Gjendal Karen, Franco Nuno H, Ottesen Jan Lund, Sørensen Dorte Bratbo, Olsson I Anna S
Section of Experimental Animal Models, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Groennegaardsvej 15, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
IBMC - Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto/i3S, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen 208, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.
Physiol Behav. 2018 Nov 1;196:135-143. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.08.022. Epub 2018 Sep 1.
Infrared thermography has been suggested as a non-invasive, objective tool to evaluate animal welfare. In this study, we investigated: 1) how body temperature, measured through thermal imaging, is affected by different mild stressors frequently experienced by laboratory mice; 2) which methodology to use for assessing temperature variations with infrared thermography; 3) whether the chosen stressors cause anxiety in mice. Eighty C57BL/6 male mice were included in the study. The mice were allocated to either a control group or one of three groups being subjected to a mild stressor once daily for 4 days: 1) anaesthesia with isoflurane for 10 min; 2) handling by scruffing; 3) intraperitoneal injection of 0.2 ml 0.9% saline. On all four intervention days, thermal images were obtained in all groups and all animals were assessed for fur status and body weight. On day five, all animals were tested in the elevated-plus-maze for 5 min. From the thermal images, the maximum eye temperature, the maximum tail base temperature and the average body temperature were obtained. Ten minutes of anaesthesia with isoflurane led to a decrease in maximum eye temperature, average body temperature and maximum tail base temperature. The animals recovered from this drop in temperature within 10 min. No drop in temperature was seen after scruffing or intraperitoneal injection of saline. Based on the number of missing values, intra-rater and inter-rater agreement, the average body temperature was found most ideal for measuring body temperature variations in mice. Finally, the elevated plus maze did not reveal any differences in anxiety between the groups and the body weight did not decrease at any time point during the study.
红外热成像已被提议作为一种评估动物福利的非侵入性客观工具。在本研究中，我们调查了：1）通过热成像测量的体温如何受到实验室小鼠经常经历的不同轻度应激源的影响；2）用于通过红外热成像评估温度变化的方法；3）所选应激源是否会引起小鼠焦虑。80只C57BL/6雄性小鼠被纳入研究。小鼠被分配到对照组或三个组中的一组，每天接受一次轻度应激源，持续4天：1）用异氟烷麻醉10分钟；2）抓颈处理；3）腹腔注射0.2毫升0.9%生理盐水。在所有四个干预日，对所有组的小鼠获取热图像，并评估所有动物的皮毛状况和体重。在第五天，所有动物在高架十字迷宫中测试5分钟。从热图像中，获取最高眼温、最高尾根温及平均体温。用异氟烷麻醉10分钟导致最高眼温、平均体温和最高尾根温下降。动物在10分钟内从体温下降中恢复。抓颈处理或腹腔注射生理盐水后未见体温下降。基于缺失值的数量、评分者内和评分者间的一致性，发现平均体温最适合测量小鼠的体温变化。最后，高架十字迷宫未显示各组之间在焦虑方面有任何差异，且在研究期间的任何时间点体重均未下降。
