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Wittek L, Touma C, Nitezki T, Laeger T, Krämer S, Raila J. Reduction in Cold Stress in an Innovative Metabolic Cage Housing System Increases Animal Welfare in Laboratory Mice. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2866. [PMID: 37760266 PMCID: PMC10525209 DOI: 10.3390/ani13182866] [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: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Housing in metabolic cages can induce a pronounced stress response. Metabolic cage systems imply housing mice on metal wire mesh for the collection of urine and feces in addition to monitoring food and water intake. Moreover, mice are single-housed, and no nesting, bedding, or enrichment material is provided, which is often argued to have a not negligible impact on animal welfare due to cold stress. We therefore attempted to reduce stress during metabolic cage housing for mice by comparing an innovative metabolic cage (IMC) with a commercially available metabolic cage from Tecniplast GmbH (TMC) and a control cage. Substantial refinement measures were incorporated into the IMC cage design. In the frame of a multifactorial approach for severity assessment, parameters such as body weight, body composition, food intake, cage and body surface temperature (thermal imaging), mRNA expression of uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) in brown adipose tissue (BAT), fur score, and fecal corticosterone metabolites (CMs) were included. Female and male C57BL/6J mice were single-housed for 24 h in either conventional Macrolon cages (control), IMC, or TMC for two sessions. Body weight decreased less in the IMC (females-1st restraint: -6.94%; 2nd restraint: -6.89%; males-1st restraint: -8.08%; 2nd restraint: -5.82%) compared to the TMC (females-1st restraint: -13.2%; 2nd restraint: -15.0%; males-1st restraint: -13.1%; 2nd restraint: -14.9%) and the IMC possessed a higher cage temperature (females-1st restraint: 23.7 °C; 2nd restraint: 23.5 °C; males-1st restraint: 23.3 °C; 2nd restraint: 23.5 °C) compared with the TMC (females-1st restraint: 22.4 °C; 2nd restraint: 22.5 °C; males-1st restraint: 22.6 °C; 2nd restraint: 22.4 °C). The concentration of fecal corticosterone metabolites in the TMC (females-1st restraint: 1376 ng/g dry weight (DW); 2nd restraint: 2098 ng/g DW; males-1st restraint: 1030 ng/g DW; 2nd restraint: 1163 ng/g DW) was higher compared to control cage housing (females-1st restraint: 640 ng/g DW; 2nd restraint: 941 ng/g DW; males-1st restraint: 504 ng/g DW; 2nd restraint: 537 ng/g DW). Our results show the stress potential induced by metabolic cage restraint that is markedly influenced by the lower housing temperature. The IMC represents a first attempt to target cold stress reduction during metabolic cage application thereby producing more animal welfare friendlydata.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Wittek
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology of Nutrition, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, 14558 Nuthetal, Germany (T.L.); (J.R.)
| | - Chadi Touma
- Department of Behavioural Biology, Osnabruck University, 49076 Osnabruck, Germany;
| | - Tina Nitezki
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology of Nutrition, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, 14558 Nuthetal, Germany (T.L.); (J.R.)
| | - Thomas Laeger
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology of Nutrition, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, 14558 Nuthetal, Germany (T.L.); (J.R.)
| | - Stephanie Krämer
- Interdisciplinary Center of 3Rs in Animal Research (ICAR3R), Clinic of Veterinary Medicine, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, 35392 Giessen, Germany;
| | - Jens Raila
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology of Nutrition, Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, 14558 Nuthetal, Germany (T.L.); (J.R.)
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Adedara IA, Mohammed KA, Da-Silva OF, Salaudeen FA, Gonçalves FL, Rosemberg DB, Aschner M, Rocha JBT, Farombi EO. Utility of cockroach as a model organism in the assessment of toxicological impacts of environmental pollutants. ENVIRONMENTAL ADVANCES 2022; 8:100195. [PMID: 35992224 PMCID: PMC9390120 DOI: 10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Environmental pollution is a global concern because of its associated risks to human health and ecosystem. The bio-monitoring of environmental health has attracted much attention in recent years and efforts to minimize environmental contamination as well as to delineate toxicological mechanisms related to toxic exposure are essential to improve the health conditions of both humans and animals. This review aims to substantiate the need and advantages in utilizing cockroaches as a complementary, non-mammalian model to further understand the noxious impact of environmental contaminants on humans and animals. We discuss recent advances in neurotoxicology, immunotoxicology, reproductive and developmental toxicology, environmental forensic entomotoxicology, and environmental toxicology that corroborate the utility of the cockroach (Periplaneta americana, Blaptica dubia, Blattella germanica and Nauphoeta cinerea) in addressing toxicological mechanisms as well as a sensor of environmental pollution. Indeed, recent improvements in behavioural assessment and the detection of potential biomarkers allow for the recognition of phenotypic alterations in cockroaches following exposure to toxic chemicals namely saxitoxin, methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, electromagnetic fields, pharmaceuticals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, chemical warfare agents and nanoparticles. The review provides a state-of-the-art update on the current utility of cockroach models in various aspects of toxicology as well as discusses the potential limitations and future perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac A. Adedara
- Drug Metabolism and Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, CCNE, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
- Corresponding author. (I.A. Adedara)
| | - Khadija A. Mohammed
- Drug Metabolism and Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Oluwatobiloba F. Da-Silva
- Drug Metabolism and Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Faoziyat A. Salaudeen
- Drug Metabolism and Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Falco L.S. Gonçalves
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, CCNE, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Denis B. Rosemberg
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, CCNE, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Michael Aschner
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology; Albert Einstein College of Medicine Forchheimer 209; 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, U.S.A
| | - Joao B. T. Rocha
- Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, CCNE, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, 97105-900 Santa Maria, RS, Brazil
| | - Ebenezer O. Farombi
- Drug Metabolism and Toxicology Research Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
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