Effects of Compressed Paper Bedding on Mouse Breeding Performance and Recognition of Animal Health Concerns.

The combination of bedding substrate and nesting material within the microenvironment of mice is an important consideration for animal care programs in regard to optimizing animal wellbeing. We used 3 general or breeding mouse colonies in our institution to evaluate the effects of bedding substrate on nest building, breeding performance, and recognition of animal health concerns. A scoring system was developed to assess the incorporation of bedding into the nest cup base and walls (nest base incorporation, NBI) in a controlled study with mice bedded on either compressed paper (CP) or corncob (CC) bedding. Compared with CC cages, CP cages had higher NBI scores. To determine the influence of bedding type on the recognition of animal health concerns in an animal facility, cages bedded with CC followed by CP were evaluated for the overall frequency of health-concern reports during a 2-mo time frame for each bedding type in a single-subject A-B study design. The frequency of animal health-concern reports was similar in cages using CC or CP bedding. The animal health condition, rather than bedding type, was associated with the severity of the health problem at the initial report. Breeding performance was compared for 6 mo in matched CC and CP cages containing one of 13 genetically modified mouse lines. NBI scores were higher for breeders housed on CP compared with CC bedding. Monogamous breeder pairs housed on CP had significantly higher indexes of breeding performance (measured as the number of pups per dam per week on study) than did CC cages. This report supports the use of CP bedding in the mouse microenvironment to improve general wellbeing by supporting nesting behavior and reproductive performance without hindering the detection of animal health concerns.

Development of Mast Cell and Eosinophil Hyperplasia and HLH/MAS-Like Disease in NSG-SGM3 Mice Receiving Human CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem Cells or Patient-Derived Leukemia Xenografts.

Immunocompromised mouse strains expressing human transgenes are being increasingly used in biomedical research. The genetic modifications in these mice cause various cellular responses, resulting in histologic features unique to each strain. The NSG-SGM3 mouse strain is similar to the commonly used NSG (NOD scid gamma) strain but expresses human transgenes encoding stem cell factor (also known as KIT ligand), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and interleukin 3. This report describes 3 histopathologic features seen in these mice when they are unmanipulated or after transplantation with human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), virally transduced hCD34+ HSCs, or a leukemia patient-derived xenograft. The first feature is mast cell hyperplasia: unmanipulated, naïve mice develop periductular pancreatic aggregates of murine mast cells, whereas mice given the aforementioned human cells develop a proliferative infiltrative interstitial pancreatic mast cell hyperplasia but with human mast cells. The second feature is the predisposition of NSG-SGM3 mice given these human cells to develop eosinophil hyperplasia. The third feature, secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome (HLH/MAS)-like disease, is the most pronounced in both its clinical and histopathologic presentations. As part of this disease, a small number of mice also have histiocytic infiltration of the brain and spinal cord with subsequent neurologic or vestibular signs. The presence of any of these features can confound accurate histopathologic interpretation; therefore, it is important to recognize them as strain characteristics and to differentiate them from what may be experimentally induced in the model being studied.

Compressed Paper as an Alternative to Corn Cob Bedding in Mouse (Mus musculus) Cages.

Bedding material is a critical component of the mouse environment and affects animal wellbeing and research integrity. Corn cob (CC) bedding has been a common bedding choice in research despite several potential negative aspects of its use. We investigated the use of compressed paper (CP) bedding as a refinement to CC bedding. CP bedding demonstrated greater total and immediate absorption, compared with CC bedding. CP-bedded cages had a reduced frequency of early cage changing prior to the Guide-recommended 2-wk interval for IVC; this reduction was proportional to room census. Intracage ammonia levels were lower in CP-bedded IVC compared with CC-bedded IVC, independent of the age, sex, and number of mice per cage. By contrast, ammonia levels were similar between CP-bedded and CC-bedded static cages. Collectively, these data support the use of CP bedding as a refinement for CC in ventilated mouse cages, in light of increased husbandry efficiency and its positive effect on the welfare of mice.

