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De Vleeschauwer SI, van de Ven M, Oudin A, Debusschere K, Connor K, Byrne AT, Ram D, Rhebergen AM, Raeves YD, Dahlhoff M, Dangles-Marie V, Hermans ER. OBSERVE: guidelines for the refinement of rodent cancer models. Nat Protoc 2024; 19:2571-2596. [PMID: 38992214 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-024-00998-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
Existing guidelines on the preparation (Planning Research and Experimental Procedures on Animals: Recommendations for Excellence (PREPARE)) and reporting (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE)) of animal experiments do not provide a clear and standardized approach for refinement during in vivo cancer studies, resulting in the publication of generic methodological sections that poorly reflect the attempts made at accurately monitoring different pathologies. Compliance with the 3Rs guidelines has mainly focused on reduction and replacement; however, refinement has been harder to implement. The Oncology Best-practices: Signs, Endpoints and Refinements for in Vivo Experiments (OBSERVE) guidelines are the result of a European initiative supported by EurOPDX and INFRAFRONTIER, and aim to facilitate the refinement of studies using in vivo cancer models by offering robust and practical recommendations on approaches to research scientists and animal care staff. We listed cancer-specific clinical signs as a reference point and from there developed sets of guidelines for a wide variety of rodent models, including genetically engineered models and patient derived xenografts. In this Consensus Statement, we systematically and comprehensively address refinement and monitoring approaches during the design and execution of murine cancer studies. We elaborate on the appropriate preparation of tumor-initiating biologicals and the refinement of tumor-implantation methods. We describe the clinical signs to monitor associated with tumor growth, the appropriate follow-up of animals tailored to varying clinical signs and humane endpoints, and an overview of severity assessment in relation to clinical signs, implantation method and tumor characteristics. The guidelines provide oncology researchers clear and robust guidance for the refinement of in vivo cancer models.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marieke van de Ven
- Laboratory Animal Facility, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Anaïs Oudin
- NORLUX Neuro-Oncology Laboratory, Department of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Karlijn Debusschere
- Animal Core Facility VUB, Brussels, Belgium
- Core ARTH Animal Facilities, Medicine and Health Sciences Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kate Connor
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Annette T Byrne
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Doreen Ram
- Laboratory Animal Facility, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | | | - Maik Dahlhoff
- Institute of in vivo and in vitro Models, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Els R Hermans
- Laboratory Animal Facility, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Berridge BR, Baran SW, Kumar V, Bratcher-Petersen N, Ellis M, Liu CN, Robertson TL. Digitalization of toxicology: improving preclinical to clinical translation. FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY 2024; 6:1377542. [PMID: 38605940 PMCID: PMC11007025 DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2024.1377542] [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: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Though the portfolio of medicines that are extending and improving the lives of patients continues to grow, drug discovery and development remains a challenging business on its best day. Safety liabilities are a significant contributor to development attrition where the costliest liabilities to both drug developers and patients emerge in late development or post-marketing. Animal studies are an important and influential contributor to the current drug discovery and development paradigm intending to provide evidence that a novel drug candidate can be used safely and effectively in human volunteers and patients. However, translational gaps-such as toxicity in patients not predicted by animal studies-have prompted efforts to improve their effectiveness, especially in safety assessment. More holistic monitoring and "digitalization" of animal studies has the potential to enrich study outcomes leading to datasets that are more computationally accessible, translationally relevant, replicable, and technically efficient. Continuous monitoring of animal behavior and physiology enables longitudinal assessment of drug effects, detection of effects during the animal's sleep and wake cycles and the opportunity to detect health or welfare events earlier. Automated measures can also mitigate human biases and reduce subjectivity. Reinventing a conservative, standardized, and traditional paradigm like drug safety assessment requires the collaboration and contributions of a broad and multi-disciplinary stakeholder group. In this perspective, we review the current state of the field and discuss opportunities to improve current approaches by more fully leveraging the power of sensor technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and animal behavior in a home cage environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Vivek Kumar
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
| | | | - Michael Ellis
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
| | - Chang-Ning Liu
- Drug Safety Research and Development, Pfizer, Groton, CT, United States
| | - Timothy L. Robertson
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
- TLR Ventures, Redwood City, CA, United States
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Terry S, Gommet C, Kerangueven AC, Leguet M, Thévenin V, Berthelot M, Begoud L, Windenberger F, Lainee P. Activity in Group-Housed Home Cages of Mice as a Novel Preclinical Biomarker in Oncology Studies. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:4798. [PMID: 37835492 PMCID: PMC10571829 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15194798] [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: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Improving experimental conditions in preclinical animal research is a major challenge, both scientifically and ethically. Automated digital ventilated cages (DVC®) offer the advantage of continuous monitoring of animal activity in their home-cage. The potential utility of this technology remains understudied and deserves investigation in the field of oncology. METHODS Using the DVC® platform, we sought to determine if the continuous assessment of locomotor activity of mice in their home cages can serve as useful digital readout in the monitoring of animals treated with the reference oncology compounds cisplatin and cyclophosphamide. SCID mice of 14 weeks of age were housed in DVC® cages in groups of four and followed with standard and digital examination before and after treatment over a 17-day total period. RESULTS DVC® detected statistically significant effects of cisplatin on the activity of mice in the short and long term, as well as trends for cyclophosphamide. The activity differences between the vehicle- and chemotherapy-treated groups were especially marked during the nighttime, a period when animals are most active and staff are generally not available for regular checks. Standard clinical parameters, such as body weight change and clinical assessment during the day, provided additional and complementary information. CONCLUSION The DVC® technology enabled the home cage monitoring of mice and non-invasive detection of animal activity disturbances. It can easily be integrated into a multimodal monitoring approach to better capture the different effects of oncology drugs on anti-tumor efficacy, toxicity, and safety and improve translation to clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Céline Gommet
- Translational In Vivo Models—In Vivo Research Center Vitry, Sanofi Research and Development, 94403 Vitry-sur-Seine, France; (C.G.); (M.L.); (V.T.); (M.B.); (L.B.)
