Gut microbiota prevents small intestinal tumor formation due to bile acids in gnotobiotic mice.

The gut microbiota is implicated in the development of intestinal tumors. Furthermore, Western diet is a risk factor for colorectal cancer and induces alterations in both the microbiota and bile acid metabolism. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the causal role of Western diet-induced changes in the microbiota and secondary bile acid production, which were linked to disease exacerbation in pigs.

Impact of a Prototype 29:1 Ratio Grid on Image Quality and Radiation Dose in Abdominal Angiography: Evaluation in a Pig Model.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a prototype grid with a 29:1 ratio (r29) and a 15:1 (r15) grid on the image quality (IQ) and radiation dose in abdominal angiography.

Materials And Methods: Six typical abdominal angiographic image scenarios were created in 4 pigs. Polymethylmethacrylate and aluminum plates were used to add 10 cm of patient equivalent thickness to simulate different body types.

First Investigation of a Eustachian Tube Stent in Experimentally Induced Eustachian Tube Dysfunction.

Unmet needs in the treatment of chronic otitis media and Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) triggered the development of stents for the Eustachian tube (ET). In this study, for the first time, stents were placed in an artificially blocked ET to evaluate stent function. Eight adult female sheep were injected with stabilized hyaluronic acid (HA) on both sides to induce ETD.

Long-Term Preclinical Evaluation of a Permanent Stent Developed for the Human Eustachian Tube.

The Eustachian tube (ET) is a bottleneck when it comes to middle ear (ME) health. If its function is impaired, this can lead to serious consequences for the patient, such as hearing problems or deafness. Therefore, this study investigated a tapered nitinol stent (3-5 mm × 14 mm) for the human ET as a potential new permanent treatment for chronic Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) and thus ME ventilation disorders.

Gut microbiota depletion delays somatic peripheral nerve development and impairs neuromuscular junction maturation.

Gut microbiota is responsible for essential functions in human health. Several communication axes between gut microbiota and other organs via neural, endocrine, and immune pathways have been described, and perturbation of gut microbiota composition has been implicated in the onset and progression of an emerging number of diseases. Here, we analyzed peripheral nerves, dorsal root ganglia (DRG), and skeletal muscles of neonatal and young adult mice with the following gut microbiota status: a) germ-free (GF), b) gnotobiotic, selectively colonized with 12 specific gut bacterial strains (Oligo-Mouse-Microbiota, OMM12), or c) natural complex gut microbiota (CGM).

Image Quality and Radiation Exposure in Abdominal Angiography: A Head-to-Head Comparison of Conventional Detector-Dose-Driven Versus Contrast-to-Noise Ratio-Driven Exposure Control at Various Source-to-Image Receptor Distances and Collimations in a Pilot Phantom and Animal Study.

Objectives: This phantom and animal pilot study aimed to compare image quality and radiation exposure between detector-dose-driven exposure control (DEC) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR)-driven exposure control (CEC) as functions of source-to-image receptor distance (SID) and collimation.

Materials And Methods: First, an iron foil simulated a guide wire in a stack of polymethyl methacrylate and aluminum plates representing patient thicknesses of 15, 25, and 35 cm. Fluoroscopic images were acquired using 5 SIDs ranging from 100 to 130 cm and 2 collimations (full field of view, collimated field of view: 6 × 6 cm).

Evaluation of score parameters for severity assessment of surgery and liver cirrhosis in rats.

Severity assessment in animals is an ongoing field of research. In particular, the question of objectifiable and meaningful parameters of score-sheets, as well as their best combination, arise. This retrospective analysis investigates the suitability of a score-sheet for assessing severity and seeks to optimise it for predicting survival in 89 male Sprague Dawley rats (), during an experiment evaluating the influence of liver cirrhosis by bile duct ligation (BDL) on vascular healing.

Refinement in Post-Operative Care for Orthopaedic Models: Implementing a Sheep Walking Cast (SWC) for Effective Tibial Fracture Management.

In the healthcare system, lower leg fractures remain relevant, incurring costs related to surgical treatment, hospitalization, and rehabilitation. The duration of treatment may vary depending on the individual case and its severity. Casting as a post-surgical fracture treatment is a common method in human and experimental veterinary medicine.

Contribution of bacterial and host factors to pathogen "blooming" in a gnotobiotic mouse model for serovar Typhimurium-induced enterocolitis.

Inflammation has a pronounced impact on the intestinal ecosystem by driving an expansion of facultative anaerobic bacteria at the cost of obligate anaerobic microbiota. This pathogen "blooming" is also a hallmark of enteric serovar Typhimurium (. Tm) infection.

Evidence-based comparative severity assessment in young and adult mice.

In animal-based research, welfare assessments are essential for ethical and legal reasons. However, accurate assessment of suffering in laboratory animals is often complicated by the multidimensional character of distress and pain and the associated affective states. The present study aimed to design and validate multidimensional composite measure schemes comprising behavioral and biochemical parameters based on a bioinformatics approach.

Compartment-specific Xe HyperCEST z spectroscopy and chemical shift imaging of cucurbit[6]uril in spontaneously breathing rats.

Xe hyperpolarized gas chemical exchange saturation transfer (HyperCEST) MRI has been suggested as molecular imaging modality but translation to in vivo imaging has been slow, likely due to difficulties of synthesizing suitable molecules. Cucurbit[6]uril-either in readily available non-functionalized or potentially in functionalized form-may, combined with Xe HyperCEST MRI, prove useful as a switchable Xe MR contrast agent but the likely differential properties of contrast generation in individual chemical compartments as well as the influence of Xe signal drifts encountered in vivo on HyperCEST MRI are unknown. Here, HyperCEST z spectroscopy and chemical shift imaging with compartment-specific analysis are performed in a total of 10 rats using cucurbit[6]uril injected i.