Taurine and vitamin E supplementations have minimal effects on body composition, hepatic lipids, and blood hormone and metabolite concentrations in healthy Sprague Dawley rats.

BACKGROUND: As prescriptions for off-label pharmaceutical use and autonomous administration of over-the-counter nutraceuticals become mainstream, thorough assessments of these compounds are warranted. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of gemfibrozil, rosiglitazone, metformin, taurine, and vitamin E on body composition, hepatic lipids, and metabolic hormone and blood metabolite concentrations in a healthy, outbred rat cohort. METHODS: Male Sprague Dawley rats were fed a purified 10 kcal% from fat diet for 56 days and assigned to diet alone (control) or diet plus oral administration of gemfibrozil (34 mg/kg), metformin (500 mg/kg), rosiglitazone (3 mg/kg), taurine (520 mg/kg), or vitamin E (200 mg/kg). RESULTS: Rosiglitazone administration resulted in a 56% increase in carcass adiposity, cautioning potential prescriptive off-label use. Taurine supplementation had no adverse effects on evaluated parameters. A modest but significant increase in liver triacylglycerol content was observed with vitamin E supplementation compared with control (Δ 17.2 g triacylglycerol/100 g liver lipid). CONCLUSIONS: The evaluated pharmaceuticals had effects in a healthy population similar to the reported effects in their target population and the nutraceuticals had minimal effects on the measured physiological parameters.

Effects of sample handling methods on substance P concentrations and immunoreactivity in bovine blood samples.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of protease inhibitors and holding times and temperatures before processing on the stability of substance P in bovine blood samples. SAMPLES: Blood samples obtained from a healthy 6-month-old calf. PROCEDURES: Blood samples were dispensed into tubes containing exogenous substance P and 1 of 6 degradative enzyme inhibitor treatments: heparin, EDTA, EDTA with 1 of 2 concentrations of aprotinin, or EDTA with 1 of 2 concentrations of a commercially available protease inhibitor cocktail. Plasma was harvested immediately following collection or after 1, 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours of holding at ambient (20.3° to 25.4°C) or ice bath temperatures. Total substance P immunoreactivity was determined with an ELISA; concentrations of the substance P parent molecule, a metabolite composed of the 9 terminal amino acids, and a metabolite composed of the 5 terminal amino acids were determined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Regarding blood samples processed immediately, no significant differences in substance P concentrations or immunoreactivity were detected among enzyme inhibitor treatments. In blood samples processed at 1 hour of holding, substance P parent molecule concentration was significantly lower for ambient temperature versus ice bath temperature holding conditions; aprotinin was the most effective inhibitor of substance P degradation at the ice bath temperature. The ELISA substance P immunoreactivity was typically lower for blood samples with heparin versus samples with other inhibitors processed at 1 hour of holding in either temperature condition. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggested that blood samples should be chilled and plasma harvested within 1 hour after collection to prevent substance P degradation.

Pharmacokinetics of intravenous and oral meloxicam in ruminant calves.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of meloxicam in ruminant calves. Six Holstein calves (145 to 170 kg) received meloxicam at 0.5 mg/kg IV or 1 mg/kg PO in a randomized crossover design with a 10-day washout period. Plasma samples collected up to 96 hours after administration were analyzed by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry followed by noncompartmental pharmacokinetic analysis. A mean peak plasma concentration of 3.10 microg/ml (range, 2.64 to 3.79 microg/ml) was recorded at 11.64 hours (range, 10 to 12 hours) with a half-life of 27.54 hours (range, 19.97 to 43.29 hours) after oral meloxicam administration. The bioavailability of oral meloxicam corrected for dose was 1.00 (range, 0.64 to 1.66). These findings indicate that oral meloxicam administration might be an effective and convenient means of providing long-lasting analgesia to ruminant calves.