Chakkingal Bhaskaran Bimal, Meyermans Roel, Gorssen Wim, Maes Gregory Erich, Janssens Steven, Buys Nadine
Center for Animal Breeding and Genetics, Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, Box 2472, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
Center for Human Genetics, Genomics Core, UZ-KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Feb 16;13(4):698. doi: 10.3390/ani13040698.
Animals used in research often have to be euthanised, especially when tissue sampling is essential. Recently, a euthanasia method, utilizing an inhalant anaesthetic 'nitrogen gas in foam' in an anoxia box (ANOXIA), has gained considerable interest as it claimed to be more animal-friendly. However, it is not clear whether the use of this euthanasia method has an influence on RNA measurements. Moreover, there are no studies on the interaction effect of different euthanasia methods on the tissue sample storage conditions. The current study compared RNA measurements from two euthanasia methods (ANOXIA vs. T-61 injection) and two storage conditions (RNA™ vs. snap freezing) in 12 male piglets. The nitrogen anoxia method had a significantly higher RNA yield ( < 0.01) compared to the T-61 method. However, no effect of the euthanasia methods on the A260/230 ratio and RIN value was observed. Tissues stored in RNA™ had significantly higher RIN values ( < 0.001) compared to snap frozen samples. The present study could not find a significant difference between the two euthanasia methods in piglets, with regard to RNA quality measurements. Hence, the nitrogen anoxia technique (ANOXIA) might be considered as a suitable alternative to T-61 for euthanasia of piglets used in research.
用于研究的动物常常不得不实施安乐死，尤其是在组织采样至关重要的时候。最近，一种安乐死方法，即在缺氧箱（ANOXIA）中使用吸入性麻醉剂“泡沫中的氮气”，因其声称对动物更友好而引起了广泛关注。然而，尚不清楚使用这种安乐死方法是否会对RNA测量产生影响。此外，关于不同安乐死方法对组织样本储存条件的相互作用影响尚无研究。本研究比较了12只雄性仔猪的两种安乐死方法（ANOXIA与T-61注射）和两种储存条件（RNA™与速冻）下的RNA测量结果。与T-61方法相比，氮气缺氧法的RNA产量显著更高（<0.01）。然而，未观察到安乐死方法对A260/230比值和RIN值有影响。与速冻样本相比，储存在RNA™中的组织RIN值显著更高（<0.001）。本研究未发现两种安乐死方法在仔猪RNA质量测量方面存在显著差异。因此，对于用于研究的仔猪安乐死，氮气缺氧技术（ANOXIA）可被视为T-61的合适替代方法。
