Selected Educational Resource Papers on the Responsible Care and Use of Animals in Research

Selected Educational Resource Papers on the Responsible Care and Use of Animals in Research

• Some Helpful Introductory Resources

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Pinson, D. M. (2011). Writing clear animal activity proposals. Lab Animal, 40(6), 187–192. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0611-187
  • Butler-Struben, H. M., Kentner, A. C., & Trainor, B. C. (2022). What’s wrong with my experiment?: The impact of hidden variables on neuropsychopharmacology research. Neuropsychopharmacology, 47(7), 1285–1291. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01309-1

  Relevant for Non-Human Primates:

  • National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Nonhuman Primate Models in Biomedical Research: State of the Science and Future Needs. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26857.
• Transportation Modes/Timing

  Relevant for Mice:

  • Laroche, J., Gasbarro, L., Herman, J.P., Blaustein, J.D. (2009). Reduced behavioral response to gonadal hormones in mice shipped during the peripubertal/adolescent period. Endocrinology, 150, 2351–2358. https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2008-1595

  Relevant for Rats:

  • Ogawa, T., Kuwagata, M., Hori, Y., Shioda, S. (2007). Valproate-induced developmental neurotoxicity is affected by maternal conditions including shipping stress and environmental change during early pregnancy. Toxicol Lett, 174, 18–24, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxlet.2007.08.006
• Breeding

  Relevant for Mice:

  • Deeney, S., Powers, K. N., & Crombleholme, T. M. (2016). A comparison of sexing methods in fetal mice. Lab Animal, 45(10), 380–384. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.1105
  • Stiles, R. J., Schrum, A. G., & Gil, D. (2013). A co-housing strategy to improve fecundity of mice in timed matings. Lab Animal, 42(2), 62–65. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.161
  • Rosshart SP, Herz J, Vassallo BG, Hunter A, Wall MK, Badger JH, McCulloch JA, Anastasakis DG, Sarshad AA, Leonardi I, Collins N, Blatter JA, Han SJ, Tamoutounour S, Potapova S, Foster St Claire MB, Yuan W, Sen SK, Dreier MS, Hild B, Hafner M, Wang D, Iliev ID, Belkaid Y, Trinchieri G, Rehermann B. Laboratory mice born to wild mice have natural microbiota and model human immune responses. Science. 2019 Aug 2;365(6452):eaaw4361. doi: 10.1126/science.aaw4361. Epub 2019 Aug 1. PMID: 31371577; PMCID: PMC7377314.

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Sanderson, A. E., Multari, H. M., Lohmiller, J. J., & Boutin, S. R. (2010). Effect of cage-change frequency on rodent breeding performance. Lab Animal, 39(6), 177–182. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0610-177
• Animal Housing

  Relevant for Mice:

  • Acklin, C. J., & Gault, R. A. (2015). Effects of natural enrichment materials on stress, memory and exploratory behavior in mice. Lab Animal, 44(7), 262–267. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.735 
  • Freymann, J., Tsai, P.-P., Stelzer, H., & Hackbarth, H. (2015). The amount of cage bedding preferred by female BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. Lab Animal, 44(1), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.659
  • Godbey, T., Gray, G., & Jeffery, D. (2011). Cage-change interval preference in mice. Lab Animal, 40(7), 225–230. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0711-225
  • Russell, A., Copio, J. N., Shi, Y., Kang, S., Franklin, C. L., & Ericsson, A. C. (2022). Reduced housing density improves statistical power of murine gut microbiota studies. Cell Reports, 39(6), 110783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110783
  • Sanderson, A. E., Multari, H. M., Lohmiller, J. J., & Boutin, S. R. (2010). Effect of cage-change frequency on rodent breeding performance. Lab Animal, 39(6), 177–182. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0610-177
  • Mueller, F. S., Polesel, M., Richetto, J., Meyer, U., & Weber-Stadlbauer, U. (2018). Mouse models of maternal immune activation: Mind your caging system! Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BBI.2018.07.014
  • van de Weerd HA. Evaluation of environmental enrichment for laboratory mice. Vet Q. 1997 Apr;19(sup1):59. doi: 10.1080/01652176.1997.9694816. PMID: 22047439.

