Scratching Behavior in Various Strains of Mice

Abstract

Scratching behavior was induced in 12 strains of mice and the frequency was compared. An injection of histamine at a dose of 50 nmol induced frequent scratching behavior only in ICR mice, although the same dose of serotonin induced frequent scratching behavior in all strains of mice except for A/J. Histamine (10 nmol), serotonin (1 nmol), substance P (50 nmol) and passive cutaneous anaphylaxis induced significant vascular permeability increase in BALB/c, ICR, ddY and NC/Nga mice. These four stimuli also induced frequent scratching behavior in ICR mice. However, they failed to induce substantial increase in the incidence of scratching in the other three strains, except for ddY, which exhibited a slight but significant increase against substance P injection. These results suggest that the ICR mouse is a good responder for scratching behavior against various stimuli, especially against histamine. Thus ICR mice may be suitable for studying mediators and/or mechanisms for itching.

Metabolism of Wogonoside by Human Fecal Microflora and Its Anti-pruritic Effect

“…The scratching frequencies for the 60 min period for each inducer increased in a dose?dependent manner. These scratching agents more potently induced pruritic behaviors in ICR mice than in BALB/c mice, which are in agreement with a previous report (Inagaki et al, 2001). Particularly, compound 48/80 caused vigorous scratching behavior in ICR mice.…”

5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)2Receptor Involvement in Acute 5-HT-Evoked Scratching but Not in Allergic Pruritus Induced by Dinitrofluorobenzene in Rats

“…It produces a sensation of itch when applied to the human skin (Weisshaar et al, 1997) and has been suggested to be involved in the pruritus of polycythemia vera (Fjellner and Hagermark, 1979;Fitzsimons et al, 1981) and cholestasis (Schworer et al, 1995;Weisshaar et al, 1999;Jones and Bergasa, 2000). 5-HT has been used widely as a representative pruritogen in experimental models with rodents because it induces itchassociated scratching behavior when applied intradermally, regardless of strain differences (Inagaki et al, 2001). In contrast, intradermal histamine induces scratching behavior in only a few strains of mice (Inagaki et al, 2001) and induces little if any scratching in rats (Thomsen et al, 2001;Jinks and Carstens, 2002).…”

“…5-HT has been used widely as a representative pruritogen in experimental models with rodents because it induces itchassociated scratching behavior when applied intradermally, regardless of strain differences (Inagaki et al, 2001). In contrast, intradermal histamine induces scratching behavior in only a few strains of mice (Inagaki et al, 2001) and induces little if any scratching in rats (Thomsen et al, 2001;Jinks and Carstens, 2002). Because a considerable amount of spontaneous scratching is observed in untreated naive mice, whereas naive rats exhibit little or no spontaneous scratching, the rat seems to be a suitable animal model to quantify acute pruritogen-evoked scratching behavior.…”

Delayed Type Allergic Itch-Associated Response Induced by Toluene-2,4-diisocyanate in Hairless Mice

“…Thus, we evaluated whether intradermal administration of not only histamine but also serotonin induces the scratching response in HR-1 mice and compared their responsiveness with those of ddY and ICR mice. Responsiveness to histamine was comparable in HR-1 and ICR mice, the latter of which are the most potent responders to histamine among the various strains (14). Serotonin induces moderate and severe scratching in ddY and ICR mice, respectively (14).…”

“…On the other hand, the scratching response to stimuli, especially to histamine, considerably differs among strains of mice (3,14). However, responsiveness of HR-1 mice to stimuli has not been reported.…”