genetic mouse models for human diseases. Many facilities have upgraded from traditional 'open filter top' cages (FT) to individually ventilated cage (IVC) systems, which have been shown to modify various behavioural responses of laboratory mice. Importantly, the impact of IVC housing on the G93A superoxide dismutase 1 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is currently unknown. Male and female wild type-like (WT) and heterozygous SOD1G93A mice were group-housed in FT or IVC systems from PND 30 ± 5 onwards. Body weight and motor function were assessed weekly from 15 weeks onward. Mice were also tested for cognitive abilities (i.e., fear conditioning and social recognition memory) and sensorimotor gating (i.e., prepulse inhibition: PPI). SOD1G93A mice lost body weight, and their motor function degenerated over time compared with control littermates. Motor impairments developed faster when SOD1G93A females were housed in IVCs. Context and cue freezing were increased in SOD1G93A females compared with controls, whereas all SOD1G93A mice exhibited lower acoustic startle and PPI than WT mice. IVC housing led to an increase in cue freezing in males and reduced the severity of PPI deficits in SOD1G93A females. Overall, IVC housing impacted moderately on the SOD1G93A phenotype but central behavioural deficits were still evident across housing conditions. Nonetheless, our findings indicate the importance of assessing the effect of cage system in genetic mouse models as these systems can modulate the magnitude and onset of genotypic differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Guerra
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Roger Chung
- Centre for MND Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Justin Yerbury
- Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Tim Karl
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia.,Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia
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Theil JH, Ahloy-Dallaire J, Weber EM, Gaskill BN, Pritchett-Corning KR, Felt SA, Garner JP. The epidemiology of fighting in group-housed laboratory mice. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16649. [PMID: 33024186 PMCID: PMC7538892 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73620-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Injurious home-cage aggression (fighting) in mice affects both animal welfare and scientific validity. It is arguably the most common potentially preventable morbidity in mouse facilities. Existing literature on mouse aggression almost exclusively examines territorial aggression induced by introducing a stimulus mouse into the home-cage of a singly housed mouse (i.e. the resident/intruder test). However, fighting occurring in mice living together in long-term groups under standard laboratory housing conditions has barely been studied. We performed a point-prevalence epidemiological survey of fighting at a research institution with an approximate 60,000 cage census. A subset of cages was sampled over the course of a year and factors potentially influencing home-cage fighting were recorded. Fighting was almost exclusively seen in group-housed male mice. Approximately 14% of group-housed male cages were observed with fighting animals in brief behavioral observations, but only 14% of those cages with fighting had skin injuries observable from cage-side. Thus simple cage-side checks may be missing the majority of fighting mice. Housing system (the combination of cage ventilation and bedding type), genetic background, time of year, cage location on the rack, and rack orientation in the room were significant risk factors predicting fighting. Of these predictors, only bedding type is easily manipulated to mitigate fighting. Cage ventilation and rack orientation often cannot be changed in modern vivaria, as they are baked in by cookie-cutter architectural approaches to facility design. This study emphasizes the need to invest in assessing the welfare costs of new housing and husbandry systems before implementing them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob H Theil
- Campus Veterinary Services, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Jamie Ahloy-Dallaire
- Département des Sciences Animales, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Elin M Weber
- Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Gråbrödragatan 19, 532 31, Skara, Sweden
| | - Brianna N Gaskill
- Animal Sciences Department, Purdue University, 270 S. Russell St., West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Kathleen R Pritchett-Corning
- Office of Animal Resources, Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 16 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Stephen A Felt
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305-5342, USA
| | - Joseph P Garner
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305-5342, USA. .,(By Courtesy), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305-5342, USA.
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7
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Percie du Sert N, Ahluwalia A, Alam S, Avey MT, Baker M, Browne WJ, Clark A, Cuthill IC, Dirnagl U, Emerson M, Garner P, Holgate ST, Howells DW, Hurst V, Karp NA, Lazic SE, Lidster K, MacCallum CJ, Macleod M, Pearl EJ, Petersen OH, Rawle F, Reynolds P, Rooney K, Sena ES, Silberberg SD, Steckler T, Würbel H. Reporting animal research: Explanation and elaboration for the ARRIVE guidelines 2.0. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000411. [PMID: 32663221 PMCID: PMC7360025 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 958] [Impact Index Per Article: 239.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Improving the reproducibility of biomedical research is a major challenge. Transparent and accurate reporting is vital to this process; it allows readers to assess the reliability of the findings and repeat or build upon the work of other researchers. The ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) were developed in 2010 to help authors and journals identify the minimum information necessary to report in publications describing in vivo experiments. Despite widespread endorsement by the scientific community, the impact of ARRIVE on the transparency of reporting in animal research publications has been limited. We have revised the ARRIVE guidelines to update them and facilitate their use in practice. The revised guidelines are published alongside this paper. This explanation and elaboration document was developed as part of the revision. It provides further information about each of the 21 items in ARRIVE 2.0, including the rationale and supporting evidence for their inclusion in the guidelines, elaboration of details to report, and examples of good reporting from the published literature. This document also covers advice and best practice in the design and conduct of animal studies to support researchers in improving standards from the start of the experimental design process through to publication.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amrita Ahluwalia
- The William Harvey Research Institute, London, United Kingdom
- Barts Cardiovascular CTU, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sabina Alam
- Taylor & Francis Group, London, United Kingdom
| | - Marc T. Avey
- Health Science Practice, ICF, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
| | - Monya Baker
- Nature, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | | | | | - Innes C. Cuthill
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Ulrich Dirnagl
- QUEST Center for Transforming Biomedical Research, Berlin Institute of Health & Department of Experimental Neurology, Charite Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Emerson
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Garner
- Centre for Evidence Synthesis in Global Health, Clinical Sciences Department, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen T. Holgate
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - David W. Howells
- Tasmanian School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
| | | | - Natasha A. Karp
- Data Sciences & Quantitative Biology, Discovery Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | - Malcolm Macleod
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | | | - Ole H. Petersen
- Academia Europaea Knowledge Hub, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
| | | | - Penny Reynolds
- Statistics in Anesthesiology Research (STAR) Core, Department of Anesthesiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
| | - Kieron Rooney
- Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Emily S. Sena
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Shai D. Silberberg
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | | | - Hanno Würbel
- Veterinary Public Health Institute, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Reproducibility of animal research in light of biological variation. Nat Rev Neurosci 2020; 21:384-393. [PMID: 32488205 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-020-0313-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 156] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Context-dependent biological variation presents a unique challenge to the reproducibility of results in experimental animal research, because organisms' responses to experimental treatments can vary with both genotype and environmental conditions. In March 2019, experts in animal biology, experimental design and statistics convened in Blonay, Switzerland, to discuss strategies addressing this challenge. In contrast to the current gold standard of rigorous standardization in experimental animal research, we recommend the use of systematic heterogenization of study samples and conditions by actively incorporating biological variation into study design through diversifying study samples and conditions. Here we provide the scientific rationale for this approach in the hope that researchers, regulators, funders and editors can embrace this paradigm shift. We also present a road map towards better practices in view of improving the reproducibility of animal research.
