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Dauchy RT, Wren MA, Dauchy EM, Hanifin JP, Jablonski MR, Warfield B, Brainard GC, Hill SM, Mao L, Dupepe LM, Ooms TG, Blask DE. Effect of spectral transmittance through red-tinted rodent cages on circadian metabolism and physiology in nude rats. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 2013; 52:745-755. [PMID: 24351763 PMCID: PMC3838609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2013] [Revised: 06/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/20/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Light entrains normal circadian rhythms of physiology and metabolism in all mammals. Previous studies from our laboratory demonstrated that spectral transmittance (color) of light passing through cages affects these responses in rats. Here, we addressed the hypothesis that red tint alters the circadian nocturnal melatonin signal and circadian oscillation of other metabolic and physiologic functions. Female nude rats (Hsd:RH-Foxn1(rnu); n = 12 per group) were maintained on a 12:12-h light (300 lx; 123.0 μW/cm(2); lights on 0600):dark regimen in standard polycarbonate translucent clear or red-tinted cages. After 1 wk, rats underwent 6 low-volume blood draws via cardiocentesis over a 4-wk period. Plasma melatonin levels were low during the light phase (1.0 ± 0.2 pg/mL) in rats in both types of cages but were significantly lower in red-tinted (105.0 ± 2.4 pg/mL) compared with clear (154.8 ± 3.8 pg/mL) cages during the dark. Normal circadian rhythm of plasma total fatty acid was identical between groups. Although phase relationships of circadian rhythms in glucose, lactic acid, pO2, and pCO2 were identical between groups, the levels of these analytes were lower in rats in red-tinted compared with clear cages. Circadian rhythms of plasma corticosterone, insulin, and leptin were altered in terms of phasing, amplitude, and duration in rats in red-tinted compared with clear cages. These findings indicate that spectral transmittance through red-colored cages significantly affects circadian regulation of neuroendocrine, metabolic, and physiologic parameters, potentially influencing both laboratory animal health and wellbeing and scientific outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert T Dauchy
- Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, Louisiana, USA.
| | - Melissa A Wren
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, Louisiana, USA
| | - Erin M Dauchy
- Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, Louisiana, USA
| | - John P Hanifin
- Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Michael R Jablonski
- Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Benjamin Warfield
- Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - George C Brainard
- Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Steven M Hill
- Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, Louisiana, USA
| | - Lulu Mao
- Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, Louisiana, USA
| | - Lynell M Dupepe
- Comparative Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, Louisiana
| | - Tara G Ooms
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, Louisiana, USA
| | - David E Blask
- Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, Louisiana, USA
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Dauchy RT, Dauchy EM, Hanifin JP, Gauthreaux SL, Mao L, Belancio VP, Ooms TG, Dupepe LM, Jablonski MR, Warfield B, Wren MA, Brainard GC, Hill SM, Blask DE. Effects of spectral transmittance through standard laboratory cages on circadian metabolism and physiology in nude rats. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 2013; 52:146-56. [PMID: 23562097 PMCID: PMC3624782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2012] [Revised: 08/21/2012] [Accepted: 09/21/2012] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Light is potent in circadian, neuroendocrine, and neurobehavioral regulation, thereby having profound influence on the health and wellbeing of all mammals, including laboratory animals. We hypothesized that the spectral quality of light transmitted through colored compared with clear standard rodent cages alters circadian production of melatonin and temporal coordination of normal metabolic and physiologic activities. Female nude rats (Hsd:RH-Foxn1(rnu); n = 6 per group) were maintained on a 12:12-h light:dark regimen (300 lx; lights on, 0600) in standard translucent clear, amber, or blue rodent cages; intensity and duration of lighting were identical for all groups. Rats were assessed for arterial blood levels of pO(2) and pCO(2), melatonin, total fatty acid, glucose, lactic acid, insulin, leptin, and corticosterone concentrations at 6 circadian time points. Normal circadian rhythms of arterial blood pO(2) and pCO(2) were different in rats housed in cages that were blue compared with amber or clear. Plasma melatonin levels (mean ± 1 SD) were low (1.0 ± 0.2 pg/mL) during the light phase in all groups but higher at nighttime in rats in blue cages (928.2 ± 39.5 pg/mL) compared with amber (256.8 ± 6.6 pg/mL) and clear (154.8 ± 9.3 pg/mL) cages. Plasma daily rhythms of total fatty acid, glucose, lactic acid, leptin, insulin, and corticosterone were disrupted in rats housed in blue or amber compared with clear cages. Temporal coordination of circadian rhythms of physiology and metabolism can be altered markedly by changes in the spectral quality of light transmitted through colored standard rodent cages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert T Dauchy
- Department of Structural & Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, LA, USA.
