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Major oscillations in spontaneous home-cage activity in C57BL/6 mice housed under constant conditions.

ABSTRACT: The mouse is the most important mammalian model in life science research and the behavior of the mouse is a key read-out of experimental interventions and genetic manipulations. To serve this purpose a solid understanding of the mouse normal behavior is a prerequisite. Using 14-19 months of cumulative 24/7 home-cage activity recorded with a non-intrusive technique, evidence is here provided for a highly significant circannual oscillation in spontaneous activity (1-2 SD of the mean, on average 65% higher during peak of highs than lows; P?=?7E-50) of male and female C57BL/6 mice held under constant conditions. The periodicity of this hitherto not recognized oscillation is in the range of 2-4 months (average estimate was 97 days across cohorts of cages). It off-sets responses to environmental stimuli and co-varies with the feeding behavior but does not significantly alter the preference for being active during the dark hours. The absence of coordination of this rhythmicity between cages with mice or seasons of the year suggest that the oscillation of physical activity is generated by a free-running intrinsic oscillator devoid of external timer. Due to the magnitude of this rhythmic variation it may be a serious confounder in experiments on mice if left unrecognized.

SUBMITTER: Pernold K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7925671 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Major oscillations in spontaneous home-cage activity in C57BL/6 mice housed under constant conditions.

Pernold Karin K Rullman Eric E Ulfhake Brun B

Scientific reports 20210302 1

The mouse is the most important mammalian model in life science research and the behavior of the mouse is a key read-out of experimental interventions and genetic manipulations. To serve this purpose a solid understanding of the mouse normal behavior is a prerequisite. Using 14-19 months of cumulative 24/7 home-cage activity recorded with a non-intrusive technique, evidence is here provided for a highly significant circannual oscillation in spontaneous activity (1-2 SD of the mean, on average 65 ...[more]

PMID: 33654141

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Project description:Mice respond to a cage change (CC) with altered activity, disrupted sleep and increased anxiety. A bi-weekly cage change is, therefore, preferred over a shorter CC interval and is currently the prevailing routine for Individually ventilated cages (IVCs). However, the build-up of ammonia (NH3) during this period is a potential threat to the animal health and the literature holds conflicting reports leaving this issue unresolved. We have therefor examined longitudinally in-cage activity, animal health and the build-up of ammonia across the cage floor with female and male C57BL/6 mice housed four per IVC changed every other week. We used a multicentre design with a standardised husbandry enabling us to tease-out features that replicated across sites from those that were site-specific. CC induce a marked increase in activity, especially during daytime (~50%) when the animals rest. A reduction in density from four to two mice did not alter this response. This burst was followed by a gradual decrease till the next cage change. Female but not male mice preferred to have the latrine in the front of the cage. Male mice allocate more of the activity to the latrine free part of the cage floor already the day after a CC. A behaviour that progressed through the CC cycle but was not impacted by the type of bedding used. Reducing housing density to two mice abolished this behaviour. Female mice used the entire cage floor the first week while during the second week activity in the latrine area decreased. Measurement of NH3 ppm across the cage floor revealed x3 higher values for the latrine area compared with the opposite area. NH3 ppm increases from 0-1 ppm to reach ≤25 ppm in the latrine free area and 50-100 ppm in the latrine area at the end of a cycle. As expected in-cage bacterial load covaried with in-cage NH3 ppm. Histopathological analysis revealed no changes to the upper airways covarying with recorded NH3 ppm or bacterial load. We conclude that housing of four (or equivalent biomass) C57BL/6J mice for 10 weeks under the described conditions does not cause any overt discomfort to the animals.

Dataset Information

Major oscillations in spontaneous home-cage activity in C57BL/6 mice housed under constant conditions.

Publications

Major oscillations in spontaneous home-cage activity in C57BL/6 mice housed under constant conditions.

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