129-132
Are We Using the Most Appropriate Animals for Our Research and Are We Doing It for the Best Reasons?
by Axel Kornerup Hansen

Over the last 50 years there have been demands to increase the quality of animals used for research. The numbers of animals used for individual projects have in the same period decreased, while the efforts put on the single animal to secure the highest scientific output from it have increased. Basically this is a very important part of both “refinement” and “reduction”; those two of the three R’s which, it previously has been argued, were less in focus than the last R, ‘replacement’ (Nevalainen, 2005).

137-143
An Electrophysiological Experimental Study on the Spontaneous Sympathetic Nerve Activity in the Rostral Ventrolateral Medulla Oblongata
by Yasuo Mikami, Yasuhiko Kira, Taku Ogura, Shunzo Aramaki, Toshikazu Kubo

The sympathetic postganglionic nerve fibers, which are controlled by preganglionic fibers originating from specific nuclei in the medulla oblongata, and the thoracic and upper lumbar segments of the spinal cord, together with the local autoregulatory mechanisms and circulating hormones, directly influence the cardiovascular function. Recently, the studies on the sympathetic preganglionic fibers have remarkably progressed, and the anatomical (Strack et al., 1988), functional (Janig, 1985), and chemical (Krukoff, 1985) characteristics of the synaptic input have been clarified. However, the peripheral sympathetic nerve activities vary depending on the organs concerned (including the skin, muscle, or internal organs) as they have their own physiological characteristics (Janig and McLachlan, 1986) including the response pattern to the peripheral receptor stimulation. Many areas, including the histological and functional roles of the peripheral part, nerve centers, and central pathway of the circulatory system, are still unknown.
The peripheral sympathetic nerve activities in humans consist of the skin sympathetic activity (SSA) that controls the sweat glands / skin vasomotion, and the muscle sympathetic activity (MSA) that controls the vascular smooth muscles in the skeletal muscles, and each activity has different characteristics. SSA involving regulation of the body temperature and MSA involving regulation of the blood pressure can be separately recorded (Burke et al., 1977; Hagbarth et al., 1975; Vallbo et al., 1979; Wallin and Eckberg, 1982; Yatomi et al., 1989) from the sympathetic postganglionic efferent fibers by microneurography (Hagbarth et al., 1972).
By recording and comparing the action patterns and responses to stimulations of the premotor nuclei, along with other vital rhythms, we hoped to clarify the complex mechanism of the sympathetic nerve activities and to contribute in the treatment of disorders resulting from sympathetic dysfunction. We also report our findings on the premotor nuclei that produce sympathetic preganglionic fiber activities by using topographic mapping analysis of the changes in the central action potentials in the rostral ventrolateral medulla oblongata (RVLM) region to visually capture the complicated action patterns to compare the cross correlations with MSA and SSA using microneurography and ECG.

149-158
Bone Composition in Male and Female Göttingen Minipigs Fed Variously Restrictedly and Near ad Libitum
by P. J. A. Bollen, A. G. Lemmens, A. C. Beynen, O. Meyer and J. Ritskes-Hoitinga

The current study evaluated the influence of restricted feeding at low and medium levels versus near ad libitum food intake, on the growth and bone development in male and female Göttingen minipigs aged 8 to 43 weeks fed two different types of diets. Diet 1 was a low fat, high fibre diet, whereas diet 2 was a high fat, low fibre diet. A higher level of feed intake led to a significant increase in the following parameters: body weight development, bone size (length and width of rib and femur), bone volume (rib), bone (rib) dry matter and ash content (mg), as well as bone density (femur) as measured by X-ray absorption. Diet 2 gave a significantly higher body weight, bone volume and bone density of the femur shaft (cortical bone density) as compared to diet 1, whereas feed conversion was significantly lower on diet 2. On either diet, female minipigs had a significantly higher body weight development, bone volume, and dry matter and ash content of the rib (mg) as compared to males. Also bone mineral concentrations in the femur, expressed as calcium, phosphorus and magnesium in mg/cm3, were significantly higher in females as compared to males, as was the Ca:Pi ratio. Bone density measurements of the femur’s proximal and distal segment, and total femur bone density (g/cm2) were significantly higher in females as compared to males. Feed conversion in females was significantly lower than in males. This study illustrates that female and male minipigs show distinct differences in body and bone metabolism. Bone densities, in contrast to bone mineral concentrations, were related to the level of feed restriction and may therefore be useful biomarkers to study the influence of nutrient intake on bone metabolism in Göttingen minipigs.

163-169
Immunospecific Antibody Concentration in Egg Yolk of Chickens Orally Immunised with Varying Doses of Bovine Serum Albumin and the Mucosal Adjuvant, RhinoVax®, using Different Immunization Regimes
by S. Mayo, F. Royo, M. Tufvesson, H-E Carlsson & J. Hau

Antibody harvested from eggs of immunised chickens, IgY, has proven to be a non-invasive alternative to antibodies purified from serum of mammals. Taking the non-invasive concept further, the development of oral immunization techniques combined with IgY harvest from chicken eggs may subsequently eliminate all regulated procedures from polyclonal antibody production. In the present study, we report the effects of varying the temporal administration mode of the antigen (immunogen) comparing dosing on three consecutive days with dosing on five consecutive days, and of incorporating a mucosal adjuvant. Two antigen doses were compared: 30 mg bovine serum albumin (BSA) and 300 mg BSA, with and without the mucosal adjuvant, RhinoVax®, administered to laying chickens. The egg yolk of chickens dosed with BSA in combination with 20% RhinoVax®, contained significantly higher concentrations of immunospecific IgY than did egg yolks of chickens fed with BSA without adjuvant. The most efficient dose in the RhinoVax®-treated groups was 300 mg BSA regardless of whether the chickens were initially immunised daily for three or five days. A 3-day dosing regime with BSA alone also induced immunospecific IgY production. This study confirms that RhinoVax® is an efficient oral adjuvant. It also demonstrates the efficacy of daily immunizations on three or five consecutive days on immunospecific IgY production. The chickens received oral booster immunizations one and two months after the initial immunization. No real effect could be recorded after the second and third immunization, although the study did provide some evidence of memory based on an optimum IgY concentration recorded after the 2nd immunization.

175-182
A Transgenic Mouse Model for DNA/RNA Gene Therapy of Human β Thalassemia
by Li Lu, Bing Huang, XiGu Chen, XiangCai Wei, GuoZhu Yang, Yun Ma, XinYan Deng, GuangHui Cui, Nan Gao & Zhan Peng

The βIVS-2-654 C-T mutation accounts for approximately 20% of β thalassemia mutation in southern China; it causes aberrant RNA splicing and leads to β thalassemia. To provide an animal model for testing therapies for correcting splicing defects, we have produced two lines of transgenic mice with the human β thalassemia mutant gene. The transgenic mice carrying this mutant gene show the same aberrant splicing as their human counterparts and provide an animal model for testing therapies to correct splicing defects at either the RNA or DNA level.

187-189
Minutes 2006

193-194
Meetings 2006