  Relevant for Rats:

  • Corredor, K., Marín, D. P., García, C. C., Restrepo, D. A., Martínez, G. S., & Cardenas, F. P. (2022). Providing Environmental Enrichment without Altering Behavior in Male and Female Wistar Rats ( Rattus norvegicus ). Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 61(3), 234–240. https://doi.org/10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-21-000075
  • Khoo, S.Y-S., Correia, V., Uhrig, A. (2020). Nesting material enrichment reduces severity of overgrooming-related self-injury in individually housed rats. Laboratory Animals, 54, https://doi.org/10.1177/00236772198943

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Kentner, A. C., Speno, A. V., Doucette, J., & Roderick, R. C. (2021). The contribution of environmental enrichment to phenotypic variation in mice and rats. eNeuro, 8(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0539-20.2021
  • Trainor, B. C., Takahashi, E. Y., Campi, K. L., Florez, S. A., Greenberg, G. D., Laman-Maharg, A., Laredo, S. A., Orr, V. N., Silva, A. L., & Steinman, M. Q. (2013). Sex differences in stress-induced social withdrawal: Independence from adult gonadal hormones and inhibition of female phenotype by corncob bedding. Hormones and Behavior, 63(3), 543–550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.01.011 (work done in California mice, and likely rats and other species too)
  • Baumans V, Van Loo PL. How to improve housing conditions of laboratory animals: the possibilities of environmental refinement. Vet J. 2013 Jan;195(1):24-32. doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2012.09.023. Epub 2012 Nov 3. PMID: 23127868.
• Drug Administration Techniques

  Relevant for Mice:

  • Baek, J. M., Kwak, S. C., Kim, J.-Y., Ahn, S.-J., Jun, H. Y., Yoon, K.-H., Lee, M. S., & Oh, J. (2015). Evaluation of a novel technique for intraperitoneal injections in mice. Lab Animal, 44(11), 440–444. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.880
  • Hoggatt, A.F., Hoggatt, J., Honerloaw, M., Pelus, L.M. (2010). A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down: a novel technique to improve oral gavage in mice. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 49, 329-334, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2877306/
  • Schalbetter, S. M., Mueller, F. S., Scarborough, J., Richetto, J., Weber-Stadlbauer, U., Meyer, U., & Notter, T. (2021). Oral application of clozapine-N-oxide using the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method in mouse DREADD systems. Lab Animal, 50(3), 69–75. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-021-00723-0

  Relevant for Rats:

  • Li., Y., Qu., L., Li., N., Wang, X., Wang, P., Ge, S., Wang, X. (2022). The optimized jugular vein catheterization reinforced cocaine self-administration addictive model for adult male Sprague–Dawley rats. Scientific Reports, 12, 11711, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15833-z

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Machholz, E., Mulder, G., Ruiz, C., Corning, B.F., Pritchett-Corning, K.R. (2012). Manual restraint and common compound administration routes in mice and rats. J. Vis. Exp.</em> (67), e2771, https://www.jove.com/video/2771

  Relevant for Companion Canine:

  • M. Iadarola, D. Brown, A. Nahama, M. Sapio, A. Mannes (2021). Pain Treatment in the Companion Canine Model to Validate Rodent Results and Incentivize the Transition to Human Clinical Trials. Frontiers in Pharmacology.

  Relevant for Swine:

  • J. Brown, M. Saeed, L. Do, J. Braz, A. Basbaum, M. Iadarola, D. Wilson, W. Dillon (2015). CT-guided injection of a TRPV1 agonist around dorsal root ganglia decreases pain transmission in swine. Science Translational Medicine.

   

• Lighting/Time of Day of Testing

  Relevant for Rats:

  • Nikbakht N, Diamond ME. Conserved visual capacity of rats under red light. (2021). ELife, 10, e66429. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.66429
  • Niklaus S, Albertini S, Schnitzer TK, Denk N. (2020). Challenging a myth and misconception: red-light vision in rats. Animals, 10, 422. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10030422

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Nelson, R. J., Bumgarner, J. R., Walker, W. H., & DeVries, A. C. (2021). Time-of-day as a critical biological variable. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 127, 740–746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.017
• Sampling/Collection Methods

  Relevant for Mice:

  • Ahrens Kress, A.P., Zhang, Y., Kaiser-Vry, A.R., Sauer, M. (2022). A Comparison of Blood Collection Techniques in Mice and their Effects on Welfare. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 61, 287-295, https://doi-org.ezproxymcp.flo.org/10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-21-000129
  • Powell, K., Ethun, K., & Taylor, D. K. (2016). The effect of light level, CO2 flow rate, and anesthesia on the stress response of mice during CO2 euthanasia. Lab Animal, 45(10), 386–395. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.1117
  • Vahl, T. P., Ulrich-Lai, Y. M., Ostrander, M. M., Dolgas, C. M., Elfers, E. E., Seeley, R. J., D’Alessio, D. A., & Herman, J. P. (2005). Comparative analysis of ACTH and corticosterone sampling methods in rats. American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, 289(5), E823–E828. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00122.2005

