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Higgins SL, Bhadsavle SS, Gaytan MN, Thomas KN, Golding MC. Chronic paternal alcohol exposures induce dose-dependent changes in offspring craniofacial shape and symmetry. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1415653. [PMID: 39011393 PMCID: PMC11246915 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1415653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Although dose-response analyses are a fundamental tool in developmental toxicology, few studies have examined the impacts of toxicant dose on the non-genetic paternal inheritance of offspring disease and dysgenesis. In this study, we used geometric morphometric analyses to examine the impacts of different levels of preconception paternal alcohol exposure on offspring craniofacial shape and symmetry in a mouse model. Procrustes ANOVA followed by canonical variant analysis of geometric facial relationships revealed that Low-, Medium-, and High-dose treatments each induced distinct changes in craniofacial shape and symmetry. Our analyses identified a dose threshold between 1.543 and 2.321 g/kg/day. Below this threshold, preconception paternal alcohol exposure induced changes in facial shape, including a right shift in facial features. In contrast, above this threshold, paternal exposures caused shifts in both shape and center, disrupting facial symmetry. Consistent with previous clinical studies, changes in craniofacial shape predominantly mapped to regions in the lower portion of the face, including the mandible (lower jaw) and maxilla (upper jaw). Notably, high-dose exposures also impacted the positioning of the right eye. Our studies reveal that paternal alcohol use may be an unrecognized factor contributing to the incidence and severity of alcohol-related craniofacial defects, complicating diagnostics of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L Higgins
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Sanat S Bhadsavle
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Matthew N Gaytan
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Kara N Thomas
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
| | - Michael C Golding
- Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States
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2
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Brown RE. Measuring the replicability of our own research. J Neurosci Methods 2024; 406:110111. [PMID: 38521128 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2024] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
In the study of transgenic mouse models of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, we use batteries of tests to measure deficits in behaviour and from the results of these tests, we make inferences about the mental states of the mice that we interpret as deficits in "learning", "memory", "anxiety", "depression", etc. This paper discusses the problems of determining whether a particular transgenic mouse is a valid mouse model of disease X, the problem of background strains, and the question of whether our behavioural tests are measuring what we say they are. The problem of the reliability of results is then discussed: are they replicable between labs and can we replicate our results in our own lab? This involves the study of intra- and inter- experimenter reliability. The variables that influence replicability and the importance of conducting a complete behavioural phenotype: sensory, motor, cognitive and social emotional behaviour are discussed. Then the thorny question of failure to replicate is examined: Is it a curse or a blessing? Finally, the role of failure in research and what it tells us about our research paradigms is examined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard E Brown
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
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3
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Neves MM, Klein SG, Silva RC, Bernardes LMM, Malta SM, Vieira TN, Rosa RB, Lima IL, Ferreira FB, Silva MV. Impact of quality and transparency in scientific writing on the reduction of animal usage in experimental protocols: a review based in pertinent literature. Front Vet Sci 2024; 11:1394113. [PMID: 38872792 PMCID: PMC11169789 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1394113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
The irreproducibility in scientific research has become a critical issue. Despite the essential role of rigorous methodology in constructing a scientific article, more than half of publications, on average, are considered non-reproducible. The implications of this irreproducibility extend to reliability problems, hindering progress in technological production and resulting in substantial financial losses. In the context of laboratory animal research, this work emphasizes the importance of choosing an appropriate experimental model within the 3R's principle (Refine, Reduce, Replace). This study specifically addresses a deficiency in data specification in scientific articles, revealing inadequacies in the description of crucial details, such as environmental conditions, diet, and experimental procedures. For this purpose, 124 articles from journals with relevant impact factors were analyzed, conducting a survey of data considered important for the reproducibility of studies. Important flaws in the presentation of data were identified in most of the articles evaluated. The results of this study highlight the need to improve the description of essential information, standardizing studies, and ensuring the reproducibility of experiments in areas such as metabolism, immunity, hormones, stress, among others, to enhance the reliability and reproduction of experimental results, aligning with international guidelines such as ARRIVE and PREPARE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matheus M. Neves
- Biotechnology in Experimental Models Laboratory - LABME, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
| | - Sandra G. Klein
- Biotechnology in Experimental Models Laboratory - LABME, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
| | - Ray C. Silva
- Biotechnology in Experimental Models Laboratory - LABME, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
| | | | - Serena M. Malta
- Institute of Biotechnology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
| | - Thiago N. Vieira
- Institute of Biotechnology, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
| | - Rafael B. Rosa
- Rodents Animal Facilities Complex, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlândia, Brazil
| | - Isabela L. Lima
- Biotechnology in Experimental Models Laboratory - LABME, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
| | - Flávia B. Ferreira
- Biotechnology in Experimental Models Laboratory - LABME, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
| | - Murilo V. Silva
- Biotechnology in Experimental Models Laboratory - LABME, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
- Rodents Animal Facilities Complex, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlândia, Brazil
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4
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Kuraji R, Ye C, Zhao C, Gao L, Martinez A, Miyashita Y, Radaic A, Kamarajan P, Le C, Zhan L, Range H, Sunohara M, Numabe Y, Kapila YL. Nisin lantibiotic prevents NAFLD liver steatosis and mitochondrial oxidative stress following periodontal disease by abrogating oral, gut and liver dysbiosis. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes 2024; 10:3. [PMID: 38233485 PMCID: PMC10794237 DOI: 10.1038/s41522-024-00476-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Oral microbiome dysbiosis mediates chronic periodontal disease, gut microbial dysbiosis, and mucosal barrier disfunction that leads to steatohepatitis via the enterohepatic circulation. Improving this dysbiosis towards health may improve liver disease. Treatment with antibiotics and probiotics have been used to modulate the microbial, immunological, and clinical landscape of periodontal disease with some success. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the potential for nisin, an antimicrobial peptide produced by Lactococcus lactis, to counteract the periodontitis-associated gut dysbiosis and to modulate the glycolipid-metabolism and inflammation in the liver. Periodontal pathogens, namely Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia and Fusobacterium nucleatum, were administrated topically onto the oral cavity to establish polymicrobial periodontal disease in mice. In the context of disease, nisin treatment significantly shifted the microbiome towards a new composition, commensurate with health while preventing the harmful inflammation in the small intestine concomitant with decreased villi structural integrity, and heightened hepatic exposure to bacteria and lipid and malondialdehyde accumulation in the liver. Validation with RNA Seq analyses, confirmed the significant infection-related alteration of several genes involved in mitochondrial dysregulation, oxidative phosphorylation, and metal/iron binding and their restitution following nisin treatment. In support of these in vivo findings indicating that periodontopathogens induce gastrointestinal and liver distant organ lesions, human autopsy specimens demonstrated a correlation between tooth loss and severity of liver disease. Nisin's ability to shift the gut and liver microbiome towards a new state commensurate with health while mitigating enteritis, represents a novel approach to treating NAFLD-steatohepatitis-associated periodontal disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryutaro Kuraji
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Periodontology, The Nippon Dental University School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Changchang Ye
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Periodontology, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Chuanjiang Zhao
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Periodontology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Li Gao
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Periodontology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - April Martinez
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yukihiro Miyashita
- Department of Periodontology, The Nippon Dental University School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Allan Radaic
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Sections of Biosystems and Function and Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pachiyappan Kamarajan
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Sections of Biosystems and Function and Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Charles Le
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ling Zhan
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Helene Range
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Periodontology, University of Rennes, UFR of Odontology; Service d'Odontologie, CHU de Rennes, Rennes, France
- INSERM CHU Rennes, Institut NUMECAN (Nutrition Metabolisms and Cancer); CIC 1414, Rennes, France
| | - Masataka Sunohara
- Department of Anatomy, The Nippon Dental University School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yukihiro Numabe
- Department of Periodontology, The Nippon Dental University School of Life Dentistry at Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yvonne L Kapila
- Orofacial Sciences Department, School of Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Sections of Biosystems and Function and Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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5
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Richter SH. Challenging current scientific practice: how a shift in research methodology could reduce animal use. Lab Anim (NY) 2024; 53:9-12. [PMID: 38172390 PMCID: PMC10766537 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-023-01308-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- S Helene Richter
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
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6
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von Kortzfleisch VT, Richter SH. Systematic heterogenization revisited: Increasing variation in animal experiments to improve reproducibility? J Neurosci Methods 2024; 401:109992. [PMID: 37884081 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2023.109992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Life sciences are currently facing a reproducibility crisis. Originally, the crisis was born out of single alarming failures to reproduce findings at different times and locations. Nowadays, systematic studies indicate that the prevalence of irreproducible research does in fact exceed 50%. Viewed from a rather cynical perspective, Fett's law of the lab "Never replicate a successful experiment" has thus taken on a completely new meaning. In this respect, animal research has come under particular scrutiny, as the stakes are high in terms of both research ethics and societal impact. To counteract this, it is essential to identify sources of poor reproducibility as well as to iron out these failures. We here review the current debate, briefly discuss potential reasons, and summarize steps that have already been undertaken to improve reproducibility in animal research. By the example of classical behavioural phenotyping studies, we particularly highlight the role strict standardization plays in exacerbating the crisis, and review the concept of systematic heterogenization as an alternative strategy to deal with variation in animal studies. Briefly, we argue that systematic variation rather than strict homogenization of experimental conditions benefits the robustness of research findings, and hence their reproducibility. To this end, we will present concrete examples for systematically heterogenized experiments and provide a practical guide on how to apply systematic heterogenization in experimental practice.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - S Helene Richter
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Badestraße 13, 48149 Münster, Germany.