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Åhlgren J, Voikar V. Housing mice in the individually ventilated or open cages-Does it matter for behavioral phenotype? GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2019; 18:e12564. [PMID: 30848040 PMCID: PMC6849734 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2018] [Revised: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Individually ventilated caging (IVC) systems for rodents are increasingly common in laboratory animal facilities. However, the impact of such substantial change in housing conditions on animal physiology and behavior is still debated. Most importantly, there arise the questions regarding reproducibility and comparison of previous or new phenotypes between the IVC and open cages. The present study was set up for detailed and systematic comparison of behavioral phenotypes in male and female mice of three widely used inbred strains (C57BL/6JRccHsd, DBA/2JRccHsd, 129S2/SvHSd) after being kept in two housing environments (IVC and open cages) for 6 weeks (since 4 weeks of age) before behavioral testing. The tests addressed exploratory, anxiety-like and stress-related behavior (light-dark box, open field, forced swim test, stress-induced hyperthermia), social approach and species-specific behavior (nest building, marble burying). In all tests, large and expected strain differences were found. Somewhat surprisingly, the most striking effect of environment was found for basal body temperature and weight loss after one night of single housing in respective cages. In addition, the performance in light-dark box and open field was affected by environment. Several parameters in different tests showed significant interaction between housing and genetic background. In summary, the IVC housing did not invalidate the well-known differences between the mouse strains which have been established by previous studies. However, within the strains the results can be influenced by sex and housing system depending on the behavioral tasks applied. The bottom-line is that the environmental conditions should be described explicitly in all publications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Åhlgren
- Laboratory Animal Center, Helsinki Institute of Life ScienceUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Vootele Voikar
- Neuroscience Center, Helsinki Institute of Life ScienceUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Laboratory Animal Center, Helsinki Institute of Life ScienceUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
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Ross M, Garland A, Harlander-Matauschek A, Kitchenham L, Mason G. Welfare-improving enrichments greatly reduce hens' startle responses, despite little change in judgment bias. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11881. [PMID: 31417122 PMCID: PMC6695442 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48351-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Responses to ambiguous and aversive stimuli (e.g. via tests of judgment bias and measures of startle amplitude) can indicate mammals’ affective states. We hypothesised that such findings generalize to birds, and that these two responses co-vary (since both involve stimulus evaluation). To validate startle reflexes (involuntary responses to sudden aversive stimuli) and responses in a judgment bias task as indicators of avian affective state, we differentially housed hens with or without preferred enrichments assumed to improve mood (in a crossover design). To control for personality, we first measured hens’ baseline exploration levels. To infer judgment bias, control and enriched hens were trained to discriminate between white and dark grey cues (associated with reward and punishment, respectively), and then probed with intermediate shades of grey. For startle reflexes, forceplates assessed responses to a light flash. Judgment bias was only partially validated: Exploratory hens showed more ‘optimism’ when enriched, but Non-exploratory hens did not. Across all birds, however, startle amplitudes were dramatically reduced by enrichment (albeit more strongly in Exploratory subjects): the first evidence that avian startle is affectively modulated. Startle and judgment biases did not co-vary, suggesting different underlying mechanisms. Of the two measures, startle reflexes thus seem most sensitive to avian affective state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Misha Ross
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road, Guelph, Ontario, N1G2W1, Canada
| | - Anna Garland
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road, Guelph, Ontario, N1G2W1, Canada
| | | | - Lindsey Kitchenham
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road, Guelph, Ontario, N1G2W1, Canada
| | - Georgia Mason
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road, Guelph, Ontario, N1G2W1, Canada.
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11
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Brenhouse HC, Bath KG. Bundling the haystack to find the needle: Challenges and opportunities in modeling risk and resilience following early life stress. Front Neuroendocrinol 2019; 54:100768. [PMID: 31175880 PMCID: PMC6708473 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.100768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Revised: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Various forms of early life adversity (ELA) have been linked with increased risk for negative health outcomes, including neuropsychiatric disorders. Understanding how the complex interplay between types, timing, duration, and severity of ELA, together with individual differences in genetic, socio-cultural, and physiological differences can mediate risk and resilience has proven difficult in population based studies. Use of animal models provides a powerful toolset to isolate key variables underlying risk for altered neural and behavioral maturational trajectories. However, a lack of clarity regarding the unique features of differing forms of adversity, lab differences in the implementation and reporting of methods, and the ability compare across labs and types of ELA has led to some confusion. Here, we highlight the diversity of approaches available, current challenges, and a possible ways forward to increase clarity and drive more meaningful and fruitful implementation and comparison of these approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather C Brenhouse
- Psychology Department, Northeastern University, 125 Nightingale Hall, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
| | - Kevin G Bath
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences, Brown University, 190 Thayer St. Box 1821, Providence, RI 02912, United States
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Kentner AC, Bilbo SD, Brown AS, Hsiao EY, McAllister AK, Meyer U, Pearce BD, Pletnikov MV, Yolken RH, Bauman MD. Maternal immune activation: reporting guidelines to improve the rigor, reproducibility, and transparency of the model. Neuropsychopharmacology 2019; 44:245-258. [PMID: 30188509 PMCID: PMC6300528 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0185-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Revised: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
The 2017 American College of Neuropychopharmacology (ACNP) conference hosted a Study Group on 4 December 2017, Establishing best practice guidelines to improve the rigor, reproducibility, and transparency of the maternal immune activation (MIA) animal model of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. The goals of this session were to (a) evaluate the current literature and establish a consensus on best practices to be implemented in MIA studies, (b) identify remaining research gaps warranting additional data collection and lend to the development of evidence-based best practice design, and (c) inform the MIA research community of these findings. During this session, there was a detailed discussion on the importance of validating immunogen doses and standardizing the general design (e.g., species, immunogenic compound used, housing) of our MIA models both within and across laboratories. The consensus of the study group was that data does not currently exist to support specific evidence-based model selection or methodological recommendations due to lack of consistency in reporting, and that this issue extends to other inflammatory models of neurodevelopmental abnormalities. This launched a call to establish a reporting checklist focusing on validation, implementation, and transparency modeled on the ARRIVE Guidelines and CONSORT (scientific reporting guidelines for animal and clinical research, respectively). Here we provide a summary of the discussions in addition to a suggested checklist of reporting guidelines needed to improve the rigor and reproducibility of this valuable translational model, which can be adapted and applied to other animal models as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda C. Kentner
- 0000 0001 0021 3995grid.416498.6School of Arts & Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA USA
| | - Staci D. Bilbo
- 000000041936754Xgrid.38142.3cDepartment of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA ,0000 0004 0386 9924grid.32224.35Lurie Center for Autism, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, MA USA
| | - Alan S. Brown
- 0000000419368729grid.21729.3fDepartment of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY USA ,0000 0000 8499 1112grid.413734.6New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY USA
| | - Elaine Y. Hsiao
- 0000 0000 9632 6718grid.19006.3eDepartment of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - A. Kimberley McAllister
- 0000 0004 1936 9684grid.27860.3bCenter for Neuroscience, University of California Davis, Davis, CA USA
| | - Urs Meyer
- 0000 0004 1937 0650grid.7400.3Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich-Vetsuisse, Winterthurerstrasse, Zurich, Switzerland ,0000 0004 1937 0650grid.7400.3Neuroscience Centre Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Brad D. Pearce
- 0000 0001 0941 6502grid.189967.8Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, and Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Mikhail V. Pletnikov
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Robert H. Yolken
- 0000 0001 2171 9311grid.21107.35Department of Pediatrics, Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Melissa D. Bauman
- 0000 0004 1936 9684grid.27860.3bThe UC Davis MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, USA
