Laboratory Guidelines for Animal Care.

Animal research is a controversial subject because of the ethical and moral implications of using unwilling research subjects in potentially painful or distressful procedures usually ending in euthanasia. As such, it must be conducted in a compassionate and responsible manner geared toward maximizing the animals' quality of life prior to and during experimentation. Because of its contentious nature, the conduct of animal research is highly regulated at the federal, state, city, and institutional levels. It is essential that researchers acquire a thorough knowledge of the procedures to be conducted as well as a working knowledge of the regulations. This will maximize humane care of research animals and prevent potentially negative or detrimental interactions with groups opposed to using animals in biomedical research. Perhaps the best way to attain these goals is to avoid inadvertent instances of noncompliance with their research protocol or applicable regulations. Regulatory noncompliance can also have serious negative consequences on investigators' research careers ranging from temporary suspension of their protocols to loss of funding and revocation of principal investigator status and associated privileges. To minimize such adverse outcomes, it is advised that researchers build positive and collaborative relationships with key institutional players such as the veterinary staff, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and top administrators. Guidance is provided regarding the appropriate handling of regulatory noncompliance.

Regression/eradication of gliomas in mice by a systemically-deliverable ATF5 dominant-negative peptide.

Malignant gliomas have poor prognosis and urgently require new therapies. Activating Transcription Factor 5 (ATF5) is highly expressed in gliomas, and interference with its expression/function precipitates targeted glioma cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. We designed a novel deliverable truncated-dominant-negative (d/n) form of ATF5 fused to a cell-penetrating domain (Pen-d/n-ATF5-RP) that can be intraperitoneally/subcutaneously administered to mice harboring malignant gliomas generated; (1) by PDGF-B/sh-p53 retroviral transformation of endogenous neural progenitor cells; and (2) by human U87-MG xenografts. In vitro Pen-d/n-ATF5-RP entered into glioma cells and triggered massive apoptosis. In vivo, subcutaneously-administered Pen-d/n-ATF5-RP passed the blood brain barrier, entered normal brain and tumor cells, and then caused rapid selective tumor cell death. MRI verified elimination of retrovirus-induced gliomas within 8-21 days. Histopathology revealed growth-suppression of intracerebral human U87-MG cells xenografts. For endogenous PDGF-B gliomas, there was no recurrence or mortality at 6-12 months versus 66% mortality in controls at 6 months. Necropsy and liver-kidney blood enzyme analysis revealed no adverse effects on brain or other tissues. Our findings thus identify Pen-d/n-ATF5-RP as a potential therapy for malignant gliomas.

Comparison of the protective effect of a commercially available western diamondback rattlesnake toxoid vaccine for dogs against envenomation of mice with western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), northern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus), and southern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) venom.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate effectiveness of a commercially available toxoid manufactured from western diamondback (WD) rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) venom against envenomation of mice with WD, northern Pacific (NP) rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus), and southern Pacific (SP) rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) venom. ANIMALS: 90 specific pathogen-free female mice. PROCEDURES: Mice were allocated into 3 cohorts (30 mice/cohort). Mice received SC injections of C atrox toxoid (CAT) vaccine (n = 15/group) or adjuvant (15/group) at day 0 and again at 4 weeks. At 8 weeks, mice were challenge-exposed with 1 of 3 venoms. Survival until 48 hours was evaluated by use of log-rank analysis of survival curves and the z test for proportions. RESULTS: 6 of 15 WD-challenged CAT-vaccinated mice, 3 of 15 NP-challenged CAT-vaccinated mice, and 0 of 15 SP-challenged CAT-vaccinated mice survived until 48 hours. All adjuvant-only vaccinates survived ≤ 21 hours. Mean survival time of CAT vaccinates was longer than that of adjuvant-only vaccinates for all venoms (1,311 vs 368 minutes for WD, 842 vs 284 minutes for NP, and 697 vs 585 minutes for SP). Results of the z test indicated a significantly increased survival rate for vaccinates exposed to WD rattlesnake venom but not for vaccinates exposed to NP or SP rattlesnake venom. Log-rank analysis revealed a significant difference between survival curves of vaccinated versus unvaccinated mice exposed to NP but not WD or SP venom. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: CAT vaccination improved survival rate and survival time after challenge exposure with WD rattlesnake venom and may offer limited protection against NP rattlesnake venom but did not provide significant cross-protection against SP rattlesnake venom.

Core body temperature as adjunct to endpoint determination in murine median lethal dose testing of rattlesnake venom.

Median lethal dose (LD50) testing in mice is the 'gold standard' for evaluating the lethality of snake venoms and the effectiveness of interventions. As part of a study to determine the murine LD50 of the venom of 3 species of rattlesnake, temperature data were collected in an attempt to more precisely define humane endpoints. We used an 'up-and-down' methodology of estimating the LD50 that involved serial intraperitoneal injection of predetermined concentrations of venom. By using a rectal thermistor probe, body temperature was taken once before administration and at various times after venom exposure. All but one mouse showed a marked, immediate, dose-dependent drop in temperature of approximately 2 to 6°C at 15 to 45 min after administration. The lowest temperature sustained by any surviving mouse was 33.2°C. Surviving mice generally returned to near-baseline temperatures within 2 h after venom administration, whereas mice that did not survive continued to show a gradual decline in temperature until death or euthanasia. Logistic regression modeling controlling for the effects of baseline core body temperature and venom type showed that core body temperature was a significant predictor of survival. Linear regression of the interaction of time and survival was used to estimate temperatures predictive of death at the earliest time point and demonstrated that venom type had a significant influence on temperature values. Overall, our data suggest that core body temperature is a useful adjunct to monitoring for endpoints in LD50 studies and may be a valuable predictor of survival in venom studies.