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Soliman N, Denk F. Practical approaches to improving translatability and reproducibility in preclinical pain research. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 115:38-42. [PMID: 37793487 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.09.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Pain research continues to face the challenge of poor translatability of pre-clinical studies. In this short primer, we are summarizing the possible causes, with an emphasis on practical and constructive solutions. In particular, we stress the importance of increased heterogeneity in animal studies; formal or informal pre-registration to combat publication bias; and increased statistical training in order to help pre-clinical scientists appreciate the usefulness of available experimental design and reporting guidelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia Soliman
- Pain Research, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Franziska Denk
- Wolfson Centre for Age-related Diseases, King's College London, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 1UL, United Kingdom.
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8
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Audebert C, Even G, Vandenabeele N, Mouray A, Chabé M. [A novel strategy taking gut microbiota fingerprints into account for robust and reproducible animal experiments]. Med Sci (Paris) 2023; 39:934-936. [PMID: 38108723 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2023174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Christophe Audebert
- GD Biotech-Gènes Diffusion, Lille, France - PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Gaël Even
- GD Biotech-Gènes Diffusion, Lille, France - PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France
| | - Nicolas Vandenabeele
- Plateforme d'expérimentations et de hautes technologies animales, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France - Institut Pasteur de Lille, US 41-UAR 2014-PLBS, Université Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Lille, France
| | - Anthony Mouray
- Plateforme d'expérimentations et de hautes technologies animales, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France - Institut Pasteur de Lille, US 41-UAR 2014-PLBS, Université Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Lille, France
| | - Magali Chabé
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019 - UMR 9017 - Centre d'infection et d'immunité de Lille (CIIL), Lille, France
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9
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Kahnau P, Mieske P, Wilzopolski J, Kalliokoski O, Mandillo S, Hölter SM, Voikar V, Amfim A, Badurek S, Bartelik A, Caruso A, Čater M, Ey E, Golini E, Jaap A, Hrncic D, Kiryk A, Lang B, Loncarevic-Vasiljkovic N, Meziane H, Radzevičienė A, Rivalan M, Scattoni ML, Torquet N, Trifkovic J, Ulfhake B, Thöne-Reineke C, Diederich K, Lewejohann L, Hohlbaum K. A systematic review of the development and application of home cage monitoring in laboratory mice and rats. BMC Biol 2023; 21:256. [PMID: 37953247 PMCID: PMC10642068 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01751-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Traditionally, in biomedical animal research, laboratory rodents are individually examined in test apparatuses outside of their home cages at selected time points. However, the outcome of such tests can be influenced by various factors and valuable information may be missed when the animals are only monitored for short periods. These issues can be overcome by longitudinally monitoring mice and rats in their home cages. To shed light on the development of home cage monitoring (HCM) and the current state-of-the-art, a systematic review was carried out on 521 publications retrieved through PubMed and Web of Science. RESULTS Both the absolute (~ × 26) and relative (~ × 7) number of HCM-related publications increased from 1974 to 2020. There was a clear bias towards males and individually housed animals, but during the past decade (2011-2020), an increasing number of studies used both sexes and group housing. In most studies, animals were kept for short (up to 4 weeks) time periods in the HCM systems; intermediate time periods (4-12 weeks) increased in frequency in the years between 2011 and 2020. Before the 2000s, HCM techniques were predominantly applied for less than 12 h, while 24-h measurements have been more frequent since the 2000s. The systematic review demonstrated that manual monitoring is decreasing in relation to automatic techniques but still relevant. Until (and including) the 1990s, most techniques were applied manually but have been progressively replaced by automation since the 2000s. Independent of the year of publication, the main behavioral parameters measured were locomotor activity, feeding, and social behaviors; the main physiological parameters were heart rate and electrocardiography. External appearance-related parameters were rarely examined in the home cages. Due to technological progress and application of artificial intelligence, more refined and detailed behavioral parameters have been investigated in the home cage more recently. CONCLUSIONS Over the period covered in this study, techniques for HCM of mice and rats have improved considerably. This development is ongoing and further progress as well as validation of HCM systems will extend the applications to allow for continuous, longitudinal, non-invasive monitoring of an increasing range of parameters in group-housed small rodents in their home cages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pia Kahnau
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), Berlin, Germany
| | - Paul Mieske
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Animal Welfare, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Marchstr. 23, 10587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jenny Wilzopolski
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), Berlin, Germany
| | - Otto Kalliokoski
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Silvia Mandillo
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council CNR, Rome, Italy
| | - Sabine M Hölter
- Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Munich, Germany
| | - Vootele Voikar
- Neuroscience Center, Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Adriana Amfim
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Spiru Haret University, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Sylvia Badurek
- Preclinical Phenotyping Facility, Vienna Biocenter Core Facilities (VBCF), member of the Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Aleksandra Bartelik
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Angela Caruso
- Istituto Superiore Di Sanità, Research Coordination and Support Service, Rome, Italy
| | - Maša Čater
- Department of Animal Science, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Elodie Ey
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire UMR 7104- UMR-S 1258, Illkirch, 67400, France
| | - Elisabetta Golini
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, National Research Council CNR, Rome, Italy
| | - Anne Jaap
- Institute of Animal Welfare, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Marchstr. 23, 10587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dragan Hrncic
- Institute of Medical Physiology "Richard Burian", Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Anna Kiryk
- Laboratory of Preclinical Testing of Higher Standard, Neurobiology Center, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Benjamin Lang
- Institute of Animal Welfare, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Marchstr. 23, 10587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Natasa Loncarevic-Vasiljkovic
- iNOVA4Health, NOVA Medical School, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, NMS, FCM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Hamid Meziane
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, INSERM, Institut Clinique de La Souris (ICS), CELPHEDIA, PHENOMIN, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, Illkirch, 67404, France
| | - Aurelija Radzevičienė
- Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Medical Academy, Institute of Physiology and Pharmacology, Kaunas, Lithuania
| | - Marion Rivalan
- Research Institute for Experimental Medicine (FEM) and NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence, Animal Behaviour Phenotyping Facility, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Maria Luisa Scattoni
- Istituto Superiore Di Sanità, Research Coordination and Support Service, Rome, Italy
| | - Nicolas Torquet
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Inserm, IGBMC, Institut Clinique de la Souris (ICS), CELPHEDIA, PHENOMIN, UMR 7104- UMR-S 1258, Illkirch, 67400, France
| | - Julijana Trifkovic
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, University of East Sarajevo, East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Brun Ulfhake
- Div. Clinical Physiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Christa Thöne-Reineke
- Institute of Animal Welfare, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Marchstr. 23, 10587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kai Diederich
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), Berlin, Germany
| | - Lars Lewejohann
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Animal Welfare, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Marchstr. 23, 10587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Katharina Hohlbaum
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), Berlin, Germany.
- Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Marchstr. 23, 10587, Berlin, Germany.
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10
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Szalanczy AM, Giorgio G, Goff E, Seshie O, Grzybowski M, Klotz J, Geurts AM, Redei EE, Solberg Woods LC. Changes in environmental stress over COVID-19 pandemic likely contributed to failure to replicate adiposity phenotype associated with Krtcap3. Physiol Genomics 2023; 55:452-467. [PMID: 37458463 PMCID: PMC10642928 DOI: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00019.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023] Open
Abstract
We previously identified keratinocyte-associated protein 3, Krtcap3, as an obesity-related gene in female rats where a whole body Krtcap3 knockout (KO) led to increased adiposity compared to wild-type (WT) controls when fed a high-fat diet (HFD). We sought to replicate this work to better understand the function of Krtcap3 but were unable to reproduce the adiposity phenotype. In the current work, WT female rats ate more compared to WT in the prior study, with corresponding increases in body weight and fat mass, while there were no changes in these measures in KO females between the studies. The prior study was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, while the current study started after initial lockdown orders and was completed during the pandemic in a generally less stressful environment. We hypothesize that the environmental changes impacted stress levels and may explain the failure to replicate our results. Analysis of corticosterone (CORT) at euthanasia showed a significant study-by-genotype interaction where WT had significantly higher CORT relative to KO in study 1, with no differences in study 2. These data suggest that decreasing Krtcap3 expression may alter the environmental stress response to influence adiposity. We also found that KO rats in both studies, but not WT, experienced a dramatic increase in CORT after their cage mate was removed, suggesting a separate connection to social behavioral stress. Future work is necessary to confirm and elucidate the finer mechanisms of these relationships, but these data indicate the possibility of Krtcap3 as a novel stress gene.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Obesity is linked to both genetics and environmental factors such as stress. Krtcap3 has previously been identified as a gene associated with adiposity, and our work here demonstrates that environmental stress may influence the role of Krtcap3 on both food intake and adiposity. Obesity is strongly influenced by stress in humans, so the identification of novel genes that link stress and obesity will greatly advance our understanding of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandria M Szalanczy
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States
| | - Gina Giorgio
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States
| | - Emily Goff
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States
| | - Osborne Seshie
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States
| | - Michael Grzybowski
- Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
| | - Jason Klotz
- Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
| | - Aron M Geurts
- Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
| | - Eva E Redei
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, United States
| | - Leah C Solberg Woods
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States
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McGill MP, Threadgill DW. Adding robustness to rigor and reproducibility for the three Rs of improving translational medical research. J Clin Invest 2023; 133:e173750. [PMID: 37712424 PMCID: PMC10503792 DOI: 10.1172/jci173750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michael P. McGill
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics
| | - David W. Threadgill
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics and Genomics
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics
- Department of Nutrition, and
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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12
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Suckow MA, Tirado-Muñiz N. Seasonal Variation of Laboratory Animals as a Consideration for Research Reproducibility. Comp Med 2023; 73:255-259. [PMID: 37550067 PMCID: PMC10702282 DOI: 10.30802/aalas-cm-23-000033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
Laboratory rodents are generally maintained under standardized conditions in order to control the effects of extrinsic factors on research. However, despite attempts to standardize conditions, variability can nonetheless confound efforts directed toward research reproducibility. Here we explore some of the existing literature on the potential impact of seasonal variability as an extrinsic factor that can potentially impact research results. We discuss the influence of seasonal changes in association with an internal clock mechanism that might account for such variation, noting that the mechanisms and interactions of seasonal and internal time-keeping remain largely undetermined. Finally, we speculate that seasonal changes experienced by personnel who handle animals may influence the animals in ways that result in physiologic and behavioral changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Suckow
- Office of the Attending Veterinarian; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky;,
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13
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Kratz T, Ruff R, Bernhardt M, Katzer D, Herberg U, Asfour B, Breuer J, Oetzmann von Sochaczewski C, Bierbach B. A porcine model of postoperative hemi-diaphragmatic paresis to evaluate a unilateral diaphragmatic pacemaker. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12628. [PMID: 37537216 PMCID: PMC10400610 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39468-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Unilateral phrenic nerve damage is a dreaded complication in congenital heart surgery. It has deleterious effects in neonates and children with uni-ventricular circulation. Diaphragmatic palsy, caused by phrenic nerve damage, impairs respiratory function, especially in new-borns, because their respiration depends on diaphragmatic contractions. Furthermore, Fontan patients with passive pulmonary perfusion are seriously affected by phrenic nerve injury, because diaphragmatic contraction augments pulmonary blood flow. Diaphragmatic plication is currently employed to ameliorate the negative effects of diaphragmatic palsy on pulmonary perfusion and respiratory mechanics. This procedure attenuates pulmonary compression by the abdominal contents. However, there is no contraction of the plicated diaphragm and consequently no contribution to the pulmonary blood flow. Hence, we developed a porcine model of unilateral diaphragmatic palsy in order to evaluate a diaphragmatic pacemaker. Our illustrated step-by-step description of the model generation enables others to replicate and use our model for future studies. Thereby, it might contribute to investigation and advancement of potential improvements for these patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Kratz
- Department of Paediatric Cardiology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Roman Ruff
- Fraunhofer IBMT, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Sulzbach, Germany
| | - Marit Bernhardt
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - David Katzer
- Department of Paediatrics, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Ulrike Herberg
- Department of Paediatric Cardiology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
- Department of Paediatric Cardiology, University Hospital Aachen, Aachen, Germany
| | - Boulos Asfour
- Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Johannes Breuer
- Department of Paediatric Cardiology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Benjamin Bierbach
- Department of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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14
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Carneiro CFD, Drude N, Hülsemann M, Collazo A, Toelch U. Mapping strategies towards improved external validity in preclinical translational research. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2023; 18:1273-1285. [PMID: 37691294 DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2023.2251886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Translation is about successfully bringing findings from preclinical contexts into the clinic. This transfer is challenging as clinical trials frequently fail despite positive preclinical results. Limited robustness of preclinical research has been marked as one of the drivers of such failures. One suggested solution is to improve the external validity of in vitro and in vivo experiments via a suite of complementary strategies. AREAS COVERED In this review, the authors summarize the literature available on different strategies to improve external validity in in vivo, in vitro, or ex vivo experiments; systematic heterogenization; generalizability tests; and multi-batch and multicenter experiments. Articles that tested or discussed sources of variability in systematically heterogenized experiments were identified, and the most prevalent sources of variability are reviewed further. Special considerations in sample size planning, analysis options, and practical feasibility associated with each strategy are also reviewed. EXPERT OPINION The strategies reviewed differentially influence variation in experiments. Different research projects, with their unique goals, can leverage the strengths and limitations of each strategy. Applying a combination of these approaches in confirmatory stages of preclinical research putatively increases the chances of success in clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarissa F D Carneiro
- QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | - Natascha Drude
- QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | - Maren Hülsemann
- QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anja Collazo
- QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulf Toelch
- QUEST Center for Responsible Research, Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Berlin, Germany
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15
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Szalanczy AM, Giorgio G, Goff E, Seshie O, Grzybowski M, Klotz J, Geurts AM, Redei EE, Solberg Woods LC. Changes in Environmental Stress over COVID-19 Pandemic Likely Contributed to Failure to Replicate Adiposity Phenotype Associated with Krtcap3. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.15.532439. [PMID: 36993361 PMCID: PMC10055176 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.15.532439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
We previously identified Keratinocyte-associated protein 3, Krtcap3, as an obesity-related gene in female rats where a whole-body Krtcap3 knock-out (KO) led to increased adiposity compared to wild-type (WT) controls when fed a high-fat diet (HFD). We sought to replicate this work to better understand the function of Krtcap3 but were unable to reproduce the adiposity phenotype. In the current work, WT female rats ate more compared to WT in the prior study, with corresponding increases in body weight and fat mass, while there were no changes in these measures in KO females between the studies. The prior study was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, while the current study started after initial lock-down orders and was completed during the pandemic with a generally less stressful environment. We hypothesize that the environmental changes impacted stress levels and may explain the failure to replicate our results. Analysis of corticosterone (CORT) at euthanasia showed a significant study by genotype interaction where WT had significantly higher CORT relative to KO in Study 1, with no differences in Study 2. These data suggest that decreasing Krtcap3 expression may alter the environmental stress response to influence adiposity. We also found that KO rats in both studies, but not WT, experienced a dramatic increase in CORT after their cage mate was removed, suggesting a separate connection to social behavioral stress. Future work is necessary to confirm and elucidate the finer mechanisms of these relationships, but these data indicate the possibility of Krtcap3 as a novel stress gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandria M Szalanczy
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC USA
| | - Gina Giorgio
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC USA
| | - Emily Goff
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC USA
| | - Osborne Seshie
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC USA
| | - Michael Grzybowski
- Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Jason Klotz
- Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Aron M Geurts
- Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Eva E Redei
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Leah C Solberg Woods
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC USA
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16
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Even G, Mouray A, Vandenabeele N, Martel S, Merlin S, Lebrun-Ruer S, Chabé M, Audebert C. Bact-to-Batch: A Microbiota-Based Tool to Determine Optimal Animal Allocation in Experimental Designs. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24097912. [PMID: 37175619 PMCID: PMC10178137 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24097912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The basis of any animal experimentation begins with the housing of animals that should take into account the need for splitting animals into similar groups. Even if it is generally recommended to use the minimum number of animals necessary to obtain reliable and statistically significant results (3Rs rule), the allocation of animals is currently mostly based on randomness. Since variability in gut microbiota is an important confounding factor in animal experiments, the main objective of this study was to develop a new approach based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis of the gut microbiota of animals participating in an experiment, in order to correctly assign the animals across batches. For this purpose, a pilot study was performed on 20 mouse faecal samples with the aim of establishing two groups of 10 mice as similar as possible in terms of their faecal microbiota fingerprinting assuming that this approach limits future analytical bias and ensures reproducibility. The suggested approach was challenged with previously published data from a third-party study. This new method allows to embrace the unavoidable microbiota variability between animals in order to limit artefacts and to provide an additional assurance for the reproducibility of animal experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaël Even
- GD Biotech-Gènes Diffusion, F-59000 Lille, France
- PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, F-59019 Lille, France
| | - Anthony Mouray
- Plateforme d'Expérimentations et de Hautes Technologies Animales, Institut Pasteur de Lille, F-59019 Lille, France
- Institut Pasteur de Lille, US 41-UAR 2014-PLBS, Université Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Nicolas Vandenabeele
- Plateforme d'Expérimentations et de Hautes Technologies Animales, Institut Pasteur de Lille, F-59019 Lille, France
- Institut Pasteur de Lille, US 41-UAR 2014-PLBS, Université Lille, CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Sophie Martel
- GD Biotech-Gènes Diffusion, F-59000 Lille, France
- PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, F-59019 Lille, France
| | - Sophie Merlin
- GD Biotech-Gènes Diffusion, F-59000 Lille, France
- PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, F-59019 Lille, France
| | - Ségolène Lebrun-Ruer
- GD Biotech-Gènes Diffusion, F-59000 Lille, France
- PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, F-59019 Lille, France
| | - Magali Chabé
- CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019-UMR 9017-CIIL-Centre d'Infection et d'Immunité de Lille, Université de Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Christophe Audebert
- GD Biotech-Gènes Diffusion, F-59000 Lille, France
- PEGASE-Biosciences, Institut Pasteur de Lille, F-59019 Lille, France
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17
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Doering GN, Talken LW, Pratt SC, Sasaki T. Is collective nest site selection in ants influenced by the anchoring effect? Behav Processes 2023; 208:104861. [PMID: 36963727 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2023.104861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary theory predicts that animals make decisions that maximize fitness. If so, they are expected to adhere to principles of rational choice, which a decision-maker must follow to reliably maximize net benefit. For example, evaluation of an option should not be influenced by the quality of other unchosen options. However, humans and other animals are known to evaluate a mediocre option more favorably after encountering poor options than after encountering no options, a phenomenon known as the 'anchoring effect'. Rationality is also expected in the consensus decisions of animal societies, but the anchoring effect has not previously been tested in that context. Here we show that colonies of the rock ant, Temnothorax rugatulus, demonstrate the anchoring effect during nest site selection - colonies moved more readily from a mediocre nest to a good nest when exposed to poor nests than when exposed to mediocre nests. This effect depended on both current conditions and past experience; movement probability was affected only when colonies were exposed to surrounding nests before and during the emigration. The effect was small, reaching statistical significance in only one of two experimental replicates. We discuss possible mechanisms and ultimate explanations for why colonies show this seemingly suboptimal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant Navid Doering
- Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409.
