Interdisciplinary Animal Research Ethics-Challenges, Opportunities, and Perspectives.

Can nonhuman animals be used for the benefit of humans in a scientifically and morally justified manner and, if yes, how? Based on our own experiences as scholars from various academic backgrounds, we argue that this question can only be answered as an interdisciplinary and international endeavor, considering insights from research ethics and animal ethics as well as scientific and legal aspects. The aim of this article is to contribute to the foundation of the emerging field of animal research ethics. In doing so, we describe the following seven phases of animal research experiments: ethical, legal and social presumptions (phase 0), planning (phase I), review (phase II), conduct of experiments (phase III), publication/dissemination (phase IV), further exploitation of results (phase V), and evaluation (phase VI).

Innate immune training restores pro-reparative myeloid functions to promote remyelination in the aged central nervous system.

The reduced ability of the central nervous system to regenerate with increasing age limits functional recovery following demyelinating injury. Previous work has shown that myelin debris can overwhelm the metabolic capacity of microglia, thereby impeding tissue regeneration in aging, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. In a model of demyelination, we found that a substantial number of genes that were not effectively activated in aged myeloid cells displayed epigenetic modifications associated with restricted chromatin accessibility.

A fluorescence microscopy-based protocol for volumetric measurement of lysolecithin lesion-associated de- and re-myelination in mouse brain.

Lysolecithin injections into the white matter tracts of the central nervous system are a valuable tool to study remyelination, but evaluating the resulting demyelinating lesion size is challenging. Here, we present a protocol to consistently measure the volume of demyelination and remyelination in mice following brain lysolecithin injections. We describe serial sectioning of the lesion, followed by the evaluation of the demyelinated area in two-dimensional images.

Proteomic and lipidomic profiling of demyelinating lesions identifies fatty acids as modulators in lesion recovery.

After demyelinating injury of the central nervous system, resolution of the mounting acute inflammation is crucial for the initiation of a regenerative response. Here, we aim to identify fatty acids and lipid mediators that govern the balance of inflammatory reactions within demyelinating lesions. Using lipidomics, we identify bioactive lipids in the resolution phase of inflammation with markedly elevated levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.