Variability of clinical chemical and hematological parameters, immunological parameters, and behavioral tests in data sets of the Mouse Phenome Database.

The use of mice as animal models in biomedical research allows the standardization of genetic background, housing conditions as well as experimental protocols, which all affect phenotypic variability. The phenotypic variability within the experimental unit determines the choice of the group size which is necessary for achieving valid and reproducible results. In this study, the variability of clinical chemical and hematological parameters which represent a comprehensive blood screen of laboratory mice, as well as of immunological parameters and behavioral tests was analyzed in data sets which have been submitted to the Mouse Phenome Database for mouse strains which are predominantly used in biomedical research.

New C3H Kit cancer mouse model develops late-onset malignant mammary tumors with high penetrance.

Gastro-intestinal stromal tumors and acute myeloid leukemia induced by activating stem cell factor receptor tyrosine kinase (KIT) mutations are highly malignant. Less clear is the role of KIT mutations in the context of breast cancer. Treatment success of KIT-induced cancers is still unsatisfactory because of primary or secondary resistance to therapy.

Distinct Morphological and Behavioural Alterations in ENU-Induced Heterozygous Mutant Mice.

(transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily C, member 7; 862 amino acids) knockout mice are described showing no clear phenotypic alterations, therefore, the functional relevance of the gene remains unclear. A complementary approach for the functional analysis of a given gene is the examination of individuals harbouring a mutant allele of the gene. In the phenotype-driven Munich ENU mouse mutagenesis project, a high number of phenotypic parameters was used for establishing novel mouse models on the genetic background of C3H inbred mice.

Analysis of the sex-specific variability of blood parameters in data sets of the Mouse Phenome Database.

Objective: The use of mice as animal models in biomedical research allows the standardization of genetic background and environmental conditions, which both affect phenotypic variability. As the use of both sexes in experiments is strongly recommended, sex-specific phenotypic variability is discussed with regard to putative consequences on the group size which is necessary for achieving valid and reproducible results. In this study, the sex-specific variability of 25 clinical chemical and hematological parameters which represent a comprehensive blood screen of laboratory mice, was analyzed in data sets which have been submitted to the Mouse Phenome Database.

Analysis of the sex-specific variability of blood parameters in C3H inbred mice by using data from a long-term, high-throughput project.

Mice are important models for biomedical research by providing the possibility of standardizing genetic background and environmental conditions, which both affect phenotypic variability. Use of both sexes in experiments is strongly recommended because of possible differences in the outcome. However, sex-specific phenotypic variability is discussed with regard to putative consequences on the group size which is necessary for achieving valid and reproducible results.