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Housing environment alters delayed-type hypersensitivity and corticosterone concentrations of individually housed male C57BL/6 mice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

GN Neigh ,
SL Bowers ,
B Korman  and
RJ Nelson
GN Neigh*
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, and Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
SL Bowers
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, and Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
B Korman
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, and Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
RJ Nelson*
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, and Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
*
‡ Present address: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: rnelson@osu.edu
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Abstract

Housing conditions can alter both the physiology and behaviour of laboratory animals. Forced-air-ventilated micro-isolation systems increase the efficient use of space, decrease the incidence of disease among laboratory rodents, and provide better working conditions for animal care staff; however, such systems can increase breeding variability and mortality. We examined the possibility that stressors associated with automated housing conditions evoke subtle changes among immune, endocrine, and behavioural parameters in mice housed in a static versus a forced-air-ventilated micro-isolation system. In addition, we assessed the effects of housing in the forced-air-ventilated micro-isolation system both with and without the use of an automatic watering system. Housing in the forced-air-ventilated micro-isolation system, using the automatic watering system, suppressed delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses, a measure of cell mediated immune function, compared with the responses of mice housed in static cages. Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis function was also altered by housing in the forced-air-ventilated micro-isolation system with the use of the automatic watering system, such that mice in this housing system had lower resting corticosterone concentrations and increased reactivity to restraint. Despite these changes in corticosterone, housing condition did not alter activity level or exploratory, anxiety-like, or depressive-like behaviours. These results suggest that investigators should carefully consider housing conditions in studies of immune and endocrine function.

Keywords

animal welfarecorticosteroneDTHhousingmouserestraint
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , August 2005 , pp. 249 - 257
Copyright
© 2005 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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