Significant weight loss in mice (Mus musculus) is a welfare concern and can alter physiology and behavior in ways that may confound research aims. In this study, factorial design was used to investigate the effect of enterally administered capromorelin on changes in mouse body weight overall and with various research-related interventions, such as administration of analgesics, anesthesia, or surgery. BALB/c mice (n = 61 [27 males/34 females] for analysis) were randomized into 8 intervention-treatment groups with 2 treatment allocations: capromorelin (10 mg/kg) or control, and 4 intervention allocations: no intervention; buprenorphine extended-release (XR) alone; buprenorphine XR, meloxicam, and anesthesia; or surgery under anesthesia with buprenorphine XR, meloxicam, and bupivacaine administered. Mice were habituated to handling, weighing, and voluntary consumption of condensed milk, which was used as the control solution and later a vehicle for capromorelin delivery, for 5 d (days 0 to 4). Then, mice received their interventions followed by 3 days of daily treatment or control administration (days 7 to 9). Body weights were measured daily (days 8 to 11 and day 14) to compare with baseline weights (days 0 to 4 and day 7) and evaluate for treatment and intervention effects on body weight. The interventions resulted in a decrease in group body weights 3 and 4 d after the interventions were conducted. Overall, body weights increased more in mice given capromorelin compared with control, and mice treated with capromorelin returned to, or exceeded, baseline weights faster. The weight loss was mitigated by capromorelin administration in all interventions except for the buprenorphine XR-only group. It is recommended to clinically consider enterally administered capromorelin to mitigate research-induced weight loss in mice.
Investigating the Effect of Enterally Administered Capromorelin on Body Weight in Mice (Mus musculus).
Elizabeth M Punger,Sarah L W Norris,Stephen C Stevens,Kacee H Santos,Amanda C Christy
Published 2024 in Comparative medicine
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
2024
- Venue
Comparative medicine
- Publication date
2024-07-18
- Fields of study
Biology, Medicine
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar, PubMed
CITATION MAP
EXTRACTION MAP
CLAIMS
- No claims are published for this paper.
CONCEPTS
- No concepts are published for this paper.
REFERENCES
Showing 1-41 of 41 references · Page 1 of 1
CITED BY
Showing 1-2 of 2 citing papers · Page 1 of 1