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Hecht G, Bar-Nathan C, Milite G, Alon I, Moshe Y, Greenfeld L, Dotsenko N, Suez J, Levy M, Thaiss CA, Dafni H, Elinav E, Harmelin A. A simple cage-autonomous method for the maintenance of the barrier status of germ-free mice during experimentation. Lab Anim 2014; 48:292-7. [DOI: 10.1177/0023677214544728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The use of germ-free (GF) isolators for microbiome-related research is exponentially increasing, yet limited by its cost, isolator size and potential for trans-contamination. As such, current isolator technology is highly limiting to researchers engaged in short period experiments involving multiple mouse strains and employing a variety of mono-inoculated microorganisms. In this study, we evaluate the use of positive pressure Isocages as a solution for short period studies (days to 2–3 weeks) of experimentation with GF mice at multiple simultaneous conditions. We demonstrate that this new Isocage technology is cost-effective and room-sparing, and enables maintenance of multiple simultaneous groups of GF mice. Using this technology, transferring GF mice from isolators to Isocage racks for experimentation, where they are kept under fully germ-free conditions, enables parallel inoculation with different bacterial strains and simultaneous experimentation with multiple research conditions. Altogether, the new GF Isocage technology enables the expansion of GF capabilities in a safe and cost-effective manner that can facilitate the growth, elaboration and flexibility of microbiome research.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Hecht
- Department of Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - C Bar-Nathan
- Department of Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - G Milite
- Tecniplast SpA, Buguggiate (Varese), Italy
| | - I Alon
- Department of Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Y Moshe
- Department of Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - L Greenfeld
- Department of Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - N Dotsenko
- Department of Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - J Suez
- Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - M Levy
- Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - C A Thaiss
- Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - H Dafni
- Department of Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - E Elinav
- Department of Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - A Harmelin
- Department of Veterinary Resources, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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