Ethanol Consumption and Taste Preferences in C57BL/6ByJ and 129/J Mice

Abstract

Mice of the C57BL/6ByJ (B6) and 129/J (129) strains were offered different concentrations of taste solutions in 48-hr, two-bottle choice tests. In comparison with the 129 strain, the B6 strain had higher preferences for ethanol, sucrose, and citric acid. They had lower preferences for NaCI and similar preferences for capsaicin and quinine hydrochloride. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the higher ethanol intake by B6 mice depends, in part, on higher hedonic attractiveness of its sweet taste component. KeywordsMouse Strains; Ethanol Consumption; Taste Preference.IN RODENTS, the volume of ethanol consumed depends in part on its flavor, 1 but the relationship between intake and flavor is not well understood. A sweet component to alcohol taste has been demonstrated in rats, 2 which is consistent with several studies showing that the proclivity to drink alcohol is associated with elevated sweet preferences. [3][4][5] However, alcohol intake is also associated with reduced NaCI preferences, 4,6 even though it is not considered salty, and is unrelated to ingestion of bitter solutions 4 despite being bitter. 2 In addition to its gustatory properties, alcohol activates the olfactory and trigeminal (irritation/ burn) systems, 7 but there is no work to determine whether these are related to differences in intake.The goal of the present study was to characterize the relationships between genetically determined differences in ethanol consumption and perception of the four main taste qualities and burning sensation. For this purpose, preferences for various concentrations of ethanol, sucrose, citric acid, quinine, NaCI, and capsaicin were tested in mice of C57BL/ 6ByJ (B6) and 129/J (129) strains. The B6 and 129 mouse strains were chosen because in previous studies they revealed differences in ethanol intake, 5 as well as in preferences for sweet and salty substances. 5,8,9 Because few data are available concerning taste acceptance in the 129 strain, it seemed important to test animals with a range of taste solutions. Another reason for testing the 129/J strain was that the closely related 129/SvJ strain is commonly used for transgenic studies. Thus, the results found herein could potentially provide relevant background data for studies examining taste preferences in transgenic mice. Copyright © 1996 METHODS SubjectsMale B6 and the 129 mice were obtained from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME). The mice were housed in individual cages in a temperature-controlled room at 23°C on a 12-hr light/dark cycle. They had free access to water and Teklad Rodent Diet 8604.Ethanol, sucrose, citric acid, quinine, and capsaicin were tested using eight B6 mice and twelve 129 mice. Before the experiments described in this study, the mice were used in another study that involved noninvasive measurements of 75 to 300 mM NaCI solution intake and sodium excretion. Preference measurements started when the animals were 6.5 to 7 months old, and their weight was 32.1 ± 1.0 g (B6) and 28.6 ± 0.5 g (129). After ethanol...

Consumption of electrolytes and quinine by mouse strains with different blood pressures1

“…These results provide new characteristics of salt acceptance in the mouse and together with the previous data (2)(3)(4)19,23,32), they show that the range of responses to sodium, potassium and calcium salts is similar in mouse and rat strains (1,8,21,28,29).…”

“…Responses of the BPH, BPN and BPL mice to quinine were within the range of variation of inbred mouse strains with avoidance thresholds between 0.001 and 0.8 mM (2,7,18,19,31 components to humans and probably to other animals (6,22,30). The finding that the BPH, BPN and BPL strains differed in their responses to quinine raises the possibility that the variation in bitter taste sensitivity contributes to the strain differences in acceptance of KCl and CaCl 2 .…”

“…The BPN and BPL mouse strains had strong preferences for 37.5-150 mM NaCl compared with the BPH strain tested here and mouse strains tested in other studies, which either only moderately preferred these NaCl concentrations, or did not prefer them at all (2)(3)(4)19,23). The BPH, BPN and BPL mice originate from a population derived from an eight-way cross of eight inbred mouse strains (25).…”

“…The pattern of strain differences varied according to the taste compound tested. This suggests that the strain differences described here reflect specific taste and/or postingestive properties of the examined solutions, rather than generalized responses to taste novelty, or nonspecific differences in taste responsiveness.The BPN and BPL mouse strains had strong preferences for 37.5-150 mM NaCl compared with the BPH strain tested here and mouse strains tested in other studies, which either only moderately preferred these NaCl concentrations, or did not prefer them at all (2)(3)(4)19,23). The BPH, BPN and BPL mice originate from a population derived from an eight-way cross of eight inbred mouse strains (25).…”

“…Construction of drinking tubes and other experimental details have been previously described (2). The drinking tubes were positioned to the right of the feeder with their tips 15 mm apart, and each extended 25 mm into the cage.…”