What investigators need to know about the use of animals.

Investigators conducting research with animal subjects have an ethical and legal responsibility to ensure they are treated humanely. The system of animal research oversight in the United States consists of a framework of federal, state, local, and institutional requirements. Institutions supported by the Public Health Service (PHS) are required to follow the guidelines mandated by the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and establish institutional animal care and use committees (IACUC) to oversee animal research activities. This system of self-monitoring at the local level is central to assuring an effective and compliant animal care and use program. Integral to this system is the responsibility of the investigator for the stewardship of their research animal subjects. No activities may be conducted without IACUC approval. Investigators are accountable for all aspects of their animal research activities from preparing their funding applications and complying with the terms and conditions of awards to protecting the investment in research with animals. This review acts as a succinct resource and provides references for investigators supported by the PHS to understand the main expectations and requirements when using animals in research.

Chronic itch development in sensory neurons requires BRAF signaling pathways.

Chronic itch, or pruritus, is associated with a wide range of skin abnormalities. The mechanisms responsible for chronic itch induction and persistence remain unclear. We developed a mouse model in which a constitutively active form of the serine/threonine kinase BRAF was expressed in neurons gated by the sodium channel Nav1.8 (BRAF(Nav1.8) mice). We found that constitutive BRAF pathway activation in BRAF(Nav1.8) mice results in ectopic and enhanced expression of a cohort of itch-sensing genes, including gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) and MAS-related GPCR member A3 (MRGPRA3), in nociceptors expressing transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1). BRAF(Nav1.8) mice showed de novo neuronal responsiveness to pruritogens, enhanced pruriceptor excitability, and heightened evoked and spontaneous scratching behavior. GRP receptor expression was increased in the spinal cord, indicating augmented coding capacity for itch subsequent to amplified pruriceptive inputs. Enhanced GRP expression and sustained ERK phosphorylation were observed in sensory neurons of mice with allergic contact dermatitis­ or dry skin­elicited itch; however, spinal ERK activation was not required for maintaining central sensitization of itch. Inhibition of either BRAF or GRP signaling attenuated itch sensation in chronic itch mouse models. These data uncover RAF/MEK/ERK signaling as a key regulator that confers a subset of nociceptors with pruriceptive properties to initiate and maintain long-lasting itch sensation.

Double homozygous waltzer and Ames waltzer mice provide no evidence of retinal degeneration.

PURPOSE: To determine whether cadherin 23 and protocadherin 15 can substitute for one another in the maintenance of the retina and other tissues in the mouse. Does homozygosity for both v and av mutant alleles (i.e., a double homozygous mouse) cause retinal degeneration or an obvious retinal histopathology? METHODS: We generated mice homozygous for both Cdh23(v-6J) and Pcdh15(av-Jfb) alleles. The retinal phenotypes of double heterozygous and double homozygous mutant mice were determined by light microscopy and electroretinography (ERG). Histology on 32 different tissues, scanning electron microscopy of organ of Corti hair cells as well as serum biochemical and hematological examinations were evaluated. RESULTS: ERG waves of double heterozygous and double homozygous mice showed similar shape, growth of the amplitude with intensity, and implicit time for both rod and cone pathway mediated responses. Mice homozygous for both Cdh23(v-6J) and Pcdh15(av-Jfb) mutations showed no sign of retinitis pigmentosa or photoreceptor degeneration but, as expected, were deaf and had disorganized hair cell sensory bundles. CONCLUSIONS: The simultaneous presence of homozygous mutant alleles of cadherin 23 and protocadherin 15 results only in deafness, not retinal degeneration or any other additional obvious phenotype of the major organ systems. We conclude that in the mouse cadherin 23 or protocadherin 15 appear not to compensate for one another to maintain the retina.

Factors contributing to obesity in bombesin receptor subtype-3-deficient mice.

Mice with a targeted disruption of bombesin receptor subtype-3 (BRS-3 KO) develop hyperphagia, obesity, hypertension, and impaired glucose metabolism. However, the factors contributing to their phenotype have not been clearly established. To determine whether their obesity is a result of increased food intake or a defect in energy regulation, we matched the caloric intake of BRS-3 KO mice to wild-type (WT) ad libitum (ad lib)-fed controls over 21 wk. Although BRS-3 KO ad lib-fed mice were 29% heavier, the body weights of BRS-3 KO pair-fed mice did not differ from WT ad lib-fed mice. Pair-feeding BRS-3 KO mice normalized plasma insulin but failed to completely reverse increased adiposity and leptin levels. Hyperphagia in ad lib-fed KO mice was due to an increase in meal size without a compensatory decrease in meal frequency resulting in an increase in total daily food intake. An examination of neuropeptide Y, proopiomelanocortin, and agouti-related peptide gene expression in the arcuate nucleus revealed that BRS-3 KO mice have some deficits in their response to energy regulatory signals. An evaluation of the satiety effects of cholecystokinin, bombesin, and gastrin-releasing peptide found no differences in feeding suppression by these peptides. We conclude that hyperphagia is a major factor leading to increased body weight and hyperinsulinemia in BRS-3 KO mice. However, our finding that pair-feeding did not completely normalize fat distribution and plasma leptin levels suggests there is also a metabolic dysregulation that may contribute to, or sustain, their obese phenotype.

Ames Waltzer deaf mice have reduced electroretinogram amplitudes and complex alternative splicing of Pcdh15 transcripts.

