Effects of housing density on nasal pathology of breeding mice housed in individually ventilated cages

DiVincenti, Louis; Moorman-White, Diane; Bavlov, Nikolay; Garner, Michael; Wyatt, Jeff

doi:10.1038/laban0312-68

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…1,13,14,22 One difference between the current study and others was that all of our mice were bred continuously, whereas in other studies males were removed soon after parturition. 1,14,22 This situation resulted in increased housing density, which has been associated with increased ammonia concentrations in the cage 11 and with plasma corticosterone levels in the cage occupants. 25,27 These factors could have led to increased fetal resorption rates because of maternal stress [5][6][7] in cages of continuously bred trios.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Continuous Trio Breeding Compared with Continuous Pair Breeding in ‘Shoebox’ Caging on Measures of Reproductive Performance in Estrogen Receptor Knockout Mice

Chatkupt¹,

Libal²,

Mader³

et al. 2018

j am assoc lab anim sci

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Some performance standards for continuous trio breeding in 'shoebox' cages for inbred stocks and outbred strains ofmice challenge the minimum floor space recommendations in the 8th edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of LaboratoryAnimals. In our study, we evaluated whether continuous trio breeding could be successfully applied to a breeding colonyof genetically engineered mice housed in shoebox cages with a floor area of 67.6 in2. Mice heterozygous for genetically engineered mutations to estrogen receptors and their wildtype counterparts were continuously bred as trios or pairs. Confounding environmental factors were controlled through standardized husbandry practices and husbandry, and all mice were bred simultaneously to control for temporal factors. Several measures of reproductive performance-including number of littersper female, production index, interlitter interval, litter size at birth, litter size at weaning, weaning rate, and body weight of pups at weaning- were evaluated over approximately 6 mo. Regardless of genotype, interlitter interval, litter size at birth, and litter size at weaning were significantly lower for trio-bred mice than for pair-bred mice. In addition, significant interactions emerged between genotype and breeding strategy for these reproductive measures. Furthermore, significant differencesbetween genotypes occurred for interlitter interval and weaning rate, regardless of breeding strategy. Underlying mechanismsto account for effects of genotype on interlitter interval and the interaction of genotype with breeding strategy were unclearbut may reflect effects of overcrowding and reproductive suppression.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Continuous Trio Breeding Compared with Continuous Pair Breeding in ‘Shoebox’ Caging on Measures of Reproductive Performance in Estrogen Receptor Knockout Mice

Chatkupt¹,

Libal²,

Mader³

et al. 2018

j am assoc lab anim sci

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“…In addition, the bedding in the smallest cage housing trios with litters, especially CD1 mice, became heavily soiled within hours of changing. This soiling required more frequent cage changes in order to provide the animals with an environment that is clean and esthetically pleasing to humans [ 31 , 62 , 63 ]. Although mice do not necessarily avoid feces [ 64 ], the Guide also suggests that animals have areas to rest which are free of fecal matter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Cage Space on Behavior and Reproduction in Crl:CD1(Icr) and C57BL/6NCrl Laboratory Mice

Gaskill

Pritchett-Corning

2015

PLoS ONE

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Recommendations for the amount of cage space required for female mice with litters were first made in the 2011 Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. We hypothesized that if a difference in mouse behavior and reproduction exists within the limits of commercially available caging, this difference would be detected between the smallest and largest cages. C57BL/6NCrl and Crl:CD1(Icr) breeding mice were randomly assigned to a cage treatment: LP 18790 (226cm2); A RC1 (305cm2); A N10 (432cm2); T 1291 (800cm2) and a breeding configuration: single (male removed after birth); pair (1 male + 1 female); or trio (1 male + 2 females) in a factorial design for 12 weeks. All cages received 8-10g of nesting material and nests were scored weekly. Pups were weaned between post-natal day 18 and 26 and were weighed at weaning. Adult behavior and location in the cage were recorded by scan samples every 30 min over 48 hr of video recorded on PND 0-8 and PND 14-21 when pups were in the cage. Press posture and play behavior were recorded by 1/0 sampling method. Cage space did not significantly alter typical reproductive measures. Pups in the smallest cage played less than in the other cages. Adults in the smallest cage displayed more press posture than in the two largest cages. Mice in the largest cage spent more time under the feeder than in other areas of the cage. Nest score was also the highest in the largest cage. Housing breeding groups of mice in a range of commercially available cage sizes does not affect reproduction but behavioral measures suggest that the smallest cage tested, LP 18790, may be stressful for outbred mice when pups are present.