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Williams D. Is this nice for mice? IN PRACTICE 2018. [DOI: 10.1136/inp.k4477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Mueller FS, Polesel M, Richetto J, Meyer U, Weber-Stadlbauer U. Mouse models of maternal immune activation: Mind your caging system! Brain Behav Immun 2018; 73:643-660. [PMID: 30026057 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2018.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Rodent models of maternal immune activation (MIA) are increasingly used as experimental tools to study neuronal and behavioral dysfunctions in relation to infection-mediated neurodevelopmental disorders. One of the most widely used MIA models is based on gestational administration of poly(I:C) (= polyriboinosinic-polyribocytdilic acid), a synthetic analog of double-stranded RNA that induces a cytokine-associated viral-like acute phase response. The effects of poly(I:C)-induced MIA on phenotypic changes in the offspring are known to be influenced by various factors, including the precise prenatal timing, genetic background, and immune stimulus intensity. Thus far, however, it has been largely ignored whether differences in the basic type of laboratory housing can similarly affect the outcomes of MIA models. Here, we examined this possibility by comparing the poly(I:C)-based MIA model in two housing systems that are commonly used in preclinical mouse research, namely the open cage (OC) and individually ventilated cage (IVC) systems. Pregnant C57BL6/N mice were kept in OCs or IVCs and treated with a low (1 mg/kg, i.v.) or high (5 mg/kg, i.v.) dose of poly(I:C), or with control vehicle solution. MIA or control treatment was induced on gestation day (GD) 9 or 12, and the resulting offspring were raised and maintained in OCs or IVCs until adulthood for behavioral testing. An additional cohort of dams was used to assess the influence of the different caging systems on poly(I:C)-induced cytokine and stress responses in the maternal plasma. Maternal poly(I:C) administration on GD9 caused a dose-dependent increase in spontaneous abortion in IVCs but not in OCs, whereas MIA in IVC systems during a later gestational time-point (GD12) did not affect pregnancy outcomes. Moreover, the precise type of caging system markedly affected maternal cytokines and chemokines at basal states and in response to poly(I:C) and further influenced the maternal levels of the stress hormone, corticosterone. The efficacy of MIA to induce deficits in working memory, social interaction, and sensorimotor gating in the adult offspring was influenced by the different housing conditions, the dosing of poly(I:C), and the precise prenatal timing. Taken together, the present study identifies the basic type of caging system as a novel factor that can confound the outcomes of MIA in mice. Our findings thus urge the need to consider and report the kind of laboratory housing systems used to implement MIA models. Providing this information seems pivotal to yield reproducible results in these models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flavia S Mueller
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich - Vetsuisse, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Juliet Richetto
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich - Vetsuisse, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Urs Meyer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich - Vetsuisse, Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ulrike Weber-Stadlbauer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich - Vetsuisse, Zurich, Switzerland.
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Matsuda S, Tohyama S, Mizutani A. Sex differences in the effects of adult short-term isolation rearing on contextual fear memory and extinction. Neurosci Lett 2018; 687:119-123. [PMID: 30240823 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.09.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2018] [Revised: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Fear conditioning and extinction is a useful tool for understanding the pathogenesis of fear-related disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and for developing treatments for them. To investigate the role of sub-brain regions or molecular mechanisms in fear conditioning and extinction, neuroscientists have been employing an optogenetic or in vivo recording technique, in which placement of an optical fiber or an electrode into the brain region of a free-moving mouse is essential. These methods require isolation rearing (at least one week) from the brain surgery to the behavioral test. Although such short-term adult rearing has been shown not to influence fear memory and extinction in males, the effect in females remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effect on fear memory and fear extinction of adult isolation rearing during the one week before contextual fear conditioning in both male and female mice. This short-term adult isolation rearing increased fear responses in the contextual fear memory test in females but not in males. On the other hand, the rearing showed no effect on fear responses during fear extinction or the recall test in either sex. In summary, adult short-term isolation rearing enhanced only fear memory, and only in females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shingo Matsuda
- Department of Pharmacotherapeutics, Showa Pharmaceutical University, 3-3165 Higashi-tamagawagakuen, Machida, Tokyo 194-8543, Japan; Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chiba, Chiba 260-8670, Japan; Department of Ultrastructural Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawahigashi, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8502, Japan.
| | - Suguru Tohyama
- Department of Pharmacotherapeutics, Showa Pharmaceutical University, 3-3165 Higashi-tamagawagakuen, Machida, Tokyo 194-8543, Japan
| | - Akihiro Mizutani
- Department of Pharmacotherapeutics, Showa Pharmaceutical University, 3-3165 Higashi-tamagawagakuen, Machida, Tokyo 194-8543, Japan
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16
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Assessing the exploratory and anxiety-related behaviors of mice. Do different caging systems affect the outcome of behavioral tests? Physiol Behav 2017; 177:68-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2017] [Revised: 04/02/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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17
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Introducing Therioepistemology: the study of how knowledge is gained from animal research. Lab Anim (NY) 2017; 46:103-113. [PMID: 28328885 DOI: 10.1038/laban.1224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2017] [Accepted: 02/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
This focus issue of Lab Animal coincides with a tipping point in biomedical research. For the first time, the scale of the reproducibility and translatability crisis is widely understood beyond the small cadre of researchers who have been studying it and the pharmaceutical and biotech companies who have been living it. Here we argue that an emerging literature, including the papers in this focus issue, has begun to congeal around a set of recurring themes, which themselves represent a paradigm shift. This paradigm shift can be characterized at the micro level as a shift from asking "what have we controlled for in this model?" to asking "what have we chosen to ignore in this model, and at what cost?" At the macro level, it is a shift from viewing animals as tools (the furry test tube), to viewing them as patients in an equivalent human medical study. We feel that we are witnessing the birth of a new discipline, which we term Therioepistemology, or the study of how knowledge is gained from animal research. In this paper, we outline six questions that serve as a heuristic for critically evaluating animal-based biomedical research from a therioepistemological perspective. These six questions sketch out the broad reaches of this new discipline, though they may change or be added to as this field evolves. Ultimately, by formalizing therioepistemology as a discipline, we can begin to discuss best practices that will improve the reproducibility and translatability of animal-based research, with concomitant benefits in terms of human health and animal well-being.
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Pasquarelli N, Voehringer P, Henke J, Ferger B. Effect of a change in housing conditions on body weight, behavior and brain neurotransmitters in male C57BL/6J mice. Behav Brain Res 2017. [PMID: 28625548 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
The development of modern housing regimes such as individually ventilated cage (IVC) systems has become very popular and attractive in order to reduce spreading of pathogenic organisms and to lower the risk to develop a laboratory animal allergy for staff members. Additionally, optimal housing of laboratory animals contributes to improve animal health status and ensures high and comparable experimental and animal welfare standards. However, it has not been clearly elucidated whether 1) a change to IVC systems have an impact on various physiological phenotypic parameters of mice when compared to conventional, standard cages and 2) if this is further affected by changing from social to single housing. Therefore, we investigated the influence of a change in housing conditions (standard cages with social housing changed to standard or IVC cages combined with social or single housing) on body weight, behavior and a neurochemical fingerprint of male C57BL/6J mice. Body weight progression was significantly reduced when changing mice to single or social IVC cages as well as in single standard cages when compared to social standard housing. Automated motor activity measurement in the open field showed that mice maintained in social husbandry with standard cages displayed the lowest exploratory behavior but the highest activity difference upon amphetamine treatment. Elevated plus maze test revealed that a change to IVC single and social housing as well as single standard housing produced anxiety-related behavior when compared to maintenance in social standard housing. Additionally, postmortem neurochemical analysis of the striatum using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrochemical detection showed significant differences in striatal dopamine and serotonin turnover levels. In summary, our data indicate a crucial influence of a change in housing conditions on several mouse phenotype parameters. We propose that the maintenance of well-defined housing conditions is mandatory to ensure reproducible and comparable results and contributes to the application of the 3R refinement principle in animal studies by contributing to welfare and hygienical standards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noemi Pasquarelli
- CNS Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Straße 65, 88397 Biberach, Germany; Department of Experimental Neurology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Patrizia Voehringer
- CNS Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Straße 65, 88397 Biberach, Germany
| | - Julia Henke
- Nonclinical Drug Safety Germany, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Straße 65, 88397 Biberach, Germany
| | - Boris Ferger
- CNS Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Birkendorfer Straße 65, 88397 Biberach, Germany.