| | - Lucas W Talken
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Stephen C Pratt
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Takao Sasaki
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
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18
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Reddin IG, Fenton TR, Wass MN, Michaelis M. Large inherent variability in data derived from highly standardised cell culture experiments. Pharmacol Res 2023; 188:106671. [PMID: 36681368 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Cancer drug development is hindered by high clinical attrition rates, which are blamed on weak predictive power by preclinical models and limited replicability of preclinical findings. However, the technically feasible level of replicability remains unknown. To fill this gap, we conducted an analysis of data from the NCI60 cancer cell line screen (2.8 million compound/cell line experiments), which is to our knowledge the largest depository of experiments that have been repeatedly performed over decades. The findings revealed profound intra-laboratory data variability, although all experiments were executed following highly standardised protocols that avoid all known confounders of data quality. All compound/ cell line combinations with > 100 independent biological replicates displayed maximum GI50 (50% growth inhibition) fold changes (highest/ lowest GI50) > 5% and 70.5% displayed maximum fold changes > 1000. The highest maximum fold change was 3.16 × 1010 (lowest GI50: 7.93 ×10-10 µM, highest GI50: 25.0 µM). FDA-approved drugs and experimental agents displayed similar variation. Variability remained high after outlier removal, when only considering experiments that tested drugs at the same concentration range, and when only considering NCI60-provided quality-controlled data. In conclusion, high variability is an intrinsic feature of anti-cancer drug testing, even among standardised experiments in a world-leading research environment. Awareness of this inherent variability will support realistic data interpretation and inspire research to improve data robustness. Further research will have to show whether the inclusion of a wider variety of model systems, such as animal and/ or patient-derived models, may improve data robustness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian G Reddin
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; Cancer Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Tim R Fenton
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; Cancer Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Mark N Wass
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
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19
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Martin EM, Grimm SA, Xu Z, Taylor JA, Wade PA. Beadchip technology to detect DNA methylation in mouse faithfully recapitulates whole-genome bisulfite sequencing. Epigenomics 2023; 15:115-129. [PMID: 37020391 PMCID: PMC10131490 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2023-0034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim: To facilitate wide-scale implementation of Illumina Mouse Methylation BeadChip (MMB) technology, array-based measurement of cytosine methylation was compared with the gold-standard assessment of DNA methylation by whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS). Methods: DNA methylation across two mouse strains (C57B6 and C3H) and both sexes was assessed using the MMB and compared with previously existing deep-coverage WGBS of mice of the same strain and sex. Results & conclusion: The findings demonstrated that 93.3-99.2% of sites had similar measurements of methylation across technologies and that differentially methylated cytosines and regions identified by each technology overlap and enrich for similar biological functions, suggesting that the MMB faithfully recapitulates the findings of WGBS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Martin
- Epigenetics & Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Research Triangle Park, NC 27713, USA
| | - Sara A Grimm
- Integrative Bioinformatics, Biostatistics & Computational Biology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Research Triangle Park, NC 27713, USA
| | - Zongli Xu
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Research Triangle Park, NC 27713, USA
| | - Jack A Taylor
- Epigenetics & Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Research Triangle Park, NC 27713, USA
- Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Research Triangle Park, NC 27713, USA
| | - Paul A Wade
- Epigenetics & Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Research Triangle Park, NC 27713, USA
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20
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Stieger B, Wesseler Y, Kaiser S, Sachser N, Richter SH. Behavioral lateralization of mice varying in serotonin transporter genotype. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 16:1095567. [PMID: 36710954 PMCID: PMC9875089 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1095567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In humans, non-right-handedness is associated with a higher incidence of psychiatric disorders. Since serotonin seems to be involved in both, the development of psychiatric disorders and lateralization, the present study focuses on the effect of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene on behavioral lateralization. For this, we used the 5-HTT knockout mouse model, a well-established animal model for the study of human depression and anxiety disorders. For female mice from all three 5-HTT genotypes (wild type, heterozygous, and homozygous knockout), we repeatedly observed the direction and strength of lateralization of the following four behaviors: grid climbing (GC), food-reaching in an artificial test situation (FRT), self-grooming (SG), and barrier crossing (BC), with the FRT being the standard test for assessing behavioral lateralization in mice. We found no association between behavioral lateralization and 5-HTT genotype. However, in accordance with previous findings, the strength and temporal consistency of lateralization differed between the four behaviors observed. In conclusion, since the 5-HTT genotype did not affect behavioral lateralization in mice, more research on other factors connected with behavioral lateralization and the development of symptoms of psychiatric disorders, such as environmental influences, is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binia Stieger
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany,DFG Research Training Group EvoPAD, University of Münster, Münster, Germany,*Correspondence: Binia Stieger,
| | - Yvonne Wesseler
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Sylvia Kaiser
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany,DFG Research Training Group EvoPAD, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Norbert Sachser
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany,DFG Research Training Group EvoPAD, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - S. Helene Richter
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany,DFG Research Training Group EvoPAD, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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21
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Herrera-Rivero M, Bohn L, Witten A, Jüngling K, Kaiser S, Richter SH, Stoll M, Sachser N. Transcriptional profiles in the mouse amygdala after a cognitive judgment bias test largely depend on the genotype. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:1025389. [DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.1025389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The amygdala is crucial for emotional cognitive processing. Affective or emotional states can bias cognitive processes, including attention, memory, and decision-making. This can result in optimistic or pessimistic behaviors that are partially driven by the activation of the amygdala. The resulting emotional cognitive bias is a common feature of anxiety and mood disorders, both of which are interactively influenced by genetic and environmental factors. It is also known that emotional cognitive biases can be influenced by environmental factors. However, little is known about the effects of genetics and/or gene-environment interactions on emotional cognitive biases. We investigated the effects of the genetic background and environmental enrichment on the transcriptional profiles of the mouse amygdala following a well-established cognitive bias test.Methods: Twenty-four female C57BL/6J and B6D2F1N mice were housed either in standard (control) conditions or in an enriched environment. After appropriate training, the cognitive bias test was performed on 19 mice that satisfactorily completed the training scheme to assess their responses to ambiguous cues. This allowed us to calculate an “optimism score” for each mouse. Subsequently, we dissected the anterior and posterior portions of the amygdala to perform RNA-sequencing for differential expression and other statistical analyses.Results: In general, we found only minor changes in the amygdala’s transcriptome associated with the levels of optimism in our mice. In contrast, we observed wide molecular effects of the genetic background in both housing environments. The C57BL/6J animals showed more transcriptional changes in response to enriched environments than the B6D2F1N mice. We also generally found more dysregulated genes in the posterior than in the anterior portion of the amygdala. Gene set overrepresentation analyses consistently implicated cellular metabolic responses and immune processes in the differences observed between mouse strains, while processes favoring neurogenesis and neurotransmission were implicated in the responses to environmental enrichment. In a correlation analysis, lipid metabolism in the anterior amygdala was suggested to influence the levels of optimism.Conclusions: Our observations underscore the importance of selecting appropriate animal models when performing molecular studies of affective conditions or emotional states, and suggest an important role of immune and stress responses in the genetic component of emotion regulation.
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22
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Jaric I, Voelkl B, Clerc M, Schmid MW, Novak J, Rosso M, Rufener R, von Kortzfleisch VT, Richter SH, Buettner M, Bleich A, Amrein I, Wolfer DP, Touma C, Sunagawa S, Würbel H. The rearing environment persistently modulates mouse phenotypes from the molecular to the behavioural level. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001837. [PMID: 36269766 PMCID: PMC9629646 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The phenotype of an organism results from its genotype and the influence of the environment throughout development. Even when using animals of the same genotype, independent studies may test animals of different phenotypes, resulting in poor replicability due to genotype-by-environment interactions. Thus, genetically defined strains of mice may respond differently to experimental treatments depending on their rearing environment. However, the extent of such phenotypic plasticity and its implications for the replicability of research findings have remained unknown. Here, we examined the extent to which common environmental differences between animal facilities modulate the phenotype of genetically homogeneous (inbred) mice. We conducted a comprehensive multicentre study, whereby inbred C57BL/6J mice from a single breeding cohort were allocated to and reared in 5 different animal facilities throughout early life and adolescence, before being transported to a single test laboratory. We found persistent effects of the rearing facility on the composition and heterogeneity of the gut microbial community. These effects were paralleled by persistent differences in body weight and in the behavioural phenotype of the mice. Furthermore, we show that environmental variation among animal facilities is strong enough to influence epigenetic patterns in neurons at the level of chromatin organisation. We detected changes in chromatin organisation in the regulatory regions of genes involved in nucleosome assembly, neuronal differentiation, synaptic plasticity, and regulation of behaviour. Our findings demonstrate that common environmental differences between animal facilities may produce facility-specific phenotypes, from the molecular to the behavioural level. Furthermore, they highlight an important limitation of inferences from single-laboratory studies and thus argue that study designs should take environmental background into account to increase the robustness and replicability of findings. The phenotype of an organism results not only from its genotype but also the influence of its environment throughout development. This study shows that common environmental differences between animal facilities can induce substantial variation in the phenotype of mice, thereby highlighting an important limitation of inferences from single-laboratory studies in animal research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Jaric
- Animal Welfare Division, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (IJ); (HW)
| | - Bernhard Voelkl
- Animal Welfare Division, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Melanie Clerc
- Department of Biology, Institute of Microbiology and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Janja Novak
- Animal Welfare Division, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Marianna Rosso
- Animal Welfare Division, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Reto Rufener
