Abelson Klas S P, Adem Bashir, Royo Felix, Carlsson Hans-Erik, Hau Jann
Division of Comparative Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
In Vivo. 2005 Sep-Oct;19(5):815-9.
Corticosterone levels in blood may be used as a marker of stress in rodents, provided that the blood sampling procedure itself is non-stressful. Automated blood sampling equipment (Accusampler) allows blood sampling without any interference with the animal and might be useful as a tool for an on-line measurement of stress markers in blood. However, the impact of the blood sampling itself on the corticosterone levels in blood is unknown. The present study was designed to evaluate whether the frequency of blood sampling influences the plasma corticosterone levels in male and female rats. During anaesthesia, a catheter was placed in the jugular vein and attached to an Accusampler. Blood samples (200 microl) were withdrawn with a high (24 samples) or low frequency (3 samples) during a six-hour period immediately after the catheter insertion. The corticosterone levels in the plasma were quantified with ELISA. The corticosterone levels persisted at high post-operation concentrations when blood was collected frequently, while the levels steadily declined significantly during low-frequency sampling. The corticosterone levels were higher in female than in male rats, but the curves were similar. The present study elucidates the importance of considering the frequency of blood withdrawal during automated blood sampling. This parameter may have an impact on the experimental results when using blood corticosterone levels as a stress marker, but also during any in vivo study where blood is collected, since high corticosterone levels may affect the normal physiology of the animals.
血液中的皮质酮水平可作为啮齿动物应激的标志物，前提是采血过程本身不会造成应激。自动采血设备（Accusampler）可在不干扰动物的情况下进行采血，可能作为在线测量血液中应激标志物的工具。然而，采血本身对血液中皮质酮水平的影响尚不清楚。本研究旨在评估采血频率是否会影响雄性和雌性大鼠的血浆皮质酮水平。在麻醉期间，将一根导管插入颈静脉并连接到Accusampler。在导管插入后的六小时内，以高频率（24次采样）或低频率（3次采样）采集血样（200微升）。用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）对血浆中的皮质酮水平进行定量。频繁采血时，术后皮质酮水平维持在较高浓度，而在低频采样期间，该水平则显著稳步下降。雌性大鼠的皮质酮水平高于雄性大鼠，但曲线相似。本研究阐明了在自动采血过程中考虑采血频率的重要性。当将血液皮质酮水平用作应激标志物时，该参数可能会影响实验结果，而且在任何采集血液的体内研究中也会有影响，因为高皮质酮水平可能会影响动物的正常生理机能。