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Lauer AM, Behrens D, Klump G. Acoustic startle modification as a tool for evaluating auditory function of the mouse: Progress, pitfalls, and potential. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 77:194-208. [PMID: 28327385 PMCID: PMC5446932 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Revised: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Acoustic startle response (ASR) modification procedures, especially prepulse inhibition (PPI), are increasingly used as behavioral measures of auditory processing and sensorimotor gating in rodents due to their perceived ease of implementation and short testing times. In practice, ASR and PPI procedures are extremely variable across animals, experimental setups, and studies, and the interpretation of results is subject to numerous caveats and confounding influences. We review considerations for modification of the ASR using acoustic stimuli, and we compare the sensitivity of PPI procedures to more traditional operant psychoacoustic techniques. We also discuss non-auditory variables that must be considered. We conclude that ASR and PPI measures cannot substitute for traditional operant techniques due to their low sensitivity. Additionally, a substantial amount of pilot testing must be performed to properly optimize an ASR modification experiment, negating any time benefit over operant conditioning. Nevertheless, there are some circumstances where ASR measures may be the only option for assessing auditory behavior, such as when testing mouse strains with early-onset hearing loss or learning impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Lauer
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Center for Hearing and Balance, Johns Hopkins University, 515 Traylor Building, 720 Rutland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
| | - Derik Behrens
- Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all, Animal Physiology & Behavior Group, Department for Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl Von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Carl Von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Georg Klump
- Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all, Animal Physiology & Behavior Group, Department for Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl Von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Carl Von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
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20
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Segerström L, Roman E. Response: Commentary: Supplier-dependent differences in intermittent voluntary alcohol intake and response to naltrexone in Wistar rats. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:442. [PMID: 27746715 PMCID: PMC5042965 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lova Segerström
- Research Group Neuropharmacology, Addiction and Behavior, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Erika Roman
- Research Group Neuropharmacology, Addiction and Behavior, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University Uppsala, Sweden
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21
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López-Salesansky N, Mazlan NH, Whitfield LE, Wells DJ, Burn CC. Olfaction variation in mouse husbandry and its implications for refinement and standardization: UK survey of animal scents. Lab Anim 2016; 50:362-9. [DOI: 10.1177/0023677215622883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Olfaction plays a crucial role in mouse communication, providing information about genetic identity, physiological status of conspecifics and alerting mice to potential predators. Scents of animal origin can trigger physiological and behavioural responses that could affect experimental responses and impact positively or negatively on mouse welfare. Additionally, differing olfactory profiles could help explain variation in results between laboratories. A survey was sent to animal research units in the UK to investigate potential transfer of scents of animal origin during routine husbandry procedures, and responses were obtained from animal care workers and researchers using mice in 51 institutions. The results reveal great diversity between animal units regarding the relevant husbandry routines covered. Most [71%] reported housing non-breeding male and female mice in the same room, with 76% reporting that hands were not washed and gloves not changed between handling male and female mice. The most commonly reported species housed in the same facility as mice was the rat (91%), and 41% of respondents were aware that scents from rats could affect mice. Changing of gloves between handling mice and other species was reported by 79% of respondents. Depending on the aspect considered, between 18 and 33% of respondents believed human and non-human animal odours would strongly affect mouse physiology, behaviour or standardization, while approximately 32–54% believed these effects would be weak. This indicates uncertainty regarding the significance of these factors. Understanding and controlling these practices could reduce unwanted variability in experimental results and maximize welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noelia López-Salesansky
- Animal Welfare Science and Ethics Group, The Royal Veterinary College, London, UK
- Named Veterinary Surgeons Department, The Royal Veterinary College, London, UK
| | - Nur H Mazlan
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, London, UK
| | - Lucy E Whitfield
- Named Veterinary Surgeons Department, The Royal Veterinary College, London, UK
| | - Dominic J Wells
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, London, UK
| | - Charlotte C Burn
- Animal Welfare Science and Ethics Group, The Royal Veterinary College, London, UK
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22
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Logge W, Kingham J, Karl T. Do individually ventilated cage systems generate a problem for genetic mouse model research? GENES BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR 2014; 13:713-20. [DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2014] [Revised: 05/30/2014] [Accepted: 06/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- W. Logge
- Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA); Randwick
- Schizophrenia Research Institute; Darlinghurst
| | - J. Kingham
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research; Darlinghurst
| | - T. Karl
- Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA); Randwick
- Schizophrenia Research Institute; Darlinghurst
- School of Medical Sciences; University of New South Wales; Sydney Australia
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23
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Meier F, Giesert F, Delic S, Faus-Kessler T, Matheus F, Simeone A, Hölter SM, Kühn R, Weisenhorn DMV, Wurst W, Prakash N. FGF/FGFR2 signaling regulates the generation and correct positioning of Bergmann glia cells in the developing mouse cerebellum. PLoS One 2014; 9:e101124. [PMID: 24983448 PMCID: PMC4077754 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2013] [Accepted: 06/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The normal cellular organization and layering of the vertebrate cerebellum is established during embryonic and early postnatal development by the interplay of a complex array of genetic and signaling pathways. Disruption of these processes and of the proper layering of the cerebellum usually leads to ataxic behaviors. Here, we analyzed the relative contribution of Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2)-mediated signaling to cerebellar development in conditional Fgfr2 single mutant mice. We show that during embryonic mouse development, Fgfr2 expression is higher in the anterior cerebellar primordium and excluded from the proliferative ventricular neuroepithelium. Consistent with this finding, conditional Fgfr2 single mutant mice display the most prominent defects in the anterior lobules of the adult cerebellum. In this context, FGFR2-mediated signaling is required for the proper generation of Bergmann glia cells and the correct positioning of these cells within the Purkinje cell layer, and for cell survival in the developing cerebellar primordium. Using cerebellar microexplant cultures treated with an FGFR agonist (FGF9) or antagonist (SU5402), we also show that FGF9/FGFR-mediated signaling inhibits the outward migration of radial glia and Bergmann glia precursors and cells, and might thus act as a positioning cue for these cells. Altogether, our findings reveal the specific functions of the FGFR2-mediated signaling pathway in the generation and positioning of Bergmann glia cells during cerebellar development in the mouse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Meier
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Florian Giesert
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Sabit Delic
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Neuropathology, Regensburg University Hospital, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Theresa Faus-Kessler
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Friederike Matheus
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Antonio Simeone
- Centre of Genetics Engineering (CEINGE) Biotecnologie Avanzate, European School of Molecular Medicine and Institute of Genetics and Biophysics “A. Buzzati-Traverso”, Naples, Italy
| | - Sabine M. Hölter
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Ralf Kühn
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
- Technische Universität München-Weihenstephan, Lehrstuhl für Entwicklungsgenetik c/o Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Daniela M. Vogt. Weisenhorn
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
- Technische Universität München-Weihenstephan, Lehrstuhl für Entwicklungsgenetik c/o Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) Standort München, München, Germany
- Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry, München, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wurst
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
- Technische Universität München-Weihenstephan, Lehrstuhl für Entwicklungsgenetik c/o Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) Standort München, München, Germany
- Max-Planck Institute of Psychiatry, München, Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Adolf-Butenandt-Institut, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, München, Germany
- * E-mail: (WW) (WW); (NP) (NP)
| | - Nilima Prakash
- Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany
- Technische Universität München-Weihenstephan, Lehrstuhl für Entwicklungsgenetik c/o Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany
- * E-mail: (WW) (WW); (NP) (NP)
