Mahabir Esther, Bauer Beth, Schmidt Jörg
Department of Comparative Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Ingolstädter Landstrasse 1, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
ILAR J. 2008;49(3):347-355. doi: 10.1093/ilar.49.3.347.
High-tech biomedical advances have led to increases both in the number of mice used for research and in exchanges of mice and/or their tissues between institutions. The latter are associated with the risk of dissemination of infectious agents. Because of the lack of international standardization of health surveillance programs, health certificates for imported rodents may be informative but may not address the needs of the importing facility. Preservation of mouse germplasm is achieved by cryopreservation of spermatozoa, embryos, or ovaries, and embryonic stem cells are used for the production of genetically engineered mice. After embryo transfer, recipients and rederived pups that test negative in microbiological screening for relevant microorganisms are released into full barrier holding areas. However, current research shows that embryos may also transmit microorganisms, especially viruses, to the recipient mice. In this article, we discuss regulations and practical issues in the shipping of live mice and mouse tissues, including spermatozoa, embryos, ovaries, and embryonic stem cells, and review work on microbial contamination of these biological materials. In addition, we present ways to reduce the risk of transmission of pathogens to mice under routine conditions.
高科技生物医学进展导致用于研究的小鼠数量增加，以及机构之间小鼠和/或其组织的交换增多。后者与感染因子传播的风险相关。由于健康监测计划缺乏国际标准化，进口啮齿动物的健康证书可能提供信息，但可能无法满足进口机构的需求。通过冷冻保存精子、胚胎或卵巢来实现小鼠种质的保存，并且胚胎干细胞用于生产基因工程小鼠。胚胎移植后，在对相关微生物进行微生物学筛查中检测呈阴性的受体和重新衍生的幼崽被放入完全屏障饲养区。然而，目前的研究表明，胚胎也可能将微生物，尤其是病毒，传播给受体小鼠。在本文中，我们讨论了活体小鼠和小鼠组织（包括精子、胚胎、卵巢和胚胎干细胞）运输中的法规和实际问题，并综述了这些生物材料微生物污染的相关研究。此外，我们提出了在常规条件下降低病原体传播给小鼠风险的方法。