PURPOSE: Mutations of PCDH15, the gene encoding protocadherin 15, cause either nonsyndromic deafness DFNB23 or Usher syndrome type 1F (USH1F) in humans and deafness with balance problems in Ames waltzer (av) mice. Persons with USH1 usually begin to exhibit signs of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in early adolescence, but av mice are reported to have functional retinas. In this study, the auditory, visual and molecular biological phenotype of Pcdh15av-5J and Pcdh15av-Jfb mice is characterized, and their usefulness as animal models of USH1 is evaluated. METHODS: Hearing thresholds of mice between 6 and 10 weeks of age were measured by auditory brain stem response (ABR). Immunohistochemistry and histology were used to examine the effect of homozygosity of Pcdh15av-5J on stereocilia bundles of inner ear hair cells and on the photoreceptor cells of the retina. Scotopic and photopic Ganzfeld ERGs were recorded from homozygous Pcdh15av-5J and Pcdh15av-Jfb mice at different ages. Heterozygous littermates served as control subjects. Measurements of the width of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) and the length of rod photoreceptor outer segment (ROS) were made. RESULTS: Homozygous Pcdh15av-5J mice have profound hearing loss and disorganized stereocilia bundles of inner ear hair cells. Compared with heterozygous littermates, homozygous Pcdh15av-5J and Pcdh15av-Jfb mutant mice had scotopic ERG amplitudes consistently reduced by approximately 40% at all light intensities. The b-to-a-wave ratio confirmed that the a- and b-waves were reduced proportionally in homozygous mutant mice. Histologic measurements of retinal sections revealed no significant differences in either the ONL width or the ROS length as a function of genotype. The protocadherin 15 labeling pattern with antisera PB303 in the retina of both heterozygous and homozygous Pcdh15av-5J mice was indistinguishable from the wild type. Wild-type Pcdh15 have many alternatively spliced isoforms. A novel isoform was found in the retina of homozygous Pcdh15av-5J mice, which appears to circumvent the effect of the mutant allele (IVS14-2A-->G), which causes skipping of exon 14, a shift in the translation reading frame and a premature stop codon in exon 15. CONCLUSIONS: Pcdh15(av-5J) and Pcdh15(av-Jfb) mice do not faithfully mimic the RP found in USH1 due to mutations of PCDH15, but have significantly attenuated ERG function in the absence of histologic change. The decline in ERG amplitude with a preserved b-to-a-wave ratio suggests a role for Pcdh15 in retinal function and/or generation of the ERG potentials. Understanding the molecular mechanism by which av mice circumvent degeneration of the retina might offer insights into potential therapies for USH1.

A new spontaneous mutation in the mouse Ames waltzer gene, Pcdh15.

A recessive deafness mutation in the mouse arose spontaneously and was identified in a colony segregating a null allele of the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (Grpr) locus. Auditory-evoked brain stem response measurements revealed deafness in 7-week-old affected mice. By linkage analyses, the mutant phenotype was mapped near marker D10Mit186 and the protocadherin gene Pcdh15. As shown by complementation testing, the new mutation is allelic with Ames waltzer (Pcdh15(av)). Sequencing mutant-derived brain Pcdh15 cDNAs identified the insertion of a cytosine residue at nucleotide position c2099 (2099insC), which results in a frame-shift and premature stop codon. Abnormal stereocilia on inner and outer hair cells of the organ of Corti were identified by scanning electron microscopy as early as postnatal day 0 and cross-sectional histology revealed severe neuroepithelial degeneration in cochleas of 30-50-day-old mutants. The new allele of Ames waltzer, designated Pcdh15(av-Jfb), may aid in studying the histopathology associated with Usher syndrome type 1F, which is caused by a functional null allele of PCDH15.

Dominant and recessive deafness caused by mutations of a novel gene, TMC1, required for cochlear hair-cell function.

Positional cloning of hereditary deafness genes is a direct approach to identify molecules and mechanisms underlying auditory function. Here we report a locus for dominant deafness, DFNA36, which maps to human chromosome 9q13-21 in a region overlapping the DFNB7/B11 locus for recessive deafness. We identified eight mutations in a new gene, transmembrane cochlear-expressed gene 1 (TMC1), in a DFNA36 family and eleven DFNB7/B11 families. We detected a 1.6-kb genomic deletion encompassing exon 14 of Tmc1 in the recessive deafness (dn) mouse mutant, which lacks auditory responses and has hair-cell degeneration. TMC1 and TMC2 on chromosome 20p13 are members of a gene family predicted to encode transmembrane proteins. Tmc1 mRNA is expressed in hair cells of the postnatal mouse cochlea and vestibular end organs and is required for normal function of cochlear hair cells.

Identification of a signaling network in lateral nucleus of amygdala important for inhibiting memory specifically related to learned fear.

We identified the Grp gene, encoding gastrin-releasing peptide, as being highly expressed both in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala, the nucleus where associations for Pavlovian learned fear are formed, and in the regions that convey fearful auditory information to the lateral nucleus. Moreover, we found that GRP receptor (GRPR) is expressed in GABAergic interneurons of the lateral nucleus. GRP excites these interneurons and increases their inhibition of principal neurons. GRPR-deficient mice showed decreased inhibition of principal neurons by the interneurons, enhanced long-term potentiation (LTP), and greater and more persistent long-term fear memory. By contrast, these mice performed normally in hippocampus-dependent Morris maze. These experiments provide genetic evidence that GRP and its neural circuitry operate as a negative feedback regulating fear and establish a causal relationship between Grpr gene expression, LTP, and amygdala-dependent memory for fear.