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Zumbrennen-Bullough KB, Becker L, Garrett L, Hölter SM, Calzada-Wack J, Mossbrugger I, Quintanilla-Fend L, Racz I, Rathkolb B, Klopstock T, Wurst W, Zimmer A, Wolf E, Fuchs H, Gailus-Durner V, de Angelis MH, Romney SJ, Leibold EA. Abnormal brain iron metabolism in Irp2 deficient mice is associated with mild neurological and behavioral impairments. PLoS One 2014; 9:e98072. [PMID: 24896637 PMCID: PMC4045679 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Accepted: 04/27/2014] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Iron Regulatory Protein 2 (Irp2, Ireb2) is a central regulator of cellular iron homeostasis in vertebrates. Two global knockout mouse models have been generated to explore the role of Irp2 in regulating iron metabolism. While both mouse models show that loss of Irp2 results in microcytic anemia and altered body iron distribution, discrepant results have drawn into question the role of Irp2 in regulating brain iron metabolism. One model shows that aged Irp2 deficient mice develop adult-onset progressive neurodegeneration that is associated with axonal degeneration and loss of Purkinje cells in the central nervous system. These mice show iron deposition in white matter tracts and oligodendrocyte soma throughout the brain. A contrasting model of global Irp2 deficiency shows no overt or pathological signs of neurodegeneration or brain iron accumulation, and display only mild motor coordination and balance deficits when challenged by specific tests. Explanations for conflicting findings in the severity of the clinical phenotype, brain iron accumulation and neuronal degeneration remain unclear. Here, we describe an additional mouse model of global Irp2 deficiency. Our aged Irp2−/− mice show marked iron deposition in white matter and in oligodendrocytes while iron content is significantly reduced in neurons. Ferritin and transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1, Tfrc), expression are increased and decreased, respectively, in the brain from Irp2−/− mice. These mice show impairments in locomotion, exploration, motor coordination/balance and nociception when assessed by neurological and behavioral tests, but lack overt signs of neurodegenerative disease. Ultrastructural studies of specific brain regions show no evidence of neurodegeneration. Our data suggest that Irp2 deficiency dysregulates brain iron metabolism causing cellular dysfunction that ultimately leads to mild neurological, behavioral and nociceptive impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly B. Zumbrennen-Bullough
- Program in Anemia Signaling Research, Division of Nephrology, Program in Membrane Biology, Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Lore Becker
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Lillian Garrett
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Development Genetics, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Sabine M. Hölter
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Development Genetics, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Julia Calzada-Wack
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Ilona Mossbrugger
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Leticia Quintanilla-Fend
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Ildiko Racz
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Psychiatry, Life & Brain Center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Birgit Rathkolb
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology, Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas Klopstock
- Department of Neurology, Friedrich-Baur-Institute, Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, Munich, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, Munich, Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology, Munich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wurst
- Institute of Development Genetics, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Chair of Developmental Genetics, Technische Universitat München, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, Munich, Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology, Munich, Germany
| | - Andreas Zimmer
- Institute of Molecular Psychiatry, Life & Brain Center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Eckhard Wolf
- Institute of Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology, Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, Munich, Germany
| | - Helmut Fuchs
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Valerie Gailus-Durner
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Martin Hrabě de Angelis
- German Mouse Clinic, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Experimental Genetics, Helmholtz-Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Chair of Experimental Genetics, Center of Life and Food Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universitat München, Freising, Germany
- German Center for Diabetes Research, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Steven J. Romney
- University of Utah, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth A. Leibold
- University of Utah, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Paris JJ, Singh HD, Ganno ML, Jackson P, McLaughlin JP. Anxiety-like behavior of mice produced by conditional central expression of the HIV-1 regulatory protein, Tat. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014; 231:2349-60. [PMID: 24352568 PMCID: PMC4020990 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-3385-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2013] [Accepted: 11/30/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with substantial increases in generalized anxiety. The HIV regulatory protein, transactivator of transcription (Tat), has been implicated in the neuropathogenesis related to HIV-1 infection. However, direct examination of the effect of Tat on behavioral measures of anxiety has not been demonstrated. OBJECTIVE To identify whether expression of the Tat1-86 protein exerts dose-dependent and persistent anxiety-like effects in a whole animal model, the GT-tg bigenic mouse. METHODS GT-tg mice and C57BL/6J controls were administered doxycycline in a dose- (0, 50, 100, or 125 mg/kg, i.p., for 7 days) or duration- (100 mg/kg, i.p., for 0, 1, 3, 5, or 14 days) dependent manner to induce Tat1-86 in brain. Mice were assessed for anxiety-like behavior in an open field, social interaction, or marble burying task 0, 7, and/or 14 days later. Central expression of Tat1-86 protein was verified with Western blot analyses. RESULTS Doxycycline produced no effects on C57BL/6J controls that lacked the Tat1-86 transgene. Among GT-tg mice, doxycycline (100 mg/kg for 3, 5, or 7 days) significantly increased anxiety-like behavior in all tasks, commensurate with enhanced Western blot labeling of Tat1-86 protein in brain, displaying optimal effects with the 7-day regimen. Greater exposure to doxycycline (either 125 mg/kg for 7 days or 100 mg/kg for 14 days) impaired locomotor behavior; whereas lower dosing (below 100 mg/kg) produced only transient increases in anxiety-like behavior. CONCLUSIONS Expression of HIV-1-Tat1-86 in GT-tg mouse brain produces exposure-dependent, persistent increases in anxiety-like behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason J. Paris
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port Saint Lucie, FL 34987, USA
| | - Harminder D. Singh
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port Saint Lucie, FL 34987, USA
| | - Michelle L. Ganno
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port Saint Lucie, FL 34987, USA
| | - Pauline Jackson
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port Saint Lucie, FL 34987, USA
| | - Jay P. McLaughlin
- Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port Saint Lucie, FL 34987, USA,Contact for Correspondence: Jay P. McLaughlin, Ph.D., Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, 11350 SW Village Parkway, Port Saint Lucie, FL 34987, USA, Phone: +1 772-345-4715, Fax: +1 772-345-3649,
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Burman O, Buccarello L, Redaelli V, Cervo L. The effect of two different Individually Ventilated Cage systems on anxiety-related behaviour and welfare in two strains of laboratory mouse. Physiol Behav 2014; 124:92-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2013] [Accepted: 10/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Logge W, Kingham J, Karl T. Behavioural consequences of IVC cages on male and female C57BL/6J mice. Neuroscience 2013; 237:285-93. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.02.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2012] [Revised: 02/05/2013] [Accepted: 02/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Transmembrane domain Nrg1 mutant mice show altered susceptibility to the neurobehavioural actions of repeated THC exposure in adolescence. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2013; 16:163-75. [PMID: 22226049 DOI: 10.1017/s1461145711001854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Heavy cannabis abuse increases the risk of developing schizophrenia. Adolescents appear particularly vulnerable to the development of psychosis-like symptoms after cannabis use. To test whether the schizophrenia candidate gene neuregulin 1 (NRG1) modulates the effects of cannabinoids in adolescence, we tested male adolescent heterozygous transmembrane domain Nrg1 mutant (Nrg1 TM HET) mice and wild type-like littermates (WT) for their neurobehavioural response to repeated Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, 10 mg/kg i.p. for 21 d starting on post-natal day 31). During treatment and 48 h after treatment withdrawal, we assessed several behavioural parameters relevant to schizophrenia. After behavioural testing we measured autoradiographic CB(1), 5-HT(2A) and NMDA receptor binding. The hyperlocomotor phenotype typical of Nrg1 mutants emerged after drug withdrawal and was more pronounced in vehicle than THC-treated Nrg1 TM HET mice. All mice were equally sensitive to THC-induced suppression of locomotion. However, mutant mice appeared protected against inhibiting effects of repeated THC on investigative social behaviours. Neither THC nor Nrg1 genotype altered prepulse inhibition. Repeated adolescent THC promoted differential effects on CB(1) and 5-HT(2A) receptor binding in the substantia nigra and insular cortex respectively, decreasing binding in WT while increasing it in Nrg1 TM HET mice. THC also selectively affected 5-HT(2A) receptor binding in several other regions in WT mice, whereas NMDA receptor binding was only affected in mutant mice. Overall, Nrg1 mutation does not appear to increase the induction of psychotomimetic symptoms by repeated adolescent THC exposure but may attenuate some of its actions on social behaviour and schizophrenia-relevant neurotransmitter receptor profiles.