Supraphysiological FOXP3 expression in human CAR-Tregs results in improved stability, efficacy, and safety of CAR-Treg products for clinical application.

The forkhead family transcription factor (FOXP3) is an essential regulator for the development of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and orchestrates both suppressive function and Treg lineage identity. Stable expression of FOXP3 enables Tregs to maintain immune homeostasis and prevent autoimmunity. However, under pro-inflammatory conditions, FOXP3 expression in Tregs can become unstable, leading to loss of suppressive function and conversion into pathogenic T effector cells.

Experimenter familiarization is a crucial prerequisite for assessing behavioral outcomes and reduces stress in mice not only under chronic pain conditions.

Rodent behavior is affected by different environmental conditions. These do not only comprise experimental and housing conditions but also familiarization with the experimenter. However, specific effects on pain-related behavior and chronic pain conditions have not been examined.

Buprenorphine in rats: potent analgesic or trigger for fatal side effects?

With ongoing animal welfare efforts, multimodal analgesia is often recommended to implement in study protocols. Buprenorphine with very potent analgesic effect is a standard opioid for the use in this context in rats. In this study, two rat strains (LEW/NHanZtm, n = 6 and Crl:CD(SD), n = 8) underwent orthopaedic surgery and received carprofen, buprenorphine and a local anaesthetic in a multimodal setup.

RELSA-A multidimensional procedure for the comparative assessment of well-being and the quantitative determination of severity in experimental procedures.

Good science in translational research requires good animal welfare according to the principles of 3Rs. In many countries, determining animal welfare is a mandatory legal requirement, implying a categorization of animal suffering, traditionally dominated by subjective scorings. However, how such methods can be objectified and refined to compare impairments between animals, subgroups, and animal models remained unclear.

Correction of heat-induced susceptibility changes in respiratory-triggered 2D-PRF-based thermometry for monitoring of magnetic resonance-guided hepatic microwave ablation in a human-like porcine model.

Purpose: To develop and evaluate susceptibility corrected 2D proton resonance frequency (PRF)-based magnetic resonance (MR)-thermometry for the accurate assessment of the ablation zone of hepatic microwave ablation (MWA).

Methods And Materials: Twelve hepatic MWA were performed in five LEWE minipigs with human-like fissure-free liver. Temperature maps during ablation of PRF-based MR-thermometry were corrected by modeling heat induced susceptibility changes.

Cabergoline treatment promotes myocardial recovery in peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare heart disease, occurring in previously heart-healthy women during the last month of pregnancy or the first months after delivery due to left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. A common pathomechanistic pathway of PPCM includes increased oxidative stress and the subsequent generation of a cleaved prolactin fragment (16 kDa PRL), which promotes the onset of heart failure (HF) in a microRNA (miR)-146a-dependent manner. Inhibition of prolactin secretion with the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) agonist bromocriptine combined with standard HF therapy supports cardiac recovery.

The rearing environment persistently modulates mouse phenotypes from the molecular to the behavioural level.

The phenotype of an organism results from its genotype and the influence of the environment throughout development. Even when using animals of the same genotype, independent studies may test animals of different phenotypes, resulting in poor replicability due to genotype-by-environment interactions. Thus, genetically defined strains of mice may respond differently to experimental treatments depending on their rearing environment.

Absolute thermometry using hyperpolarized Xe free-induction decay and spin-echo chemical-shift imaging in rats.

Purpose: To implement and test variants of chemical shift imaging (CSI) acquiring both free induction decays (FIDs) showing all dissolved-phase compartments and spin echoes for specifically assessing Xe in lipids in order to perform precise lipid-dissolved Xe MR thermometry in a rat model of general hypothermia.

Methods: Imaging was performed at 2.89 T.

In vivo adenine base editing reverts C282Y and improves iron metabolism in hemochromatosis mice.

Hemochromatosis is one of the most common inherited metabolic diseases among white populations and predominantly originates from a homozygous C282Y mutation in the HFE gene. The G > A transition at position c.845 of the gene causes misfolding of the HFE protein, ultimately resulting in its absence at the cell membrane.

Development of an In Vivo Model for Eustachian Tube Dysfunction.

Otitis media is often connected to Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). Until now, there was no large animal model available for the examination of new treatment methods such as stents for the Eustachian tube (ET). Thus, the aim of the study was to develop a method to reproducibly induce ETD by injection of fillers and without permanent closure of the ET.

Tantalum-specific contrast-to-noise ratio or conventional detector dose-driven exposure control in angiography: radiation dose and image quality evaluation in a porcine model.

Background: The aim of this animal study was to compare the fluoroscopic image quality (IQ) and radiation dose between a tantalum (Ta)-specific contrast-to-noise ratio-driven exposure control (Ta-CEC) and a detector dose-driven exposure control (DEC) in abdominal angiography.

Methods: Nine angiography scenarios were created in seven anaesthetised pigs using Ta-based embolisation material during percutaneous liver and kidney intervention. Fluoroscopic images were acquired using three DEC protocols with different dose levels and Ta-CEC protocols with different IQ levels, sampled in small steps.

XIAP restrains TNF-driven intestinal inflammation and dysbiosis by promoting innate immune responses of Paneth and dendritic cells.

Deficiency in X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) is the cause for X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome 2 (XLP2). About one-third of these patients suffer from severe and therapy-refractory inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the exact cause of this pathogenesis remains undefined. Here, we used XIAP-deficient mice to characterize the mechanisms underlying intestinal inflammation.