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“…The presence of a second litter in the cage substantially increased ammonia levels, which indicated an effect of housing density on ammonia concentration [30]. Whereas the impact of these ammonia levels on newborn mice has not been studied, ammonia levels from 25 to over 600 ppm have been demonstrated to increase pathological scores, destroy the surface layers of the trachea epithelium lining and increase the severity of rhinitis, otitis, tracheitis, and pneumonia in rats and mice [29][30][31][32]. The gas concentration problem may be aggravated by the fact that animal care-takers generally tend to avoid cleaning cages when litters were just born (to avoid pup disturbance).…”

Section: Pup Probability Of Deathmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Higher stocking density leads to increased humidity and gas concentration in the air, with ammonia levels increasing in 30 ppm with litter growth from birth to weaning [29] and reaching over 100 ppm in individually ventilated cages with trios 4d post-partum with a maximum concentration of over 600 ppm at weaning [30]. The presence of a second litter in the cage substantially increased ammonia levels, which indicated an effect of housing density on ammonia concentration [30].…”

Section: Pup Probability Of Deathmentioning

confidence: 98%

High laboratory mouse pre-weaning mortality associated with litter overlap, advanced dam age, small and large litters

et al. 2020

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High and variable pre-weaning mortality is a persistent problem in laboratory mouse breeding. Assuming a modest 15% mortality rate across mouse strains, means that approximately 1 million more pups are produced yearly in the EU to compensate for those which die. This paper presents the first large study under practical husbandry conditions to determine the risk factors associated with mouse pre-weaning mortality. We analysed historical records from 219,975 pups from two breeding facilities, collected as part of their management routine and including information on number of pups born and weaned per litter, parents' age and identification, and dates of birth and death of all animals. Pups were counted once in their first week of life and at weaning, and once every one or two weeks, depending on the need for cage cleaning. Dead pups were recorded as soon as these were found during the daily cage screening (without opening the cage). It was hypothesized that litter overlap (i.e. the presence of older siblings in the cage when new pups are born), a recurrent social configuration in trio-housed mice, is associated with increased newborn mortality, along with advanced dam age, large litter size, and a high number and age of older siblings in the cage. The estimated probability of pup death was two to seven percentage points higher in cages with litter overlap compared to those without. Litter overlap was associated with an increase in death of the entire litter of five and six percentage points, which represent an increase of 19% and 103% compared to non-overlapped litters in the two breeding facilities, respectively. Increased number and age of older siblings, advanced dam age, small litter size (less than four pups born) and large litter size (over 11 pups born) were associated with increased probability of pup death.

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Effects of housing density on nasal pathology of breeding mice housed in individually ventilated cages

Cited by 16 publications

References 16 publications

Effect of Continuous Trio Breeding Compared with Continuous Pair Breeding in ‘Shoebox’ Caging on Measures of Reproductive Performance in Estrogen Receptor Knockout Mice

Effect of Continuous Trio Breeding Compared with Continuous Pair Breeding in ‘Shoebox’ Caging on Measures of Reproductive Performance in Estrogen Receptor Knockout Mice

The Effect of Cage Space on Behavior and Reproduction in Crl:CD1(Icr) and C57BL/6NCrl Laboratory Mice

High laboratory mouse pre-weaning mortality associated with litter overlap, advanced dam age, small and large litters

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