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York JM, McDaniel AW, Blevins NA, Guillet RR, Allison SO, Cengel KA, Freund GG. Individually ventilated cages cause chronic low-grade hypoxia impacting mice hematologically and behaviorally. Brain Behav Immun 2012; 26:951-8. [PMID: 22561683 PMCID: PMC3398166 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2011] [Revised: 04/24/2012] [Accepted: 04/25/2012] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Use of individually ventilated caging (IVC) systems for mouse-based laboratory investigation has dramatically increased. We found that without mice present, intra-cage oxygen concentration was comparable (21%) between IVC housing and ambient environment caging (AEC) that used wire top lids. However, when mice were housed 4-to-a-cage for 1week, intra-cage oxygen dropped to 20.5% in IVC housing as compared to 21% for AEC housing. IVC intra-cage humidity was also elevated relative to AEC housing. Mice raised in IVC housing as compared to mice raised in AEC housing had higher RBC mass, hematocrit and hemoglobin concentrations. They also had elevated platelet counts but lower white blood cell counts. IVC mice, relative to AEC mice, had increased saccharin preference and increased fluid consumption but similar locomotion, food intake, social exploration and novel object recognition when tested in an AEC environment. Taken together, these data indicate that ventilated caging systems can have a 0.5% reduction from ambient oxygen concentration that is coupled to mouse red blood cell indices indicative of chronic exposure to a hypoxia. Importantly, IVC housing can impact behavioral testing for depressive-like behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason M. York
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana IL, USA
,Department of Pathology, Program in Integrative Immunology and Behavior, University of Illinois, Urbana IL, USA
| | - Allison W. McDaniel
- Department of Pathology, Program in Integrative Immunology and Behavior, University of Illinois, Urbana IL, USA
| | - Neil A. Blevins
- Department of Pathology, Program in Integrative Immunology and Behavior, University of Illinois, Urbana IL, USA
| | - Riley R. Guillet
- Department of Pathology, Program in Integrative Immunology and Behavior, University of Illinois, Urbana IL, USA
| | - Sarah O. Allison
- Division of Animal Resources, University of Illinois, Urbana IL, USA
| | - Keith A. Cengel
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA, USA
| | - Gregory G. Freund
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana IL, USA
,Department of Pathology, Program in Integrative Immunology and Behavior, University of Illinois, Urbana IL, USA
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Central effects of a local inflammation in three commonly used mouse strains with a different anxious phenotype. Behav Brain Res 2011; 224:23-34. [PMID: 21624397 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2011.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2011] [Accepted: 05/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
As in humans, genetic background in rodents may influence a peculiar set of behavioural traits such as sensitivity to pain and stressors or anxiety-related behaviours. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that mice with different genetic backgrounds [outbred (CD1), inbred (C57BL/6J) and hybrid (B6C3F1) adult male mice] display altered reactivity to pain, stress and anxiety related behaviours. We demonstrated that B6C3F1 mice displayed the more anxious phenotype with respect to C57BL/6J or CD1 animals, with the latter being the less anxious strain when tested in an open field and on an elevated plus maze. No difference was observed across strains in thermal sensitivity to a radiant heat source. Mice were then treated with a sub-plantar injection of the inflammatory agent Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA), 24h later they were hyperalgesic with respect to saline exposed animals, irrespective of strain. We then measured intra-strain differences and CFA-induced inter-strain effects on the expression of various genes with a recognized role in pain and anxiety: BDNF, IL-6, IL-1β, IL-18 and NMDA receptor subunits in the mouse thalamus, hippocampus and hypothalamus. The more anxious phenotype observed in B6C3F1 hybrid mice displayed lower levels of BDNF mRNA in the hippocampus and hypothalamus when compared to outbred CD1 and C57BL/6J inbred mice. CFA led to a general decrease in central gene expression of the evaluated targets especially in CD1 mice, while BDNF hypothalamic downregulation stands out as a common effect of CFA in all three strains evaluated.
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Smith KS, Meloni EG, Myers KM, Van't Veer A, Carlezon WA, Rudolph U. Reduction of fear-potentiated startle by benzodiazepines in C57BL/6J mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2011; 213:697-706. [PMID: 20922362 PMCID: PMC3056161 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-010-2026-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2009] [Accepted: 09/15/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Anxiety disorders affect 18% of the United States adult population annually. Recent surges in the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from combat-exposed veterans have prompted an urgent need to understand the pathophysiology underlying this debilitating condition. OBJECTIVES Anxiety and fear responses are partly modulated by gamma aminobutyric acid type A (GABA(A)) receptor-mediated synaptic inhibition; benzodiazepines potentiate GABAergic inhibition and are effective anxiolytics. Many genetically modified mouse lines are generated and/or maintained on the C57BL/6J background, a strain where manipulation of anxiety-like behavior using benzodiazepines is difficult. Fear-potentiated startle (FPS), a test of conditioned fear, is a useful preclinical tool to study PTSD-like responses but has been difficult to establish in C57BL/6J mice. METHODS We modified several FPS experimental parameters and developed a paradigm to assess conditioned fear in C57BL/6J mice. The 6-day protocol consisted of three startle Acclimation days, a Pre-Test day followed by Training and Testing for FPS. Subject responses to the effects of three benzodiazepines were also examined. RESULTS C57BL/6J mice had low levels of unconditioned fear assessed during Pre-Test (15-18%) but showed robust FPS (80-120%) during the Test session. Conditioned fear responses extinguished over repeated test sessions. Administration of the benzodiazepines alprazolam (0.5 and 1 mg/kg, i.p.), chlordiazepoxide (5 and 10 mg/kg, i.p.), and diazepam (1, 2, and 4 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced FPS to Pre-Test levels. CONCLUSIONS We used a modified and pharmacologically-validated paradigm to assess FPS in mice thereby providing a powerful tool to examine the neurobiology of PTSD in genetic models of anxiety generated on the C57BL/6J background.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiersten S Smith
- Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA.