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | | | - S. Helene Richter
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Manuela Buettner
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science and Central Animal Facility, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - André Bleich
- Institute for Laboratory Animal Science and Central Animal Facility, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Irmgard Amrein
- Institute of Anatomy, Division of Functional Neuroanatomy, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - David P. Wolfer
- Institute of Anatomy, Division of Functional Neuroanatomy, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland; Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Chadi Touma
- Department of Behavioural Biology, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Shinichi Sunagawa
- Department of Biology, Institute of Microbiology and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Hanno Würbel
- Animal Welfare Division, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (IJ); (HW)
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Bračić M, Bohn L, Siewert V, von Kortzfleisch VT, Schielzeth H, Kaiser S, Sachser N, Richter SH. Once an optimist, always an optimist? Studying cognitive judgment bias in mice. Behav Ecol 2022; 33:775-788. [PMID: 35812364 PMCID: PMC9262167 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals differ in the way they judge ambiguous information: some individuals interpret ambiguous information in a more optimistic, and others in a more pessimistic way. Over the past two decades, such "optimistic" and "pessimistic" cognitive judgment biases (CJBs) have been utilized in animal welfare science as indicators of animals' emotional states. However, empirical studies on their ecological and evolutionary relevance are still lacking. We, therefore, aimed at transferring the concept of "optimism" and "pessimism" to behavioral ecology and investigated the role of genetic and environmental factors in modulating CJB in mice. In addition, we assessed the temporal stability of individual differences in CJB. We show that the chosen genotypes (C57BL/6J and B6D2F1N) and environments ("scarce" and "complex") did not have a statistically significant influence on the responses in the CJB test. By contrast, they influenced anxiety-like behavior with C57BL/6J mice and mice from the "complex" environment displaying less anxiety-like behavior than B6D2F1N mice and mice from the "scarce" environment. As the selected genotypes and environments did not explain the existing differences in CJB, future studies might investigate the impact of other genotypes and environmental conditions on CJB, and additionally, elucidate the role of other potential causes like endocrine profiles and epigenetic modifications. Furthermore, we show that individual differences in CJB were repeatable over a period of seven weeks, suggesting that CJB represents a temporally stable trait in laboratory mice. Therefore, we encourage the further study of CJB within an animal personality framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marko Bračić
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Münster Graduate School of Evolution, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Lena Bohn
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Münster Graduate School of Evolution, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Viktoria Siewert
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | | | - Holger Schielzeth
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Sylvia Kaiser
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Münster Graduate School of Evolution, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Norbert Sachser
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Münster Graduate School of Evolution, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - S Helene Richter
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Münster Graduate School of Evolution, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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Cardiovascular Diseases in the Digital Health Era: A Translational Approach from the Lab to the Clinic. BIOTECH 2022; 11:biotech11030023. [PMID: 35892928 PMCID: PMC9326743 DOI: 10.3390/biotech11030023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Translational science has been introduced as the nexus among the scientific and the clinical field, which allows researchers to provide and demonstrate that the evidence-based research can connect the gaps present between basic and clinical levels. This type of research has played a major role in the field of cardiovascular diseases, where the main objective has been to identify and transfer potential treatments identified at preclinical stages into clinical practice. This transfer has been enhanced by the intromission of digital health solutions into both basic research and clinical scenarios. This review aimed to identify and summarize the most important translational advances in the last years in the cardiovascular field together with the potential challenges that still remain in basic research, clinical scenarios, and regulatory agencies.
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Host Responses Following Infection with Canadian-Origin Wildtype and Vaccine Revertant Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10050782. [PMID: 35632538 PMCID: PMC9148004 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10050782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is caused by Gallid herpesvirus-1 (GaHV-1) or infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) and was first described in Canadian poultry flocks. In Canada, ILTV infection is endemic in backyard flocks, and commercial poultry encounters ILT outbreaks sporadically. A common practice to control ILT is the use of live attenuated vaccines. However, outbreaks still occur in poultry flocks globally due to ILTV vaccine strains reverting to virulence and emergence of new ILTV strains due to recombination in addition to circulating wildtype strains. Recent studies reported that most of the ILT outbreaks in Canada were induced by the chicken-embryo-origin (CEO) live attenuated vaccine revertant strains with the involvement of a small percentage of wildtype ILTV. It is not known if the host responses induced by these two ILTV strains are different. The objective of the study was to compare the host responses elicited by CEO revertant and wildtype ILTV strains in chickens. We infected 3-week-old specific pathogen-free chickens with the two types of ILTV isolates and subsequently evaluated the severity of clinical and pathological manifestations, in addition to host responses. We observed that both of the isolates show high pathogenicity by inducing several clinical and pathological manifestations. A significant recruitment of immune cells at both 3 and 7 days post-infection (dpi) was observed in the tracheal mucosa and the lung tissues of the infected chickens with wildtype and CEO vaccine revertant ILTV isolates when compared to uninfected controls. Overall, this study provides a better understanding of the mechanism of host responses against ILTV infection.
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Spanagel R. Ten Points to Improve Reproducibility and Translation of Animal Research. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:869511. [PMID: 35530730 PMCID: PMC9070052 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.869511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Findings from animal experiments are often difficult to transfer to humans. In this perspective article I discuss two questions. First, why are the results of animal experiments often so difficult to transfer to humans? And second, what can be done to improve translation from animal experiments to humans? Translation failures are often the result of poor methodology. It is not merely the fact that low statistical power of basic and preclinical studies undermine a "real effect," but the accuracy with which data from animal studies are collected and described, and the resulting robustness of the data is generally very low and often does not allow translation to a much more heterogeneous human condition. Equally important is the fact that the vast majority of publications in the biomedical field in the last few decades have reported positive findings and have thus generated a knowledge bias. Further contributions to reproducibility and translation failures are discussed in this paper, and 10 points of recommendation to improve reproducibility and translation are outlined. These recommendations are: (i) prior to planning an actual study, a systematic review or potential preclinical meta-analysis should be considered. (ii) An a priori power calculation should be carried out. (iii) The experimental study protocol should be pre-registered. (iv) The execution of the study should be in accordance with the most recent ARRIVE guidelines. (v) When planning the study, the generalizability of the data to be collected should also be considered (e.g., sex or age differences). (vi) "Method-hopping" should be avoided, meaning that it is not necessary to use the most advanced technology but rather to have the applied methodology under control. (vii) National or international networks should be considered to carry out multicenter preclinical studies or to obtain convergent evidence. (viii) Animal models that capture DSM-5 or ICD-11 criteria should be considered in the context of research on psychiatric disorders. (ix) Raw data of publication should be made publicly available and should be in accordance with the FAIR Guiding Principles for scientific data management. (x) Finally, negative findings should be published to counteract publication bias. The application of these 10 points of recommendation, especially for preclinical confirmatory studies but also to some degree for exploratory studies, will ultimately improve the reproducibility and translation of animal research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Spanagel
- Institute of Psychopharmacology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
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27
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Suman PR, Lino de Oliveira C. Systematic heterogenisation to improve reproducibility in animal studies. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001629. [PMID: 35522652 PMCID: PMC9075638 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A recent study published in PLoS Biology investigated whether the systematic use of multiple experimenters boosts the reproducibility of behavioural assays in mice. This Primer explores study designs to investigate systematic heterogenization in single-or multi-laboratory settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Remus Suman
- Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Cilene Lino de Oliveira
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Center of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina–UFSC, Florianópolis–SC, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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28
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Do multiple experimenters improve the reproducibility of animal studies? PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001564. [PMID: 35511779 PMCID: PMC9070896 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The credibility of scientific research has been seriously questioned by the widely claimed “reproducibility crisis”. In light of this crisis, there is a growing awareness that the rigorous standardisation of experimental conditions may contribute to poor reproducibility of animal studies. Instead, systematic heterogenisation has been proposed as a tool to enhance reproducibility, but a real-life test across multiple independent laboratories is still pending. The aim of this study was therefore to test whether heterogenisation of experimental conditions by using multiple experimenters improves the reproducibility of research findings compared to standardised conditions with only one experimenter. To this end, we replicated the same animal experiment in 3 independent laboratories, each employing both a heterogenised and a standardised design. Whereas in the standardised design, all animals were tested by a single experimenter; in the heterogenised design, 3 different experimenters were involved in testing the animals. In contrast to our expectation, the inclusion of multiple experimenters in the heterogenised design did not improve the reproducibility of the results across the 3 laboratories. Interestingly, however, a variance component analysis indicated that the variation introduced by the different experimenters was not as high as the variation introduced by the laboratories, probably explaining why this heterogenisation strategy did not bring the anticipated success. Even more interestingly, for the majority of outcome measures, the remaining residual variation was identified as an important source of variance accounting for 41% (CI95 [34%, 49%]) to 72% (CI95 [58%, 88%]) of the observed total variance. Despite some uncertainty surrounding the estimated numbers, these findings argue for systematically including biological variation rather than eliminating it in animal studies and call for future research on effective improvement strategies. An experimenter heterogenisation was not sufficient to prevent idiosyncratic results in a multi-laboratory setting. Astonishingly, neither the experimenter nor the laboratory accounted for the main portion of the observed variation, but a high amount of residual variation in fact remained unexplained despite strict standardisation regimes.