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Dauchy RT, Dupepe LM, Ooms TG, Dauchy EM, Hill CR, Mao L, Belancio VP, Slakey LM, Hill SM, Blask DE. Eliminating animal facility light-at-night contamination and its effect on circadian regulation of rodent physiology, tumor growth, and metabolism: a challenge in the relocation of a cancer research laboratory. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 2011; 50:326-336. [PMID: 21640027 PMCID: PMC3103282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2010] [Revised: 12/13/2010] [Accepted: 12/15/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Appropriate laboratory animal facility lighting and lighting protocols are essential for maintaining the health and wellbeing of laboratory animals and ensuring the credible outcome of scientific investigations. Our recent experience in relocating to a new laboratory facility illustrates the importance of these considerations. Previous studies in our laboratory demonstrated that animal room contamination with light-at-night (LAN) of as little as 0.2 lx at rodent eye level during an otherwise normal dark-phase disrupted host circadian rhythms and stimulated the metabolism and proliferation of human cancer xenografts in rats. Here we examined how simple improvements in facility design at our new location completely eliminated dark-phase LAN contamination and restored normal circadian rhythms in nontumor-bearing rats and normal tumor metabolism and growth in host rats bearing tissue-isolated MCF7(SR(-)) human breast tumor xenografts or 7288CTC rodent hepatomas. Reducing LAN contamination in the animal quarters from 24.5 ± 2.5 lx to nondetectable levels (complete darkness) restored normal circadian regulation of rodent arterial blood melatonin, glucose, total fatty and linoleic acid concentrations, tumor uptake of O(2), glucose, total fatty acid and CO(2) production and tumor levels of cAMP, triglycerides, free fatty acids, phospholipids, and cholesterol esters, as well as extracellular-signal-regulated kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase, serine-threonine protein kinase, glycogen synthase kinase 3β, γ-histone 2AX, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen.
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MESH Headings
- Academies and Institutes/standards
- Animals
- Animals, Laboratory/physiology
- Blood Glucose/metabolism
- Breast Neoplasms/blood supply
- Breast Neoplasms/metabolism
- Breast Neoplasms/pathology
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/blood supply
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/metabolism
- Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology
- Cell Proliferation
- Circadian Rhythm/physiology
- Female
- Humans
- Laboratories/standards
- Lighting/standards
- Liver Neoplasms/blood supply
- Liver Neoplasms/metabolism
- Liver Neoplasms/pathology
- Male
- Melatonin/blood
- Neoplasms, Experimental/blood supply
- Neoplasms, Experimental/metabolism
- Neoplasms, Experimental/pathology
- Rats
- Rats, Inbred BUF/physiology
- Rats, Nude/physiology
- Transplantation, Heterologous
- Workplace
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert T Dauchy
- Department of Structural and Cellular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane, Louisiana, USA.
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Liang SC, Lin SZ, Yu JF, Wu SF, Wang SD, Liu JC. F344-rnu/rnu athymic rats: breeding performance and acceptance of subcutaneous and intracranial xenografts at different ages. Lab Anim Sci 1997; 47:549-53. [PMID: 9355102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- S C Liang
- Department of Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
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Abstract
Fifteen athymic rat strains from 11 breeding colonies were housed within an experimental facility for an immunological study. Health status records supplied with 14 of the strains listed infections by Kilham's rat virus (KRV), Clostridium piliforme (Bacillus piliformis) and Pasteurella pneumotropica for 2, 2 and 1 colonies respectively. In sera taken previous to the study from euthymic rats of 10 strains, antibodies to KRV were detected in 3 strains, to Pneumonia virus of mice (PVM), Rat corona virus (RCV) and Sendai virus in one strain each and to P. pneumotropica in 2 strains. Only 2 of the KRV infections had been reported by the supplier. During the study rats of all 10 strains developed antibodies to 2-4 of viral antigens. Eight out of 10 rat strains seroconverted to 1-5 of the antigens C. piliforme (B. piliformis), Bordetella bronchiseptica, Haemophilus spp., P. pneumotropica and Streptobacillus moniliformis. Two rat strains housed in filtertop cages did not develop antibodies to bacterial antigens. The potential detrimental effects of intercurrent infections on the outcome of the comparative immunological study are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Boot
- Section of Laboratory Animal Microbiology, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
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Abstract
The objective of this investigation was to develop a new methodology using 19F-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure the in vivo percutaneous absorption of flurbiprofen through hairless rat skin. A 2% W/V flurbiprofen gel (Klucel HF, hydroxypropyl cellulose 1.5% to 2% W/V) containing isopropyl alcohol, water, and propylene glycol (55:35:10 v/v/v) was prepared. A 2-mg dose (100 mg of gel) was applied to the skin of the lower back of an anesthetized hairless rat, contained with a rubber o-ring, and occluded with a lexan plastic cover slip. The animal was placed on an MR surface coil (3.5-cm diameter tuned to 19F) and measurements taken continuously over approximately 3 h in 10-min intervals with a 2-tesla GE CSI nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. One measures the disappearance of MR signal intensity per interval, which directly relates to the percent of drug disappearance over time, which in turn was converted to a flux value. The flux of flurbiprofen in vivo was found to be 95 +/- 22 micrograms/cm2/h. This is approximately four times greater than the flux of flurbiprofen through excised human skin reported by Akhter and Barry (22 +/- 14 micrograms/cm2/h). This new in vivo method measures drug disappearance and can be readily transferred to man. This method may be adapted to study other fluorine compounds or other nuclei with magnetic properties. It avoids exposure of a patient or animal to the radiation used in x-ray fluorescence methods or to 14C- or 3H-radiolabeled drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J Lee
- Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, Chicago 60612
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Hoang-Vu C, Dralle H, Schröder S, Oertel M, Köhrle J, Hesch RD, von zur Mühlen A, Brabant G. The nude rat is established as a model for endocrine studies: regulation of thyroid function and xenotransplantation of a thyroid tumor cell line. Lab Anim Sci 1992; 42:164-7. [PMID: 1318449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The thyroid physiology of athymic nude rats, rnu/rnu, is characterized and established here as an animal model to study transplanted thyroid tumors. Male rats were catheterized 5 days before experiments were started. The mean thyroid-stimulating-hormone (TSH) plasma concentrations were 2.9 +/- 0.6 ng/ml during infusion of 0.25 ml/h of 0.9% NaCl (n = 12). T3 plasma concentrations were 2.6 +/- 0.4 ng/ml. T4 plasma levels were 22.0 +/- 5.6 micrograms/dl. A bolus of 0.1 mg thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) significantly increased TSH plasma concentrations (P less than or equal to 0.001; from 2.9 +/- 0.6 to 7.8 +/- 1.1 ng/ml, n = 12). No pulsatile TSH secretion was observed in a 2-hour period with blood samples taken every 10 minutes (n = 12) and hourly sampling disclosed no circadian variation of TSH during a 24-hour period (n = 4). Successful xenografting was possible in 12 of 15 cases using a follicular thyroid carcinoma cell line (FTC 133). Measurement of human thyroglobulin (hTg) by a hTg IRMA revealed high levels in rats with functional FTC tumors, whereas no hTg was detected in untransplanted rats or animals with nonfunctional transplants.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Hoang-Vu
- Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Abteilung Klinische Endokrinologie, Zentrum Innere Medizin und Dermatologie, Germany
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Henschen AF, Strömberg I, Bygdeman M, Dahl D, Hoffer B, Seiger A, Olson I. Human fetal spinal cord xenografts survive in the eye of athymic nude rat hosts. Exp Brain Res 1989; 75:317-26. [PMID: 2721611 DOI: 10.1007/bf00247937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Human fetal spinal cord tissue was recovered from elective abortions and grafted to the anterior chamber of the eye of adult athymic nude rats. The transplants slowly became vascularized from the host iris during the first months. There was a clear cut stage-dependent survival and growth along a more "human" time-table. Fetal spinal cord tissue from embryos younger than gestational week 8 showed a much better survival and growth than tissue from older stages. Using laminin immunohistochemistry blood vessels could be visualized in the grafts. The pattern of vascularization was, however, clearly abnormal; there were fewer vessels which had abnormally thick walls as compared to those in the normal spinal cord. Similar to rat spinal cord allografts the human spinal cord xenografts displayed a relative gliosis and were surrounded by a glial layer visualized with antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein. Neurofilament-immunoreactive fibres were found inside the glial layer. A variety of neurons were found including large polygonal motoneuron-shaped cells, albeit with CGRP and AChE negative cell bodies. Both Substance P and enkephalin-immunoreactive cells and fibres were found. It is concluded that xenografted fetal human spinal cord survives, grows and may provide a useful model for experimental studies of human spinal cord development and connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- A F Henschen
- Department of Histology and Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Mahalik TJ, Strömberg I, Gerhardt GA, Granholm AC, Seiger A, Bygdeman M, Olson L, Hoffer BJ, Finger TE. Human ventral mesencephalic xenografts to the catecholamine-depleted striata of athymic rats: ultrastructure and immunocytochemistry. Synapse 1989; 4:19-29. [PMID: 2570467 DOI: 10.1002/syn.890040104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
On the basis of animal studies, grafts of fetal human dopaminergic cells have been suggested as a therapy for Parkinson's disease. The purpose of this study was to characterize the ultrastructure and immunocytochemistry of human ventral mesencephalic xenografts placed into the catecholamine-depleted striata of athymic "nude" rats. Human fetal tissue was obtained from tissue fragments derived from elective abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy. Small pieces of the basal mesencephalon were grafted into the catecholamine-depleted striata of four athymic nude rats. The rats were allowed to survive from 3 to 6 months after grafting; following fixation, the striatal tissue containing the grafts was labeled with antibodies against tyrosine hydroxylase and serotonin. Immunocytochemistry revealed tyrosine-hydroxylase-like-immunoreactive (THLI) and serotoninlike-immunoreactive (5HTLI) cell bodies within the human grafts. Both 5HTLI and THLI fibers crossed the graft-host interface and innervated the previously lesioned striatum. Both types of fibers also entered the host cortex from the adjacent human graft. At the ultrastructural level, THLI and 5HTLI fibers and synaptic terminals were observed in the host neuropil. THLI and 5HTLI dendrites and axon terminals were also observed in the neuropil of the grafts themselves. THLI axon terminals are not normally present in the substantia nigra. The results of our study indicate that human xenografts can survive in the neuropil of the host striatum and form morphologically appropriate synapses within the host brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- T J Mahalik
- Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Colorado Medical School, Denver 80262
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