Comparison of survival rates in four inbred mouse strains under different housing conditions: effects of environmental enrichment.

Exp Anim

Department of Biosignaling and Radioisotope Experiment, Interdisciplinary Center for Science Research, Head Office for Research and Academic Information, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya-cho, Izumo, Shimane 693-8501, Japan.

Published: May 2022

AI Article Synopsis

  • Housing conditions of laboratory animals impact their well-being and can affect experimental outcomes, emphasizing the importance of an appropriate environment for natural behavior.
  • In a study comparing four mouse strains under three different housing conditions, three strains benefited from environmental enrichment (EE) while one strain, BALB/c, had higher debility rates in EE.
  • The findings indicate that different mouse strains react differently to environmental enrichment in terms of health and survival, highlighting the need for tailored housing conditions in future research.

Article Abstract

Housing conditions can affect the well-being of laboratory animals and thereby affect the outcomes of experiments. The appropriate environment is essential for the expression of natural behavior in animals. Here, we compared survival rates in four inbred mouse strains maintained under three different environmental conditions. Three mouse strains (C57BL/6J, C3H/HeN, and DBA/2J) housed under environmental enrichment (EE) conditions showed improved survival; however, EE did not alter the survival rate of the fourth strain, BALB/c. None of the strains showed significant differences in body weights or plasma corticosterone levels in the three environmental conditions. For BALB/c mice, the rates of debility were higher in the EE group. Interestingly, for C57BL/6J and C3H/HeN mice, the incidence of animals with alopecia was significantly lower in the EE groups than in the control group. It is possible that the enriched environment provided greater opportunities for sheltering in a secure location in which to avoid interactions with other mice. The cloth mat flooring used for the EE group was bitten and chewed by the mice. Our findings suggest that depending on the mouse strains different responses to EE are caused with regard to health and survival rates. The results of this study provide basic data for further studies on EE.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9130035PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1538/expanim.21-0118DOI Listing

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