Stress Evaluation of Mouse Husbandry Environments for Improving Laboratory Animal Welfare

Lee, Gwang-Hoon; Kim, KilSoo; Jo, Woori

doi:10.3390/ani13020249

Cited by 8 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Mice that were changed from sharing a cage with littermates to living alone showed higher fecal corticosterone metabolites than those maintained in the group after the first week, although levels normalized after 1 month. These same results were recently observed in adult CD1 mice housed in the same conditions as our animals, in a ventilated rack with environmental enrichment [ 50 ], which may indicate habituation to the new situation. Due to the nature of our experimental design, we were unable to determine when exactly corticosterone metabolite levels normalized, and this is one of our study’s limitations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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Individualized Housing Modifies the Immune–Endocrine System in CD1 Adult Male Mice

Ortega-Saez

Díez-Solinska

Grífols

et al. 2023

Animals

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In the last years, different research groups have made considerable efforts to improve the care and use of animals in research. Mice (Mus musculus) are the most widely used animal species in research in the European Union and are sociable and hierarchical creatures. During experiments, researchers tend to individualize males, but no consideration is given to whether this social isolation causes them stress. The aim of this study was, therefore, to explore whether 4 weeks of social isolation could induce changes in different physiological parameters in adult Crl:CD1(ICR) (CD1) males, which may interfere with experimental results. Body weight, blood cells, and fecal corticosterone metabolites levels were the analyzed parameters. Blood and fecal samples were collected at weeks 1 and 4 of the experimental procedure. Four weeks of single housing produced a significant time-dependent decrease in monocytes and granulocytes. Fecal corticosterone metabolite levels were higher in single-housed mice after 1 week and then normalized after 4 weeks of isolation. Body weight, red blood cells, and platelets remained unchanged in both groups during this period. We can, therefore, conclude that social isolation affects some immune and endocrine parameters, and that this should be taken into account in the interpretation of research data.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…As previously reported for CD1 male mice [ 48 , 49 , 50 ], social isolation for 4 weeks did not affect body weight gain. Similarly, our results revealed that social isolation did not modify RBC parameters.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Individualized Housing Modifies the Immune–Endocrine System in CD1 Adult Male Mice

Ortega-Saez

Díez-Solinska

Grífols

et al. 2023

Animals

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“…A similar scheme was applied for the first and second booster doses for the experimental and control groups. After immunization, animals were regularly monitored to observe their response ( 30 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental trials of predicted CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell epitopes of respiratory syncytial virus

Qousain Naqvi,

Muhammad,

Guo

et al. 2024

Front. Immunol.

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BackgroundRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in young children around the world and an important cause of LRTI in the elderly. The available treatments and FDA-approved vaccines for RSV only lessen the severity of the infection and are recommended for infants and elderly people.MethodsWe focused on developing a broad-spectrum vaccine that activates the immune system to directly combat RSV. The objective of this study is to identify CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell epitopes using an immunoinformatics approach to develop RSV vaccines. The efficacy of these peptides was validated through in-vitro and in-vivo studies involving healthy and diseased animal models. ResultsFor each major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class-I and II, we found three epitopes of RSV proteins including F, G, and SH with an antigenic score of >0.5 and a projected SVM score of <5. Experimental validation of these peptides on female BALB/c mice was conducted before and after infection with the RSV A2 line 19f. We found that the 3RVMHCI (CD8+) epitope of the F protein showed significant results of white blood cells (19.72 × 103 cells/μl), neutrophils (6.01 × 103 cells/μl), lymphocytes (12.98 × 103 cells/μl), IgG antibodies (36.9 µg/ml), IFN-γ (86.96 ng/L), and granzyme B (691.35 pg/ml) compared to control at the second booster dose of 10 µg. Similarly, 4RVMHCII (CD4+) of the F protein substantially induced white blood cells (27.08 × 103 cells/μl), neutrophils (6.58 × 103 cells/μl), lymphocytes (16.64 × 103 cells/μl), IgG antibodies (46.13 µg/ml), IFN-γ (96.45 ng/L), and granzyme B (675.09 pg/ml). In-vitro studies showed that 4RVMHCII produced a significant level of antibodies in sera on day 45 comparable to mice infected with the virus. 4RVMHCII also induced high IFN-γ and IL-2 secretions on the fourth day of the challenge compared to the preinfectional stage.ConclusionIn conclusion, epitopes of the F protein showed considerable immune response and are suitable for further validation.

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“…Moreover, palatable gel diet energy and transport food (SAFE ®, , Rosenberg, Germany) in a Petri dish was placed in the cage bedding. This approach allowed the animals to adapt to their new housing conditions for a 7-day acclimation period prior to surgery, minimizing possible stress and anxiety associated with novel food and environments [ 31 , 32 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refining Stereotaxic Neurosurgery Techniques and Welfare Assessment for Long-Term Intracerebroventricular Device Implantation in Rodents

Pérez-Martín¹,

Coto-Vilcapoma

Castilla-Silgado

et al. 2023

Animals

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Stereotaxic surgeries enable precise access to specific brain regions, being of particular interest for chronic intracerebroventricular drug delivery. However, the challenge of long-term studies at this level is to allow the implantation of drug storage devices and their correct intrathecal connection while guaranteeing animal welfare during the entire study period. In this study, we propose an optimized method for safe intrathecal device implantation, focusing on preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative procedures, following the 3Rs principle and animal welfare regulations. Our optimized protocol introduces three main refinements. Firstly, we modify the dimensions of the implantable devices, notably diminishing the device-to-mouse weight ratio. Secondly, we use a combination of cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive and UV light-curing resin, which decreases surgery time, improves healing, and notably minimizes cannula detachment or adverse effects. Thirdly, we develop a customized welfare assessment scoresheet to accurately monitor animal well-being during long-term implantations. Taken together, these refinements positively impacted animal welfare by minimizing the negative effects on body weight, surgery-related complications, and anxiety-like behaviors. Overall, the proposed refinements have the potential to reduce animal use, enhance experimental data quality, and improve reproducibility. Additionally, these improvements can be extended to other neurosurgical techniques, thereby advancing neuroscience research, and benefiting the scientific community.

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Stress Evaluation of Mouse Husbandry Environments for Improving Laboratory Animal Welfare

Cited by 8 publications

References 33 publications

Individualized Housing Modifies the Immune–Endocrine System in CD1 Adult Male Mice

Individualized Housing Modifies the Immune–Endocrine System in CD1 Adult Male Mice

Experimental trials of predicted CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell epitopes of respiratory syncytial virus

Refining Stereotaxic Neurosurgery Techniques and Welfare Assessment for Long-Term Intracerebroventricular Device Implantation in Rodents

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