Potential detrimental effects of rodent viral infections on long-term experiments

Abstract

Healthy animals are of paramount importance in obtaining meaningful, reliable scientific results. Viral infections of rodents often have a significant impact on various types of biomedical research. Laboratory animal specialists and researchers must be aware of the possible consequences associated with the use of infected animals. The objective of the paper is a discussion of the frequently encountered viral infections that can complicate or invalidate the interpretation of results by altering the host's response.

Microbiological monitoring of laboratory mice and biocontainment in individually ventilated cages: a field study

“…Reproducible results may depend on the use of animals of uniform high microbiological quality (Bhatt et al 1986, Lussier 1988, Hansen 1994, Baker 1998). As such, regular monitoring of laboratory mice and rats has been recommended for obtaining information on the health status of experimental and breeding colonies (Nicklas et al 2002).…”

Transmission of Mouse Minute Virus (MMV) but Not Mouse Hepatitis Virus (MHV) Following Embryo Transfer with Experimentally Exposed In Vivo-Derived Embryos1

“…MHV and MMV were reported to considerably affect biomedical research [25][26][27][28]. They are undesirable agents and should be eliminated from infected colonies.…”

“…To this end, fertilized oocytes and morulae were exposed to different concentrations of MMVp for 16 h, while 2-cell embryos and blastocysts were coincubated for 1 h. In addition, morulae were exposed to MHV-A59 for 16 h. One group of embryos was washed, and the remaining embryos remained unwashed before embryo transfer. Serological analyses were performed by means of ELISA to detect antibodies to MHV or MMV in recipients and in progeny on Days 14,21,28,42, and 63 and on Days 42,63, 84, 112, 133, and 154, respectively, after embryo transfer. Coincubation with a minimum of 10 5 /ml of fluorescent microspheres showed that particles with a diameter of 20 nm but not 100 nm crossed the ZP of murine blastocysts.…”

Microbiological Contamination in Genetically Modified Animals and Proposals for a Microbiological Test Standard for National Universities in Japan.

“…Microbiological contamination of GMAs implies the following problems: 1) occupational health and safety problems for laboratory personnel and facility managers against zoonoses such as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) [5,6,18,22] and lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) [7]; 2) the risk of spread of infectious diseases; 3) modification of research results due to infection in animal facilities caused by the invasion of laboratory animal-specific pathogens [1-3, 9, 21, 24, 29, 35, 37] such as mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), mouse rotavirus (EDIMV), and newly developed Helicobacter hepaticus [34,38]; 4) the effect of severe infection with originally opportunistic microorganisms in immunodeficient Tg/KO animals [11,20,32]; and 5) the potential for modification and interference of genetic expression by subclinically infecting viruses to influence research results [10,24,27,28].…”