Institute for Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Germany.
preclinics, Potsdam, Germany.
Lab Anim. 2020 Feb;54(1):63-72. doi: 10.1177/0023677219879455. Epub 2019 Nov 1.
Voluntary wheel running (VWR) behaviour is a sensitive indicator of disturbed wellbeing and used for the assessment of individual experimental severity levels in laboratory mice. However, monitoring individual VWR performance usually requires single housing, which itself might have a negative effect on wellbeing. In consideration of the 3Rs principle, VWR behaviour was evaluated under group-housing conditions. To test the applicability for severity assessment, this readout was evaluated in a dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) induced colitis model. For continuous monitoring, an automated system with integrated radio-frequency identification technology was used, enabling detection of individual VWR. After a 14-day adaptation period mice demonstrated a stable running performance. Analysis during DSS treatment in combination with repeated facial vein phlebotomy and faecal sampling procedure resulted in significantly reduced VWR behaviour during the course of colitis and increased VWR during disease recovery. Mice submitted to phlebotomy and faecal sampling but no DSS treatment showed less reduced VWR but a longer-lasting recovery. Application of a cluster model discriminating individual severity levels based on VWR and body weight data revealed the highest severity level in most of the DSS-treated mice on day 7, but a considerable number of control mice also showed elevated severity levels due to sampling procedures alone. In summary, VWR sensitively indicated the course of DSS colitis severity and the impact of sample collection. Therefore, monitoring of VWR is a suitable method for the detection of disturbed wellbeing due to DSS colitis and sampling procedure in group-housed female laboratory mice.
自愿转轮运动（VWR）行为是一种敏感的健康状况指标，用于评估实验室中小鼠的个体实验严重程度。然而，监测个体 VWR 表现通常需要单独饲养，这本身可能对健康产生负面影响。考虑到 3R 原则，在群体饲养条件下评估了 VWR 行为。为了测试其在严重程度评估中的适用性，在葡聚糖硫酸钠（DSS）诱导的结肠炎模型中评估了这种检测方法。为了进行连续监测，使用了带有集成射频识别技术的自动化系统，能够检测个体的 VWR。在 14 天的适应期后，小鼠表现出稳定的跑步性能。在 DSS 治疗期间进行分析，并结合反复的面部静脉采血和粪便采样程序，导致结肠炎过程中 VWR 行为显著减少，并在疾病恢复期间 VWR 增加。接受采血和粪便采样但未接受 DSS 治疗的小鼠表现出较少的 VWR 减少，但恢复时间更长。应用基于 VWR 和体重数据的聚类模型来区分个体严重程度水平，结果表明，在大多数接受 DSS 治疗的小鼠中，第 7 天达到了最高的严重程度水平，但由于采样程序本身，相当数量的对照小鼠也显示出升高的严重程度水平。总之，VWR 敏感地指示了 DSS 结肠炎严重程度的过程以及采样程序的影响。因此，监测 VWR 是一种适合检测由于 DSS 结肠炎和群体饲养雌性实验小鼠采样程序而导致的健康状况受损的方法。
