Comparison of sublingual, facial and retro-bulbar blood sampling in mice in relation to animal welfare and blood quality.

Introduction: Repeated blood sampling is a common procedure in laboratory mice, but at present it is unknown which technique has the least impact on the animals when large or repeated blood samples are required. Retro-bulbar sinus puncture is a reliable technique but has been shown to cause many changes in the animals, why sublingual and facial vein puncture have been suggested as suitable alternatives. This study investigated 1) which of the three blood sampling techniques had the least impact on nest building activity, level of faecal corticosterone metabolites, body weight, fur status, and macroscopic changes, 2) whether the blood sampling techniques gave rise to variation in blood quality between blood samples, and 3) whether sublingual and facial vein puncture should be performed with or without anaesthesia in female C57BL/6 mice.

Effect of Repeated Exposure to Isoflurane on Nest Building and Burrowing in Mice.

Nest building and burrowing are highly motivated natural behaviors in rodents, and changes in these behaviors can serve as welfare assessment tools. In this study, we investigated: 1) the limits of agreement between 2 observers for a refined scoring method for nest-building behavior; 2) the effect of repeated exposure to 15 min of isoflurane on nest-building behavior; 3) the effect of 24 h of grid-floor housing, repeated exposure to 15 min isoflurane, and daily intraperitoneal injection of 0.2 mL 0.

Burrowing and nest building activity in mice after exposure to grid floor, isoflurane or ip injections.

Burrowing and nest building are examples of highly motivated innate behaviours in rodents. Assessments based on these behaviours can be used as non-invasive indicators of pain, distress and suffering. In this study, we investigated the effect of three stressful procedures, namely grid floor housing for 24 h, 15 min of isoflurane anaesthesia and an intraperitoneal saline injection daily for three days, on nest building and burrowing in female C57BL/6NTac mice.

Eye, body or tail? Thermography as a measure of stress in mice.

Infrared thermography has been suggested as a non-invasive, objective tool to evaluate animal welfare. In this study, we investigated: 1) how body temperature, measured through thermal imaging, is affected by different mild stressors frequently experienced by laboratory mice; 2) which methodology to use for assessing temperature variations with infrared thermography; 3) whether the chosen stressors cause anxiety in mice. Eighty C57BL/6 male mice were included in the study.

The impact of tail tip amputation and ink tattoo on C57BL/6JBomTac mice.

Genetic material for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blot analysis on transgenic mice is normally obtained by tail biopsy. Additionally, it may be necessary to tattoo the mice, as it is essential to have a good and permanent identification. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of amputating the tip of the tail to obtain a biopsy for genetic analysis and of ink tattooing on welfare in C57BL/6J mice, a strain often used as genetic background for transgenes.

New housing conditions: improving the welfare of experimental animals.

As animal experiments and testing are still a necessary part of the discovery and development of new drugs and do not seem likely to be totally replaced in the foreseeable future, it is important that the care and use of these animals are continuously refined. Since the housing facilities are where most experimental animals spend the major part of their lives, this area should be given special attention to ensure optimal welfare for the animals. In a unique collaboration between a pharmaceutical company and an animal welfare organisation, the housing conditions of mice, rats, guinea-pigs, rabbits and dogs, respectively, were reviewed with focus on the basic needs of the animals.

Meiosis activating sterols derived from diosgenin.

Continuing research based on the meiosis activation properties of the endogenous sterol FF-MAS is reported. The synthesis and SAR of 16- and 26-substituted sterols are described, utilising diosgenin as starting material. Selected sterols were tested for their ability to induce oocyte maturation in hypoxanthine arrested mouse oocytes in vitro.