  Relevant for Rats:

  • Hickman, D. L. (2022). Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide Euthanasia of Female Sprague Dawley Rats Alone or With Unfamiliar Conspecifics. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 61(2), 195–200. https://doi.org/10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-21-000051

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Hickman, D.L. (2022). Exposure Times for Irreversible Euthanasia with Carbon Dioxide in Mice and Rats. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 61, 283-286. https://doi.org/10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-21-000113
• Food and Water

  Relevant for Rats:

  • Reinagel P. (2018). Training Rats Using Water Rewards Without Water Restriction. Front Behav Neurosci, 12, 84. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00084.

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Rowland, N.E. (2007). Food or fluid restriction in common laboratory animals: balancing welfare considerations with scientific inquiry. Comp Med., 57, 149-160. PMID: 17536615
  • Barkus C, Bergmann C, Branco T, Carandini M, Chadderton PT, Galiñanes GL, Gilmour G, Huber D, Huxter JR, Khan AG, King AJ, Maravall M, O’Mahony T, Ragan CI, Robinson ESJ, Schaefer AT, Schultz SR, Sengpiel F, Prescott MJ. (2022). Refinements to rodent head fixation and fluid/food control for neuroscience. J Neurosci Methods, 381, 109705. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2022.109705.
• Surgery

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Leach MC, Bowell VA, Allan TF, Morton DB. Degrees of aversion shown by rats and mice to different concentrations of inhalational anaesthetics. Vet Rec. 2002 Jun 29;150(26):808-15. doi: 10.1136/vr.150.26.808. PMID: 12120924.
• Vaginal Lavage

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Marcondes, F.K., Bianchi, F.J., Tanno, A.P. (2002). Determination of the estrous cycle phases of rats: some helpful considerations. Braz., J., Biol., 62 (4A): 609-614. doi: 10.1590/s1519-69842002000400008.
  • Ajayi, A.F, Akhigbe, E.R. (2020). Staging of the estrous cycle and induction of estrus in experimental rodents: an update. Fertility Research and Practice, 6, 5. doi: 10.1186/s40738-020-00074-3.
  • Goldman, J.M., Murr, A.S., Cooper, R.L. (2007). The rodent estrous cycle: characterization of vaginal cytology and its utility in toxicological studies. Birth Defects Research (Part B), 80, 84-97. doi: 10.1002/bdrb.20106.
• Miscellaneous

  Relevant for Mice:

  • Moncaut, N., & Hart-Johnson, S. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on the genetic integrity of your mouse colonies. Lab Animal, 50(11), 301–302. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-021-00872-2
  • Ribeiro, P. O., Silva, H. B., Tomé, Â. R., Cunha, R. A., & Antunes, L. M. (2014). Hippocampal long-term potentiation in adult mice after recovery from ketamine anesthesia. Lab Animal, 43(10), 353–357. https://doi.org/10.1038/laban.571

  Relevant for Rats:

  • Fernandes, C., González, M. I., Wilson, C. A., & File, S. E. (1999). Factor Analysis Shows That Female Rat Behaviour Is Characterized Primarily by Activity, Male Rats Are Driven by Sex and Anxiety. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 64(4), 731–736. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0091-3057(99)00139-2
  • Riedesel, A-K., Bach-Hagemann, A., …Lindauer, U. (2022). Burrowing behaviour of rats: Strain differences and applicability as well-being parameter after intracranial surgery. Laboratory Animals, 56, https://doi.org/10.1177/002367722110729
  • Patterson-Kane, E.P., Hunt, M., Harper, D. (2010). Short communication: Rat’s demand for group size. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 7, 2004, https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327604jaws0704_4

  Relevant for Mice and Rats:

  • Holdridge, J. A., Nichols, M. S., Dupont, W. D., Jones, C. P., & Shuster, K. A. (2021). The Effectiveness of Hot Bead Sterilization in Maintaining Sterile Surgical Instrument Tips across Sequential Mouse Surgeries. Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 60(6), 700–708. https://doi.org/10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-21-000047
  • Smith D, Price DRG, Faber MN, Chapuis AF, McNeilly TN. Advancing animal health and disease research in the lab with three-dimensional cell culture systems. Vet Rec. 2022 Jul;191(1):e1528. doi: 10.1002/vetr.1528. Epub 2022 Mar 26. PMID: 35338777.
  • Galef, B.G. (2010). Environmental enrichment for laboratory rodents: animal welfare and the methods of science. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 2(4), 267-280. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327604jaws0204_2