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Laarakker MC, van Lith HA, Ohl F. Behavioral characterization of A/J and C57BL/6J mice using a multidimensional test: association between blood plasma and brain magnesium-ion concentration with anxiety. Physiol Behav 2010; 102:205-19. [PMID: 21036185 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2010] [Revised: 10/20/2010] [Accepted: 10/26/2010] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Up to 29% of all adults will experience an anxiety-related disorder during their lives. Treatment of these disorders is still difficult and the exact mechanisms and pathways behind anxiety disorders remain to be elucidated. Although evidence exists for genetically based susceptibility of human psychiatric diseases, risk genes have rarely been identified up to now. Inbred mouse strains are, together with the crosses and genetic reference populations derived from them, important tools for the genetic dissection of complex behavioral traits in the mouse. Thus, inbred mouse models of human anxiety may be a potent starting tool to search for candidate genes in mice, which could then via comparative genomics be translated to the human situation. In this paper we investigate whether the A/J and C57BL/6J mouse inbred strains differ in a limited number of motivational systems (anxiety, exploration, memory, locomotion, and social affinity), but especially in anxiety-related behavior from each other. Young adult individuals from both genders of A/J and C57BL/6J strains were behaviorally phenotyped using a multidimensional test: the modified hole board. This paradigm basically is a combination of the traditional hole board and the open field test allowing to test for anxiety-related avoidance behavior, risk assessment, arousal, exploration, memory, locomotor activity, and social affinity, using just one single test. An acute, aversive stimulus (intra-peritoneal injection with saline) was applied to the animals to test for the robustness of their behavioral phenotype. In addition, presumed physiological indicators for anxiety (circulating glucose, cholesterol, and corticosterone, adrenal tyrosine hydroxylase, and blood plasma and brain magnesium) were investigated. It could be concluded that C57BL/6J and A/J mice differ with respect to almost all tested motivational systems. For some measures, including anxiety-related behavioral parameters, there were clear gender effects. The high-anxiety phenotype of A/J mice could be shown to represent a primary and robust characteristic. Further, blood plasma and brain magnesium levels were significantly correlated with several anxiety-related behavioral parameters. These results emphasize the hypothesized, and possibly causal, association between magnesium status and emotionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marijke C Laarakker
- Division of Animal Welfare & Laboratory Animal Science, Department of Animals in Science and Society, Program Emotion and Cognition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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Blottner D, Serradj N, Salanova M, Touma C, Palme R, Silva M, Aerts JM, Berckmans D, Vico L, Liu Y, Giuliani A, Rustichelli F, Cancedda R, Jamon M. Morphological, physiological and behavioural evaluation of a 'Mice in Space' housing system. J Comp Physiol B 2009; 179:519-33. [PMID: 19130060 PMCID: PMC2755731 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-008-0330-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2008] [Revised: 09/10/2008] [Accepted: 12/12/2008] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Environmental conditions likely affect physiology and behaviour of mice used for life sciences research on Earth or in Space. Here, we analysed the effects of cage confinement on the weightbearing musculoskeletal system, behaviour and stress of wild-type mice (C57BL/6JRj, 30 g b.wt., total n = 24) housed for 25 days in a prototypical ground-based and fully automated life support habitat device called "Mice in Space" (MIS). Compared with control housing (individually ventilated cages) the MIS mice revealed no significant changes in soleus muscle size and myofiber distribution (type I vs. II) and quality of bone (3-D microarchitecture and mineralisation of calvaria, spine and femur) determined by confocal and micro-computed tomography. Corticosterone metabolism measured non-invasively (faeces) monitored elevated adrenocortical activity at only start of the MIS cage confinement (day 1). Behavioural tests (i.e., grip strength, rotarod, L/D box, elevated plus-maze, open field, aggressiveness) performed subsequently revealed only minor changes in motor performance (MIS vs. controls). The MIS habitat will not, on its own, produce major effects that could confound interpretation of data induced by microgravity exposure during spaceflight. Our results may be even more helpful in developing multidisciplinary protocols with adequate scenarios addressing molecular to systems levels using mice of various genetic phenotypes in many laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dieter Blottner
- Vegetative Anatomy, Center of Space Medicine Berlin, Neuromuscular Group, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie und Humboldt Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Najet Serradj
- INSERM U910-Génomique Fonctionelle Comportements et Pathologies Faculté de Médicine de la Timone, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille Cedex 05, France
| | - Michele Salanova
- Vegetative Anatomy, Center of Space Medicine Berlin, Neuromuscular Group, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie und Humboldt Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Chadi Touma
- Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Neuroendocrinology, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Rupert Palme
- Biochemistry, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Mitchell Silva
- Faculty of Applied Biosciences and Engineering, Measure, Model and Manage Bio-Responses (M3-BIORES), Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Jean Marie Aerts
- Faculty of Applied Biosciences and Engineering, Measure, Model and Manage Bio-Responses (M3-BIORES), Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Daniel Berckmans
- Faculty of Applied Biosciences and Engineering, Measure, Model and Manage Bio-Responses (M3-BIORES), Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Laurence Vico
- INSERM U890-Laboratoire de Biologie du Tissu Osseux, IFR143, FRESIS, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Oncology, Biology and Genetics, University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Alessandra Giuliani
- Department of Sciences Applied to Complex Systems, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
| | - Franco Rustichelli
- Department of Sciences Applied to Complex Systems, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
| | - Ranieri Cancedda
- Department of Oncology, Biology and Genetics, University of Genova, 16132 Genova, Italy
| | - Marc Jamon
- INSERM U910-Génomique Fonctionelle Comportements et Pathologies Faculté de Médicine de la Timone, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille Cedex 05, France
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Rose M. Welfare Phenotyping of Genetically-Modified Mice. Altern Lab Anim 2009; 37:181-6. [DOI: 10.1177/026119290903700206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Technologies that enable the targeted manipulation of the genome have created new opportunities to study the role and interplay of specific genes in both the regulation and function of physiological and behavioural processes and in the development of pathological conditions. Despite the potential benefits, there are ethical issues in relation to the application of these technologies, some of which relate to the impact on the welfare of the animals involved. Matters of concern include the methods involved in the derivation and production of genetically-modified (GM) animals and resulting phenotypes, where animal welfare is compromised. In the case of the latter, this may be the predicted consequence of the genetic modification, but the occurrence of unforeseen animal welfare complications is a major challenge in the management of GM animals. There has been a rapid escalation in the development of new GM lines, most of them involving mice. Databases of available lines have been developed by national and international consortia, and researchers have developed standard protocols to describe the phenotype of a new line; increasingly, such data are entered into these databases. The inclusion of animal welfare assessments with these data would provide a powerful and sophisticated tool to promote refinement. The scope, level and frequency of monitoring would facilitate the identification of unpredicted effects and the management of humane endpoints, and would identify opportunities to manage the animals so as to ameliorate negative impacts. Furthermore, by highlighting the subtleties of gene–environment interactions, such data have wider implications in achieving the goals of refinement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Rose
- Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia
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35
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Mineur YS, Crusio WE. Behavioral effects of ventilated micro-environment housing in three inbred mouse strains. Physiol Behav 2009; 97:334-40. [PMID: 19281831 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.02.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2008] [Revised: 02/18/2009] [Accepted: 02/26/2009] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Animal facilities aim to combine animal welfare with cost-efficiency and limited care staff requirements, and individually ventilated cage (IVC) systems were developed towards these goals. While IVC have great sanitary advantages both for the animals but also for the care staff, these systems involve potentially deleterious features such as high levels of air renewal, noise, and subtle vibrations of the racks because of the air filtering system used, but also reduce the frequency of stressful cage changes. It is unknown in how far these conditions may influence the animals' behavior. This issue becomes critical as many facilities are switching to IVC systems, possibly complicating replication of data or biasing ongoing studies. We investigated the effects of IVC housing in mice on different behaviors including anxiety, exploration, and learning in males and females of three common and phenotypically distant strains. Results demonstrate robust effects of IVC in multiple behavioral tests with the direction of the effect strongly dependent on strain and sex. These data should serve to alert researchers that a switch to IVC housing during the course of an experiment has the potential to bias results in a serious manner. In addition, behavioral baseline data will have to be re-established once the switch has been completed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yann S Mineur
- Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, 303 Belmont Street, Worcester, MA 01604, USA.
