Dorsal shaving affects concentrations of faecal cortisol metabolites in lactating golden hamsters

Ohrnberger, Sarah A.; Brinkmann, Katharina; Palme, Rupert; Valencak, Teresa G.

doi:10.1007/s00114-017-1536-7

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Given that pup loss in our study occurred exclusively during the first 24 h after birth, delayed expose to temperature treatments might conceal potential temperature effects on female reproductive investment. Similar to our study, a negative temperature effect was also observed on reproductive parameters in rats kept at 33 °C [ 52 ] and hamsters kept at 30 °C [ 53 , 54 ]. In our study, the best reproductive outcome was found when females were kept at 25 °C, though there was little difference between 20 °C and 25 °C.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Pup body mass is directly related to female body mass since the development of the mammary gland and lactation is dependent on adequate food and water intake. In addition, pup body mass can indirectly be affected by the impact of the ambient temperature on the lactating mother: According to the heat dissipation limit hypothesis, females cannot dissipate enough metabolic heat at higher ambient temperatures and therefore limit milk production, which results in reduced pup weight [ 54 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ]. This hypothesis was critically discussed by Sadowska and coworkers [ 63 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effect of Different Ambient Temperatures on Reproductive Outcome and Stress Level of Lactating Females in Two Mouse Strains

Kolbe

Lassnig

Poelzl

et al. 2022

Animals

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ambient temperature is an important non-biotic environmental factor influencing immunological and oncological parameters in laboratory mice. It is under discussion which temperature is more appropriate and whether the commonly used room temperature in rodent facilities of about 21 °C represents a chronic cold stress or the 30 °C of the thermoneutral zone constitutes heat stress for the animals. In this study, we selected the physiological challenging period of lactation to investigate the influence of a cage temperature of 20 °C, 25 °C, and 30 °C, respectively, on reproductive performance and stress hormone levels in two frequently used mouse strains. We found that B6D2F1 hybrid mothers weaned more pups compared to C57BL/6N mothers, and that the number of weaned pups was reduced when mothers of both strains were kept at 30 °C. Furthermore, at 30 °C, mothers and pups showed reduced body weight at weaning and offspring had longer tails. Despite pronounced temperature effects on reproductive parameters, we did not find any temperature effects on adrenocortical activity in breeding and control mice. Independent of the ambient temperature, however, we found that females raising pups showed elevated levels of faecal corticosterone metabolites (FCMs) compared to controls. Peak levels of stress hormone metabolites were measured around birth and during the third week of lactation. Our results provide no evidence of an advantage for keeping lactating mice in ambient temperatures near the thermoneutral zone. In contrast, we found that a 30 °C cage temperature during lactation reduced body mass in females and their offspring and declined female reproductive performance.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Different Ambient Temperatures on Reproductive Outcome and Stress Level of Lactating Females in Two Mouse Strains

Kolbe

Lassnig

Poelzl

et al. 2022

Animals

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As reviewed in Speakman and Keijer (2013), this is a very debatable concept and has a huge impact on stress and well-being of the female mothers. In a parallel study, we recently showed that female golden hamsters shaved dorsally in lactation had lower stress than mothers with intact fur (Ohrnberger et al, 2018). In light of our new data on lactation energetics in nursing golden hamsters, we caution against too high maintenance temperatures in breeding golden hamsters in accordance with the lower recommendation for mice (Speakman and Keijer, 2013).…”

Section: Discussion Heat Dissipation Limitation In Lactating Golden Hmentioning

confidence: 84%

Limits to sustained energy intake XXIX: the case of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)

Ohrnberger

Hambly

Speakman

et al. 2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Golden hamster females have the shortest known gestation period among placental mammals, and at the same time raise very large litters of up to 16 offspring, which are born in a naked and blind state and are only able to pick up food from days 12 to 14 onwards. We quantified energy metabolism and milk production in female golden hamsters raising offspring under cold (8°C), normal (22°C) and hot (30°C) ambient temperature conditions. We monitored energy intake, subcutaneous body temperature, daily energy expenditure, litter size and pup masses over the course of lactation. Our results show that, in line with the concept of heat dissipation limitation, female golden hamsters had the largest energy intake under the coldest conditions and a significantly lower intake at 30°C (partial for influence of ambient temperature: =5.6;=0.004). Metabolisable energy intake as well as milk energy output showed the same pattern and were significantly different between the temperatures (partial for milk energy production: =86.4;<0.0001), with consistently higher subcutaneous temperatures in the reproductive females ( =36.77;<0.0001) compared with baseline females. These data suggest that raising offspring in golden hamsters comes at the cost of producing large amounts of body heat up to a level constraining energy intake, similar to that observed in some laboratory mice. Notably, we observed that females seemed to adjust litter size according to their milk production, with the smallest litters (3.4±0.7 pups) being raised by hot-exposed mothers. Future research is needed to unravel the mechanism by which females assess their own milk production capabilities and how this may be linked to litter size at different ambient temperatures. Golden hamsters reach 8-10 times resting metabolic rate when raising offspring under cold conditions, which is compatible with the findings from laboratory mice and other rodents.

show abstract

“…In contrast to our study with a heat exposure starting at the last third of pregnancy, Zhao and coworkers exposed the females and their litters only from day 6 postpartum to higher temperatures, whereas the pup losses in our study occurred only during the first 24 hours after birth. In rats kept at 33°C [52] and hamsters kept at 30°C [53,54] a negative temperature effect was also observed on reproductive parameters. In our study the best reproductive results were found when females were kept at 25°C, though there was hardly any significant difference between 20°C and 25°C.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of different ambient temperatures on reproductive outcome and wellbeing of lactating females in two mouse strains

Kolbe

Lassnig

Poelzl

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ambient temperature is an important non-biotic environmental factor influencing immunological and oncological parameters in laboratory mice. It is under discussion which temperature is more appropriate and whether the commonly used room temperature in rodent facilities of about 21°C represents a chronic cold stress or the 30°C of the thermoneutral zone constitutes heat stress for the animals. In this study we selected the physiological challenging period of lactation to investigate the influence of a cage temperature of 20°C, 25°C, and 30°C, respectively, on reproductive performance and stress hormone levels in two frequently used mouse strains. We found that more pups were weaned from B6D2F1 hybrids compared to C57BL/6N mothers and that the number of weaned pups was strongly reduced if mothers of both strains were kept at 30°C. Furthermore, at 30°C mothers and pups showed reduced body weight at weaning and offspring had longer tails. Despite pronounced temperature effects on reproductive parameters, we did not find any impact on adrenocortical activity in breeding and control mice. Independent of the ambient temperature however, we found that females raising pups showed elevated levels of fecal corticosterone metabolites (FCMs) compared to controls. Increased levels of stress hormone metabolites were measured specially around birth and during the third week of lactation. Our results provide no evidence for reduced or improved wellbeing of lactating mice at different ambient temperatures, but we found that a 30°C cage temperature impairs reproductive performance.

show abstract

Dorsal shaving affects concentrations of faecal cortisol metabolites in lactating golden hamsters

Cited by 5 publications

References 28 publications

Effect of Different Ambient Temperatures on Reproductive Outcome and Stress Level of Lactating Females in Two Mouse Strains

Effect of Different Ambient Temperatures on Reproductive Outcome and Stress Level of Lactating Females in Two Mouse Strains

Limits to sustained energy intake XXIX: the case of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)

Effect of different ambient temperatures on reproductive outcome and wellbeing of lactating females in two mouse strains

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About