| | - Anne-Cécile Kerangueven
- Biostatistics & Programming, Sanofi Research and Development, 94403 Vitry-sur-Seine, France; (A.-C.K.); (F.W.)
| | - Mickaël Leguet
- Translational In Vivo Models—In Vivo Research Center Vitry, Sanofi Research and Development, 94403 Vitry-sur-Seine, France; (C.G.); (M.L.); (V.T.); (M.B.); (L.B.)
| | - Vincent Thévenin
- Translational In Vivo Models—In Vivo Research Center Vitry, Sanofi Research and Development, 94403 Vitry-sur-Seine, France; (C.G.); (M.L.); (V.T.); (M.B.); (L.B.)
| | - Mickaël Berthelot
- Translational In Vivo Models—In Vivo Research Center Vitry, Sanofi Research and Development, 94403 Vitry-sur-Seine, France; (C.G.); (M.L.); (V.T.); (M.B.); (L.B.)
| | - Laurent Begoud
- Translational In Vivo Models—In Vivo Research Center Vitry, Sanofi Research and Development, 94403 Vitry-sur-Seine, France; (C.G.); (M.L.); (V.T.); (M.B.); (L.B.)
| | - Fanny Windenberger
- Biostatistics & Programming, Sanofi Research and Development, 94403 Vitry-sur-Seine, France; (A.-C.K.); (F.W.)
| | - Pierre Lainee
- Translational In Vivo Models—In Vivo Research Center Vitry, Sanofi Research and Development, 94403 Vitry-sur-Seine, France; (C.G.); (M.L.); (V.T.); (M.B.); (L.B.)
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Fuochi S, Galligioni V. Disease Animal Models for Cancer Research. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2645:105-125. [PMID: 37202613 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3056-3_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Despite nonanimal methods (NAMs) are more and more exploited and new NAMs are developed and validated, animal models are still used in cancer research. Animals are used at multiple levels, from understanding molecular traits and pathways, to mimicking clinical aspects of tumor progression, to drug testing. In vivo approaches are not trivial and involve cross-disciplinary knowledge: animal biology and physiology, genetics, pathology, and animal welfare.The aim of this chapter is not to list and address all animal models used in cancer research. Instead, the authors would like to guide experimenters in the strategies to adopt in both planning and performing in vivo experimental procedures, including the choice of cancer animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Fuochi
- Universität Bern, Experimental Animal Center, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Viola Galligioni
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience - KNAW, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Klein CJMI, Budiman T, Homberg JR, Verma D, Keijer J, van Schothorst EM. Measuring Locomotor Activity and Behavioral Aspects of Rodents Living in the Home-Cage. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:877323. [PMID: 35464142 PMCID: PMC9021872 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.877323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Automatization and technological advances have led to a larger number of methods and systems to monitor and measure locomotor activity and more specific behavior of a wide variety of animal species in various environmental conditions in laboratory settings. In rodents, the majority of these systems require the animals to be temporarily taken away from their home-cage into separate observation cage environments which requires manual handling and consequently evokes distress for the animal and may alter behavioral responses. An automated high-throughput approach can overcome this problem. Therefore, this review describes existing automated methods and technologies which enable the measurement of locomotor activity and behavioral aspects of rodents in their most meaningful and stress-free laboratory environment: the home-cage. In line with the Directive 2010/63/EU and the 3R principles (replacement, reduction, refinement), this review furthermore assesses their suitability and potential for group-housed conditions as a refinement strategy, highlighting their current technological and practical limitations. It covers electrical capacitance technology and radio-frequency identification (RFID), which focus mainly on voluntary locomotor activity in both single and multiple rodents, respectively. Infrared beams and force plates expand the detection beyond locomotor activity toward basic behavioral traits but discover their full potential in individually housed rodents only. Despite the great premises of these approaches in terms of behavioral pattern recognition, more sophisticated methods, such as (RFID-assisted) video tracking technology need to be applied to enable the automated analysis of advanced behavioral aspects of individual animals in social housing conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian J. M. I. Klein
- Human and Animal Physiology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
- TSE Systems GmbH, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Judith R. Homberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | | | - Jaap Keijer
- Human and Animal Physiology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
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