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Gailus-Durner V, Fuchs H, Adler T, Aguilar Pimentel A, Becker L, Bolle I, Calzada-Wack J, Dalke C, Ehrhardt N, Ferwagner B, Hans W, Hölter SM, Hölzlwimmer G, Horsch M, Javaheri A, Kallnik M, Kling E, Lengger C, Mörth C, Mossbrugger I, Naton B, Prehn C, Puk O, Rathkolb B, Rozman J, Schrewe A, Thiele F, Adamski J, Aigner B, Behrendt H, Busch DH, Favor J, Graw J, Heldmaier G, Ivandic B, Katus H, Klingenspor M, Klopstock T, Kremmer E, Ollert M, Quintanilla-Martinez L, Schulz H, Wolf E, Wurst W, de Angelis MH. Systemic first-line phenotyping. Methods Mol Biol 2009; 530:463-509. [PMID: 19266331 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-59745-471-1_25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
With the completion of the mouse genome sequence an essential task for biomedical sciences in the twenty-first century will be the generation and functional analysis of mouse models for every gene in the mammalian genome. More than 30,000 mutations in ES cells will be engineered and thousands of mouse disease models will become available over the coming years by the collaborative effort of the International Mouse Knockout Consortium. In order to realize the full value of the mouse models proper characterization, archiving and dissemination of mouse disease models to the research community have to be performed. Phenotyping centers (mouse clinics) provide the necessary capacity, broad expertise, equipment, and infrastructure to carry out large-scale systemic first-line phenotyping. Using the example of the German Mouse Clinic (GMC) we will introduce the reader to the different aspects of the organization of a mouse clinic and present selected methods used in first-line phenotyping.
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Söker T, Dalke C, Puk O, Floss T, Becker L, Bolle I, Favor J, Hans W, Hölter SM, Horsch M, Kallnik M, Kling E, Moerth C, Schrewe A, Stigloher C, Topp S, Gailus-Durner V, Naton B, Beckers J, Fuchs H, Ivandic B, Klopstock T, Schulz H, Wolf E, Wurst W, Bally-Cuif L, de Angelis MH, Graw J. Pleiotropic effects in Eya3 knockout mice. BMC DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2008; 8:118. [PMID: 19102749 PMCID: PMC2653502 DOI: 10.1186/1471-213x-8-118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2008] [Accepted: 12/22/2008] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Drosophila, mutations in the gene eyes absent (eya) lead to severe defects in eye development. The functions of its mammalian orthologs Eya1-4 are only partially understood and no mouse model exists for Eya3. Therefore, we characterized the phenotype of a new Eya3 knockout mouse mutant. RESULTS Expression analysis of Eya3 by in-situ hybridizations and beta-Gal-staining of Eya3 mutant mice revealed abundant expression of the gene throughout development, e.g. in brain, eyes, heart, somites and limbs suggesting pleiotropic effects of the mutated gene. A similar complex expression pattern was observed also in zebrafish embryos. The phenotype of young adult Eya3 mouse mutants was systematically analyzed within the German Mouse Clinic. There was no obvious defect in the eyes, ears and kidneys of Eya3 mutant mice. Homozygous mutants displayed decreased bone mineral content and shorter body length. In the lung, the tidal volume at rest was decreased, and electrocardiography showed increased JT- and PQ intervals as well as decreased QRS amplitude. Behavioral analysis of the mutants demonstrated a mild increase in exploratory behavior, but decreased locomotor activity and reduced muscle strength. Analysis of differential gene expression revealed 110 regulated genes in heart and brain. Using real-time PCR, we confirmed Nup155 being down regulated in both organs. CONCLUSION The loss of Eya3 in the mouse has no apparent effect on eye development. The wide-spread expression of Eya3 in mouse and zebrafish embryos is in contrast to the restricted expression pattern in Xenopus embryos. The loss of Eya3 in mice leads to a broad spectrum of minor physiological changes. Among them, the mutant mice move less than the wild-type mice and, together with the effects on respiratory, muscle and heart function, the mutation might lead to more severe effects when the mice become older. Therefore, future investigations of Eya3 function should focus on aging mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Torben Söker
- Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Developmental Genetics, Neuherberg, Germany.
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Schmidt S, Gawlik V, Hölter SM, Augustin R, Scheepers A, Behrens M, Wurst W, Gailus-Durner V, Fuchs H, Hrabé de Angelis M, Kluge R, Joost HG, Schürmann A. Deletion of glucose transporter GLUT8 in mice increases locomotor activity. Behav Genet 2008; 38:396-406. [PMID: 18461434 PMCID: PMC2480596 DOI: 10.1007/s10519-008-9208-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2007] [Accepted: 04/14/2008] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Transport of glucose into neuronal cells is predominantly mediated by the glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT3. In addition, GLUT8 is expressed in some regions of the brain. By in situ hybridization we detected GLUT8-mRNA in hippocampus, thalamus, and cortex. However, its cellular and physiological function is still unknown. Thus, GLUT8 knockout (Slc2a8−/−) mice were used for a screening approach in the modified hole board (mHB) behavioral test to analyze the role of GLUT8 in the central nervous system. Slc2a8−/− mice showed increased mean velocity, total distance traveled and performed more turns in the mHB test. This hyperactivity of Slc2a8−/− mice was confirmed by monitoring locomotor activity in the home cage and voluntary activity in a running wheel. In addition, Slc2a8−/− mice showed increased arousal as indicated by elevated defecation, reduced latency to the first defecation and a tendency to altered grooming. Furthermore, the mHB test gave evidence that Slc2a8−/− mice exhibit a reduced risk assessment because they performed less rearings in an unprotected area and showed significantly reduced latency to stretched body posture. Our data suggest that behavioral alterations of Slc2a8−/− mice are due to dysfunctions in neuronal processes presumably as a consequence of defects in the glucose metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Schmidt
- Department of Pharmacology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke, Arthur-Scheunert-Allee 114-116, Nuthetal, Germany
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