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Pereira M, Siba IP, Acco A, Correia D, Lapa FR, Santos ARS, Ruani AP, Pizzolatti MG, Andreatini R. Myricitrin exhibits antidepressant-like effects and reduces IL-6 hippocampal levels in the chronic mild stress model. Behav Brain Res 2022; 429:113905. [PMID: 35490774 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The flavonoid myricitrin showed an antidepressant-like effect in the tail suspension test and increased hippocampal neurogenesis, as well as demonstrating anti-inflammatory effects. Interestingly, inflammation has been linked to depression, and anti-inflammatory drugs showed promising results as antidepressant-like drugs. Thus, the present study evaluated the effects of myricitrin in the chronic mild stress (CMS) model, a translational and valid animal model of depression, using the mini-experiment design to improve the reproducibility of the findings. The sucrose preference test (SPT), forced swim test (FST), and tail suspension test (TST) were the readouts of depressive-like phenotypes induced by CMS. Relative adrenal weight was employed as an index of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation. Interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha levels were measured in the hippocampus. Myricitrin (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally, for 14 days) reversed depressive-like behaviors induced by CMS (increased immobility in the FST, the TST and anhedonia), as well as decreased adrenal hypertrophy and hippocampal levels of IL-6 in stressed mice. Similar results were observed by imipramine (20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally, for 14 days), a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (positive control). A significant correlation was observed between immobility time in the TST, and hippocampal IL-6 levels. Hippocampal TNF-α levels were not affected by CMS or drug treatment. In conclusion, myricitrin exhibited an antidepressant-like profile in CMS, and this effect may be associated with its anti-inflammatory activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Pereira
- Federal University of Paraná, Pharmacology Department, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Isadora P Siba
- Federal University of Paraná, Pharmacology Department, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Alexandra Acco
- Federal University of Paraná, Pharmacology Department, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Diego Correia
- Federal University of Paraná, Pharmacology Department, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Fernanda R Lapa
- Federal University of Santa Catarina, Laboratory of Neurobiology of Pain and Inflammation, Physiological Sciences Department, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Adair R S Santos
- Federal University of Santa Catarina, Laboratory of Neurobiology of Pain and Inflammation, Physiological Sciences Department, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Ana P Ruani
- Federal University of Santa Catarina, Chemistry Department, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Moacir G Pizzolatti
- Federal University of Santa Catarina, Chemistry Department, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Roberto Andreatini
- Federal University of Paraná, Pharmacology Department, Curitiba, Brazil.
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30
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Fazekas B, Alagesan S, Watson L, Ng O, Conroy CM, Català C, Andres MV, Negi N, Gerlach JQ, Hynes SO, Lozano F, Elliman SJ, Griffin MD. Comparison of Single and Repeated Dosing of Anti-Inflammatory Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in a Mouse Model of Polymicrobial Sepsis. Stem Cell Rev Rep 2022; 18:1444-1460. [PMID: 35013938 PMCID: PMC8747454 DOI: 10.1007/s12015-021-10323-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Summary Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) ameliorate pre-clinical sepsis and sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI) but clinical trials of single-dose MSCs have not indicated robust efficacy. This study investigated immunomodulatory effects of a novel MSC product (CD362-selected human umbilical cord-derived MSCs [hUC-MSCs]) in mouse endotoxemia and polymicrobial sepsis models. Initially, mice received intra-peritoneal (i.p.) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) followed by single i.p. doses of hUC-MSCs or vehicle. Next, mice underwent cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) followed by intravenous (i.v.) doses of hUC-MSCs at 4 h or 4 and 28 h. Analyses included serum/plasma assays of biochemical indices, inflammatory mediators and the AKI biomarker NGAL; multi-color flow cytometry of peritoneal macrophages (LPS) and intra-renal immune cell subpopulations (CLP) and histology/immunohistochemistry of kidney (CLP). At 72 h post-LPS injections, hUC-MSCs reduced serum inflammatory mediators and peritoneal macrophage M1/M2 ratio. Repeated, but not single, hUC-MSC doses administered at 48 h post-CLP resulted in lower serum concentrations of inflammatory mediators, lower plasma NGAL and reversal of sepsis-associated depletion of intra-renal T cell and myeloid cell subpopulations. Hierarchical clustering analysis of all 48-h serum/plasma analytes demonstrated partial co-clustering of repeated-dose hUC-MSC CLP animals with a Sham group but did not reveal a distinct signature of response to therapy. It was concluded that repeated doses of CD362-selected hUC-MSCs are required to modulate systemic and local immune/inflammatory events in polymicrobial sepsis and SA-AKI. Inter-individual variability and lack of effect of single dose MSC administration in the CLP model are consistent with observations to date from early-phase clinical trials. Graphical Abstract ![]()
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12015-021-10323-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Fazekas
- Regenerative Medicine Institute at CÚRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | | | | | - Olivia Ng
- Regenerative Medicine Institute at CÚRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
- Orbsen Therapeutics Ltd., Galway, Ireland
| | - Callum M Conroy
- Regenerative Medicine Institute at CÚRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
- Orbsen Therapeutics Ltd., Galway, Ireland
| | - Cristina Català
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Neema Negi
- Regenerative Medicine Institute at CÚRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Jared Q Gerlach
- Glycoscience Group, National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Sean O Hynes
- Discipline of Pathology, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
- Department of Histopathology, Galway University Hospitals, Galway, Ireland
| | - Francisco Lozano
- Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Barcelona, Spain
- Servei d'Immunologia, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department de Biomedicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Matthew D Griffin
- Regenerative Medicine Institute at CÚRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland.
- Department of Nephrology, Saolta University Health Care Group, Galway University Hospitals, Galway, Ireland.
- National University of Ireland Galway, REMEDI, Biomedical Sciences, Corrib Village, Dangan, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland.
