Innovative use of animal models to advance scientific research

Meyerholz, David K.; Beck, Amanda P.; Singh, Baljit

doi:10.1007/s00441-020-03210-z

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 22 publications

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“…Animal research models ( i.e ., laboratory animals) are crucial for advancing scientific knowledge across many fields ( e.g ., Kiros et al, 2012 ; Roelfsema & Treue, 2014 ; Bale et al, 2019 ; Meyerholz, Beck & Singh, 2020 ; Homberg et al, 2021 ; Azkona & Sanchez-Pernaute, 2022 ). Good animal welfare is not only important for the health and well-being of these animals but also to the quality and validity of the research in which they are involved ( Poole, 2007 ; Jennings & Prescott, 2009 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Choice-based severity scale (CSS): assessing the relative severity of procedures from a laboratory animal’s perspective

Cassidy,

Treue,

Gail

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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One primary goal of laboratory animal welfare science is to provide a comprehensive severity assessment of the experimental and husbandry procedures or conditions these animals experience. The severity, or degree of suffering, of these conditions experienced by animals are typically scored based on anthropocentric assumptions. We propose to (a) assess an animal’s subjective experience of condition severity, and (b) not only rank but scale different conditions in relation to one another using choice-based preference testing. The Choice-based Severity Scale (CSS) utilizes animals’ relative preferences for different conditions, which are compared by how much reward is needed to outweigh the perceived severity of a given condition. Thus, this animal-centric approach provides a common scale for condition severity based on the animal’s perspective. To assess and test the CSS concept, we offered three opportunistically selected male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) choices between two conditions: performing a cognitive task in a typical neuroscience laboratory setup (laboratory condition) versus the monkey’s home environment (cage condition). Our data show a shift in one individual’s preference for the cage condition to the laboratory condition when we changed the type of reward provided in the task. Two additional monkeys strongly preferred the cage condition over the laboratory condition, irrespective of reward amount and type. We tested the CSS concept further by showing that monkeys’ choices between tasks varying in trial duration can be influenced by the amount of reward provided. Altogether, the CSS concept is built upon laboratory animals’ subjective experiences and has the potential to de-anthropomorphize severity assessments, refine experimental protocols, and provide a common framework to assess animal welfare across different domains.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Choice-based severity scale (CSS): assessing the relative severity of procedures from a laboratory animal’s perspective

Cassidy,

Treue,

Gail

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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Applications and advancements in animal models for antiviral research on mosquito‐borne arboviruses

Tang,

Wong,

Azman

et al. 2024

Anim Models and Exp Med

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Vector‐borne diseases caused by arthropod‐borne viruses (arboviruses) are a considerable challenge to public health globally. Mosquito‐borne arboviruses, such as Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika viruses, cause a range of human illnesses and may be fatal. Currently, efforts to control these diseases still face challenges due to growing vector resistance towards insecticides, urbanization, and limited effective antiviral treatments and vaccines. Animal models are crucial in antiviral research on mosquito‐borne arboviruses, playing a role in understanding disease mechanisms, vaccine development, and toxicity testing, but the application of animal models still faces the challenges of ethical considerations and animal‐to‐human translational success. Genetically engineered mouse models, hamster models and non‐human primate (NHP) are currently used in arbovirus research, but new models such as tree shrews and novel humanized mice are emerging. In the context of Malaysian research, the use of long‐tailed macaques as potential NHP models for arbovirus research is possible; however, it faces the ethical dilemma of using an endangered species for scientific purposes. Overall, animal models play a crucial role in advancing infectious disease research, but a balance between medical research and species conservation must be upheld.

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