46379 - Laboratory Animals: Rats and Mice

Academic Year 2007/2008

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LS) in Animal Biotechnologies (cod. 0459)

Learning outcomes

to get basic knowledges about laboratory animals (rat, mouse), housing and general organization, main neurodegenerative models of deseases, behavioural tests

Course contents

1. introduction
•biomedical experiments
•in vivo, in vitro, ex vivo, bioinformatic models
•bioethical principles in animal experiments (3r)
2. housing:
•type
•sanitization
•identification
•standardization of housing procedures
•environmental variability
•rat and mouse housing
3. laboratory animals: rat and mouse
•origin
•inbred and outbred strains
•main strains and factory breeding
•light on-off rhythm and food/water conditions
•animal handling
animal welfare: behavioral homeostasis
•vital space and socialization
• stress and stereotypies
4. transgenic mice
•terminology
•strains
•breeding and housing
•introducing mutations
•genic characterization
•brinster’s growth hormone mouse, gfp transgenic mouse (nagy) and galanin-over-expressing mouse
•embryonic stem cells, construct preparation, transfection and selection
•chimeric founder
5. standardization of in vivo animal models
6. neurodegenerative diseases: animal models
•dementia: immunotoxin injection (192igg-saporine), tg2576
•parkinson disease: 6ohda pharmacological lesion
•ataxia: hcn1-/- mice
•experimental allergic encephalomyelitis as animal model of multiple sclerosis
7.behavioural tests to characterize neurodegenerative animal models
•morris water maze
•rotarod
•fear conditioning
•rotational behavior
•activity cage
•pain threshold to thermic and tactile stimulations in free-moving animal



Readings/Bibliography

• Sharp P.E., La Regina M.C., The Laboratory Rat, CRC Press, 1998
• Guidelines for the care and use of mammals in neurosciences and behavioral research, National Research Council of the National Academies, 2003
• Wolfensohn S., Lloyd M., Handbook of laboratpry animal managemenet and welfare, Blackwell Science, 2001

Teaching methods

lessons and inspection to dedicated laboratories, according to the Italian regulation

Assessment methods

oral examination

Teaching tools

power-point presentation; inspection to dedicated laboratories according to the Italian regulation

Office hours

See the website of Luciana Giardino