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31
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Sharma MD, Pacholczyk R, Shi H, Berrong ZJ, Zakharia Y, Greco A, Chang CSS, Eathiraj S, Kennedy E, Cash T, Bollag RJ, Kolhe R, Sadek R, McGaha TL, Rodriguez P, Mandula J, Blazar BR, Johnson TS, Munn DH. Inhibition of the BTK-IDO-mTOR axis promotes differentiation of monocyte-lineage dendritic cells and enhances anti-tumor T cell immunity. Immunity 2021; 54:2354-2371.e8. [PMID: 34614413 PMCID: PMC8516719 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Monocytic-lineage inflammatory Ly6c+CD103+ dendritic cells (DCs) promote antitumor immunity, but these DCs are infrequent in tumors, even upon chemotherapy. Here, we examined how targeting pathways that inhibit the differentiation of inflammatory myeloid cells affect antitumor immunity. Pharmacologic inhibition of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) and the tryptophan-degrading enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) or deletion of Btk or Ido1 allowed robust differentiation of inflammatory Ly6c+CD103+ DCs during chemotherapy, promoting antitumor T cell responses and inhibiting tumor growth. Immature Ly6c+c-kit+ precursor cells had epigenetic profiles similar to conventional DC precursors; deletion of Btk or Ido1 promoted differentiation of these cells. Mechanistically, a BTK-IDO axis inhibited a tryptophan-sensitive differentiation pathway driven by GATOR2 and mTORC1, and disruption of the GATOR2 in monocyte-lineage precursors prevented differentiation into inflammatory DCs in vivo. IDO-expressing DCs and monocytic cells were present across a range of human tumors. Thus, a BTK-IDO axis represses differentiation of inflammatory DCs during chemotherapy, with implications for targeted therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhav D Sharma
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | - Rafal Pacholczyk
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | - Huidong Shi
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | - Zuzana J Berrong
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | - Yousef Zakharia
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Austin Greco
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Chang-Sheng S Chang
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA; Georgia Cancer Center, Bioinformatics Shared Resource, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | | | | | - Thomas Cash
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Roni J Bollag
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA; Department of Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | - Ravindra Kolhe
- Department of Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | - Ramses Sadek
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | - Tracy L McGaha
- Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 2M9, Canada
| | - Paulo Rodriguez
- Immunology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Jessica Mandula
- Immunology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Bruce R Blazar
- Department of Pediatrics and Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Theodore S Johnson
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
| | - David H Munn
- Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA.
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Glowacki RWP, Engelhart MJ, Ahern PP. Controlled Complexity: Optimized Systems to Study the Role of the Gut Microbiome in Host Physiology. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:735562. [PMID: 34646255 PMCID: PMC8503645 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.735562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The profound impact of the gut microbiome on host health has led to a revolution in biomedical research, motivating researchers from disparate fields to define the specific molecular mechanisms that mediate host-beneficial effects. The advent of genomic technologies allied to the use of model microbiomes in gnotobiotic mouse models has transformed our understanding of intestinal microbial ecology and the impact of the microbiome on the host. However, despite incredible advances, our understanding of the host-microbiome dialogue that shapes host physiology is still in its infancy. Progress has been limited by challenges associated with developing model systems that are both tractable enough to provide key mechanistic insights while also reflecting the enormous complexity of the gut ecosystem. Simplified model microbiomes have facilitated detailed interrogation of transcriptional and metabolic functions of the microbiome but do not recapitulate the interactions seen in complex communities. Conversely, intact complex communities from mice or humans provide a more physiologically relevant community type, but can limit our ability to uncover high-resolution insights into microbiome function. Moreover, complex microbiomes from lab-derived mice or humans often do not readily imprint human-like phenotypes. Therefore, improved model microbiomes that are highly defined and tractable, but that more accurately recapitulate human microbiome-induced phenotypic variation are required to improve understanding of fundamental processes governing host-microbiome mutualism. This improved understanding will enhance the translational relevance of studies that address how the microbiome promotes host health and influences disease states. Microbial exposures in wild mice, both symbiotic and infectious in nature, have recently been established to more readily recapitulate human-like phenotypes. The development of synthetic model communities from such "wild mice" therefore represents an attractive strategy to overcome the limitations of current approaches. Advances in microbial culturing approaches that allow for the generation of large and diverse libraries of isolates, coupled to ever more affordable large-scale genomic sequencing, mean that we are now ideally positioned to develop such systems. Furthermore, the development of sophisticated in vitro systems is allowing for detailed insights into host-microbiome interactions to be obtained. Here we discuss the need to leverage such approaches and highlight key challenges that remain to be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert W. P. Glowacki
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Morgan J. Engelhart
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Philip P. Ahern
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
- Center for Microbiome and Human Health, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States
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Microglia react to partner loss in a sex- and brain site-specific manner in prairie voles. Brain Behav Immun 2021; 96:168-186. [PMID: 34058309 PMCID: PMC8319132 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.05.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Positive social relationships are paramount for the survival of mammals and beneficial for mental and physical health, buffer against stressors, and even promote appropriate immune system functioning. By contrast, impaired social relationships, social isolation, or the loss of a bonded partner lead to aggravated physical and mental health. For example, in humans partner loss is detrimental for the functioning of the immune system and heightens the susceptibility for the development of post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety disorders, and major depressive disorders. To understand potential underlying mechanisms, the monogamous prairie vole can provide important insights. In the present study, we separated pair bonded male and female prairie voles after five days of co-housing, subjected them to the forced swim test on the fourth day following separation, and studied their microglia morphology and activation in specific brain regions. Partner loss increased passive stress-coping in male, but not female, prairie voles. Moreover, partner loss was associated with microglial priming within the parvocellular region of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) in male prairie voles, whereas in female prairie voles the morphological activation within the whole PVN and the prelimbic cortex (PrL) was decreased, marked by a shift towards ramified microglial morphology. Expression of the immediate early protein c-Fos following partner loss was changed within the PrL of male, but not female, prairie voles. However, the loss of a partner did not affect the investigated aspects of the peripheral immune response. These data suggest a potential sex-dependent mechanism for the regulation of microglial activity following the loss of a partner, which might contribute to the observed differences in passive stress-coping. This study furthers our understanding of the effects of partner loss and its short-term impact on the CNS as well as the CNS immune system and the peripheral innate immune system in both male and female prairie voles.
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Wang Q. The cornerstone of translational research - selection of appropriate animal models. BIOMATERIALS TRANSLATIONAL 2021; 2:87-88. [PMID: 35836966 PMCID: PMC9255784 DOI: 10.12336/biomatertransl.2021.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qian Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
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Abstract
Reproducibility in biomedical research, and more specifically in preclinical animal research, has been seriously questioned. Several cases of spectacular failures to replicate findings published in the primary scientific literature have led to a perceived reproducibility crisis. Diverse threats to reproducibility have been proposed, including lack of scientific rigour, low statistical power, publication bias, analytical flexibility and fraud. An important aspect that is generally overlooked is the lack of external validity caused by rigorous standardization of both the animals and the environment. Here, we argue that a reaction norm approach to phenotypic variation, acknowledging gene-by-environment interactions, can help us seeing reproducibility of animal experiments in a new light. We illustrate how dominating environmental effects can affect inference and effect size estimates of studies and how elimination of dominant factors through standardization affects the nature of the expected phenotype variation through the reaction norms of small effect. Finally, we discuss the consequences of reaction norms of small effect for statistical analysis, specifically for random effect latent variable models and the random lab model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Voelkl
- Animal Welfare Division, University of Bern, Laenggassstrasse 120, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Hanno Würbel
- Animal Welfare Division, University of Bern, Laenggassstrasse 120, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
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Farrar BG, Voudouris K, Clayton NS. Replications, Comparisons, Sampling and the Problem of Representativeness in Animal Cognition Research. ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND COGNITION 2021; 8:273-295. [PMID: 34046521 PMCID: PMC7610843 DOI: 10.26451/abc.08.02.14.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal cognition research often involves small and idiosyncratic samples. This can constrain the generalizability and replicability of a study's results and prevent meaningful comparisons between samples. However, there is little consensus about what makes a strong replication or comparison in animal research. We apply a resampling definition of replication to answer these questions in Part 1 of this article, and, in Part 2, we focus on the problem of representativeness in animal research. Through a case study and a simulation study, we highlight how and when representativeness may be an issue in animal behavior and cognition research and show how the representativeness problems can be viewed through the lenses of, i) replicability, ii) generalizability and external validity, iii) pseudoreplication and, iv) theory testing. Next, we discuss when and how researchers can improve their ability to learn from small sample research through, i) increasing heterogeneity in experimental design, ii) increasing homogeneity in experimental design, and, iii) statistically modeling variation. Finally, we describe how the strongest solutions will vary depending on the goals and resources of individual research programs and discuss some barriers towards implementing them.
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