The long-lasting shadow of litter size in rodents: litter size is an underreported variable that strongly determines adult physiology.

Mol Metab

Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, SJD-Barcelona Children's Hospital, Endocrine Division, Esplugues, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, L'Hospitalet, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address:

Published: May 2023

AI Article Synopsis

  • Litter size significantly affects adult physiology in rodents, influencing their metabolism and overall health.
  • Despite its importance, this variable is often underreported in scientific research, leading to gaps in understanding.
  • The authors provide recommendations for researchers, funding bodies, journal editors, and animal suppliers to ensure litter size is consistently noted in studies.

Article Abstract

Background/purpose: Litter size is a biological variable that strongly influences adult physiology in rodents. Despite evidence from previous decades and recent studies highlighting its major impact on metabolism, information about litter size is currently underreported in the scientific literature. Here, we urge that this important biological variable should be explicitly stated in research articles.

Results/conclusion: Below, we briefly describe the scientific evidence supporting the impact of litter size on adult physiology and outline a series of recommendations and guidelines to be implemented by investigators, funding agencies, editors in scientific journals, and animal suppliers to fill this important gap.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10074241PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.molmet.2023.101707DOI Listing

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