Environmental enrichment prevents pup mortality in laboratory mice

Leidinger, Charlotte Sophie; Thöne-Reineke, Christa; Baumgart, Nadine; Baumgart, Jan

doi:10.1177/0023677218777536

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The mortality rate in the first weeks of life was near 10% in both groups, significantly lower than what we observed in our animal facility with the same breeding strategy, about 20% with Standard rodent diet (data not shown), and the common mortality rate observed in laboratory mice ( Weber et al., 2013 ; Leidinger et al., 2019 ). As shown in Table 2 , the obtained percentage for each genotype of the newborns was similar to the predicted one in the Bronze group, whilst in the Control tomato group we recorded an imbalance between the obtained percentage of C57BL/6 and heterozygote Winnie +/- mice.…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 61%

Polyphenol Enriched Diet Administration During Pregnancy and Lactation Prevents Dysbiosis in Ulcerative Colitis Predisposed Littermates

Santis

Scarano

Liso

et al. 2021

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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Neonatal colonization of the gastrointestinal tract depends on mother microbiome, thus mother microbiota dysbiosis is transmitted to the offspring during the delivery and shaped by breastmilk characteristics. Here we used a murine model of UC predisposition (Winnie-/-) to evaluate the effects of maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation. Using heterozygous breeders, we obtained both Winnie-/- and C57BL/6 littermates from the same mother and compared their microbiota at weaning and adult age, using a diet enriched with 1% tomato fruit of a line – named Bronze – highly enriched in bioactive polyphenols, or Control tomato. Females received enriched diets two weeks before the beginning of the breeding and never stopped for the following six months. No significant effect was observed in regard to the percentage of Winnie-/- offspring, as with both diets the percentage was about 25% as expected. Winnie littermates from breeders fed with the Bronze-enriched diet showed reduced dysbiosis at 4 weeks of age if compared with Winnie under the Control tomato diet. This effect was then reduced when mice reached adult age. Conversely, the microbiota of C57BL/6 does not change significantly, indicating that fortified mothers-diet significantly contribute to preventing dysbiosis in genetically predisposed offspring, but has mild effects on healthy littermates and adult mice. An overall tendency towards reduced inflammation was underlined by the colon weight and the percentage of Foxp3+ cells reduction in Winnie mice fed with Bronze diet. Control diet did not show similar tendency.

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Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 61%

Polyphenol Enriched Diet Administration During Pregnancy and Lactation Prevents Dysbiosis in Ulcerative Colitis Predisposed Littermates

Santis

Scarano

Liso

et al. 2021

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

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“…Finally, mouse dams housed in standard laboratory cages with an elevated get-away tunnel showed lower pup mortality than standard-housed mice [ 8 ]; pup mortality can also be reduced using other enrichment strategies (e.g. [ 9 ]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A break from the pups: The effects of loft access on the welfare of lactating laboratory rats

Ratuski

Weary

2021

PLoS ONE

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Rats (Rattus norvegicus) bred for research are typically confined with their litters until weaning, but will spend time away from pups when given the opportunity. We aimed to assess how dam welfare is affected by the ability to escape from their pups. Rat dams (n = 16) were housed in cages either with or without an elevated loft. We measured time dams spent in lofts, time spent nursing, and affective states using elevated plus maze and anticipatory behavior testing. We predicted that 1) dams housed with lofts would use them increasingly as pups aged, 2) dams without a loft would spend more time passively nursing (i.e. initiated by pups rather than the dam) and more total time nursing as pups aged, and 3) dams housed with lofts would show evidence of a more positive affective state. Dams housed with lofts spent more time in the loft with increasing pup age; dams spent on average (mean ± SE) 27 ± 5% of their time in the loft when pups were 1 wk old, increasing to 52 ± 5% of their time at 3 wks. When pups were 3 wks old, dams with lofts spent less time passively nursing (10 ± 2% of total time, compared to 27 ± 4% for dams without a loft) and less time nursing overall (36 ± 4% of time versus 59 ± 2% for dams without a loft). Rats without loft access showed increased anticipatory behavior potentially indicative of negative affective state (24.5±1.8 behaviors per minute in wk 3 compared to 18.8±1.0 in wk 1). These findings indicate that rat dams in laboratories choose to spend time away from their pups when provided the opportunity, particularly later in lactation; an inability to do so is associated with increased passive nursing and negative affect.

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“…For cages with spa mice with severe phenotypes, a paper mat and preconfigured nesting material was placed in the cage. For all other mice, including breeder pairs, standard shavings with paper material used for nesting were provided 13 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth and survival characteristics of spa mice

Brandenburg

Fogarty

Sieck

2020

Anim Models and Exp Med

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Characterization of growth and survival of mice displaying early onset hypertonic symptoms is critical as these animals are important for research investigating mechanisms and treatments of pediatric conditions associated with hypertonia, such as cerebral palsy. Currently, most animal models of cerebral palsy reproduce risk factors for developing this condition, with most failing to develop the physical symptoms or failing to survive in the postnatal period. The B6.Cg‐Glrbspa/J (Gly receptor mutation) transgenic mouse (spa mouse), displays symptoms of early onset hypertonia, though little has been reported on growth and survival, with no reports of growth and survival since genotyping became available. We found that the majority of spa mice display symptoms by P14‐P16. Of mice surviving to weaning, only ~9% were spa mice. By weaning age, spa mice had significantly lower weights than their heterozygote and wild‐type littermates. Of mice that died after weaning and prior to use in experiments or being culled, 48% were spa mice. The poor growth and decreased survival of spa mice across multiple developmental and adult ages resembled the varied survival rates observed in humans with mild or severe cerebral palsy. The understanding of the expected survival of these mice is helpful for planning breeding and animal numbers for experiments. Due to the symptoms and timing of symptom onset, spa mice will be valuable in uncovering mechanisms and long‐term effects of early onset hypertonia in order to move toward interventions for these conditions.

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Environmental enrichment prevents pup mortality in laboratory mice

Cited by 15 publications

References 32 publications

Polyphenol Enriched Diet Administration During Pregnancy and Lactation Prevents Dysbiosis in Ulcerative Colitis Predisposed Littermates

Polyphenol Enriched Diet Administration During Pregnancy and Lactation Prevents Dysbiosis in Ulcerative Colitis Predisposed Littermates

A break from the pups: The effects of loft access on the welfare of lactating laboratory rats

Growth and survival characteristics of spa mice

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