Rodent Bedding technical info and Beddinig biblio[3] - University of ...

Whiteside, TE, Thigpen, JE et al. 2010. Endotoxin, Coliform and Dust Level in Various Types of Rodent Bedding. JAALAS 49:184-­‐189. -­‐Paper bedding types contained significantly less endotoxin than did other bedding types; the highest levels of endotoxin were detected in hardwood and corncob beddings. Coliform counts varied from less than 10 to 7591 cfu/g in corncob, less than 10 to 137 cfu/g in hardwood beddings, and less than 10 cfu/g in paper beddings. Average dust content was less than 0.15% in all commercial bedding types. Zahorsky-­‐Reeves, J , and Castellani, LW. 2010. Housing Mice on Corncob bedding versus Hardwood Chip may Confound Research Results. AALAS Scientific Session. -­‐A variety of bedding substrates are commercially available for use in research settings, including hardwood chip, corncob, and various paper-­‐based beddings. While several studies have been done to assess bedding preference in mice and bedding substrates evaluated as far as their effect on the cage microenvironment, little information can be found regarding bedding substrate effect on serum glucose levels and other indicators of metabolism. We compared the serum values of glucose and triglycerides in C57BL/6J mice (wildtype, WT) and mice transgenic for apolipoprotein A-­‐II (ApoAII, on a C57BL/6J background) housed on wood chip bedding versus those housed on corncob bedding after a 14-­‐h (overnight) fast. Both WT and transgenic mice showed significant differences in each serum value based on the type of bedding on which they were housed; those mice housed on corncob bedding showed increased blood glucose levels and decreased triglyceride levels versus those housed on wood chip bedding. This result demonstrates that bedding material, a variable not often considered in research, could have profound influence on the data for many studies of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, or metabolism. Zahorsky-­‐Reeves, J. 2011. The Choice of Bedding Substrate, Route of Blood collection, and Method of Glucose Determination All Affect Fasting Blood Glucose Levels in C57BL/6 Mice. AALAS Platform Session. -­‐This study compared 4 bedding substrates (corncob, paper, hardwood chip, and wire-­‐bottomed cage inserts) and 2 routes of blood collection(lateral tail vein and retroorbital sinus) in 6 male C57BL/6NCrl mice. Mice were maintained with ad libitum food and water on each bedding type for 1 wk, with at least 1 wk of rest on hardwood chip bedding in between sample collection. The night before blood sampling, the bedding was changed for fresh and food removed. Mice were anesthetized with isoflurane for all blood sampling. Blood was collected from bothanatomic locations on each mouse up to 5 times over a course of 4 mo. Samples collected from the retroorbital sinus were analyzed both by glucometer and by chemistry analyzer machine following collection into serum separator tubes. The blood obtained from the tail vein was analyzed for glucose by hand-­‐held glucometer only. Depending on the bedding provided, each mouse showed variability in the blood glucose values, even when the same bedding type was used at 2 different time points during the study. Significant differences in blood glucose were noted between the 2 collection routes on each testing day when analyzed by the hand-­‐held glucometer. Variations in glucose levels were also observed when blood obtained from the retroorbital sinus was analyzed using the hand-­‐held glucometer compared with the machine; these values were not significant across the group, but for some individual mice it approached a 20% difference or more at any one