A new technique: serial puncture of the cisterna magna for obtaining cerebrospinal fluid in the mouse--application in a model of herpes simplex virus encephalitis.

This report describes a new technique for obtaining cerebrospinal fluid from the living mouse (SJL/NBom) in a model of herpes simplex virus encephalitis which is also applicable to other mouse models. The puncture technique was performed in living animals which had been infected with Herpes Simplex Virus Type I strain F in the living animal. The cisterna magna was micro-surgically prepared: The neck muscles were dissected microscopically down to the dura which subsequently was punctured by a glass micropipette. This newly developed minimally invasive technique was performed in a group of living animals (n = 20) and results compared with those of a second group of perfusion fixed animals (n = 20). For the first time, repeated cerebrospinal fluid punctures of individual, living animals are possible. This is of great value for the assessment of new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies in experimental research using mouse models. In addition, this refined methodology significantly reduces the number of experimental animals.