Cargando…

Effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a C57BL/6J mouse colony

Non-aversive handling is a well-documented refinement measure for improving rodent welfare. Because maternal stress is related to reduced productivity, we hypothesized that welfare benefits associated with non-aversive handling would translate to higher production and fewer litters lost in a laborat...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hull, Margaret A., Reynolds, Penny S., Nunamaker, Elizabeth A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8797240/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35089969
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263192
_version_ 1784641503616827392
author Hull, Margaret A.
Reynolds, Penny S.
Nunamaker, Elizabeth A.
author_facet Hull, Margaret A.
Reynolds, Penny S.
Nunamaker, Elizabeth A.
author_sort Hull, Margaret A.
collection PubMed
description Non-aversive handling is a well-documented refinement measure for improving rodent welfare. Because maternal stress is related to reduced productivity, we hypothesized that welfare benefits associated with non-aversive handling would translate to higher production and fewer litters lost in a laboratory mouse breeding colony. We performed a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a standard method of handling (tail-lift with forceps) versus non-aversive handling with transfer tunnels (‘tunnel-handled’) on breeding performance in 59 C57BL/6J mouse pairs. Intervention assignments could not be concealed from technicians, but were concealed from assessors and data analyst. An operationally significant effect of tunnel-handling (large enough differences to warrant programmatic change) was defined before study initiation as a 5% increase in productivity, or one extra pup over the reproductive lifetime of each pair. Pairs were randomly allocated to handling intervention and cage rack location, and monitored over an entire 6-month breeding cycle. For each group, we measured number of pups born and weaned, and number of entire litters lost prior to weaning. Differences between transfer methods were estimated by two-level hierarchical mixed models adjusted for parental effects and parity. Compared to tail-lift mice, tunnel-handled mice averaged one extra pup per pair born (+1.0; 95% CI 0.9, 1.1; P = 0.41) and weaned (+1.1, 95% CI 0.9, 1.2; P = 0.33). More tunnel-handled pairs successfully weaned all litters produced (13/29 pairs, 45% vs 4/30 pairs, 13%; P = 0.015), averaged fewer litter losses prior to weaning (11/29 pairs [38%] vs 26/30 pairs [87%]; P <0.001), and had a 20% lower risk of recurrent litter loss. The increase in numbers of pups produced and weaned with tunnel handling met threshold requirement for operational significance. These data and projected cost savings persuaded management to incorporate tunnel handling as standard of care across the institution. These data also suggest that overlooked husbandry practices such as cage transfer may be major confounders in studies of mouse models.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8797240
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-87972402022-01-29 Effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a C57BL/6J mouse colony Hull, Margaret A. Reynolds, Penny S. Nunamaker, Elizabeth A. PLoS One Research Article Non-aversive handling is a well-documented refinement measure for improving rodent welfare. Because maternal stress is related to reduced productivity, we hypothesized that welfare benefits associated with non-aversive handling would translate to higher production and fewer litters lost in a laboratory mouse breeding colony. We performed a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a standard method of handling (tail-lift with forceps) versus non-aversive handling with transfer tunnels (‘tunnel-handled’) on breeding performance in 59 C57BL/6J mouse pairs. Intervention assignments could not be concealed from technicians, but were concealed from assessors and data analyst. An operationally significant effect of tunnel-handling (large enough differences to warrant programmatic change) was defined before study initiation as a 5% increase in productivity, or one extra pup over the reproductive lifetime of each pair. Pairs were randomly allocated to handling intervention and cage rack location, and monitored over an entire 6-month breeding cycle. For each group, we measured number of pups born and weaned, and number of entire litters lost prior to weaning. Differences between transfer methods were estimated by two-level hierarchical mixed models adjusted for parental effects and parity. Compared to tail-lift mice, tunnel-handled mice averaged one extra pup per pair born (+1.0; 95% CI 0.9, 1.1; P = 0.41) and weaned (+1.1, 95% CI 0.9, 1.2; P = 0.33). More tunnel-handled pairs successfully weaned all litters produced (13/29 pairs, 45% vs 4/30 pairs, 13%; P = 0.015), averaged fewer litter losses prior to weaning (11/29 pairs [38%] vs 26/30 pairs [87%]; P <0.001), and had a 20% lower risk of recurrent litter loss. The increase in numbers of pups produced and weaned with tunnel handling met threshold requirement for operational significance. These data and projected cost savings persuaded management to incorporate tunnel handling as standard of care across the institution. These data also suggest that overlooked husbandry practices such as cage transfer may be major confounders in studies of mouse models. Public Library of Science 2022-01-28 /pmc/articles/PMC8797240/ /pubmed/35089969 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263192 Text en © 2022 Hull et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Hull, Margaret A.
Reynolds, Penny S.
Nunamaker, Elizabeth A.
Effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a C57BL/6J mouse colony
title Effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a C57BL/6J mouse colony
title_full Effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a C57BL/6J mouse colony
title_fullStr Effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a C57BL/6J mouse colony
title_full_unstemmed Effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a C57BL/6J mouse colony
title_short Effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a C57BL/6J mouse colony
title_sort effects of non-aversive versus tail-lift handling on breeding productivity in a c57bl/6j mouse colony
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8797240/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35089969
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263192
work_keys_str_mv AT hullmargareta effectsofnonaversiveversustaillifthandlingonbreedingproductivityinac57bl6jmousecolony
AT reynoldspennys effectsofnonaversiveversustaillifthandlingonbreedingproductivityinac57bl6jmousecolony
AT nunamakerelizabetha effectsofnonaversiveversustaillifthandlingonbreedingproductivityinac57bl6jmousecolony