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Air puffs as refinement of electric shocks for stimulation during treadmill exercise test
Author(s) -
Lamy Sébastien,
Cartoni Cristina,
Bichat Arnaud,
Combe Roy,
Doenlen Raphael,
Warot Xavier
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.1014.5
Subject(s) - stimulation , treadmill , stimulus (psychology) , medicine , simulation , physical medicine and rehabilitation , psychology , endocrinology , physical therapy , computer science , psychotherapist
Endurance treadmill test is a convenient method for easily and systematically evaluate exercise performance and capacity in mice. Although mice are naturally prone to run, an aversive stimulation is required to force all animals to stay engaged in the test. This is typically achieved using mild electrical stimulation on a dedicated grid at the rear of the running belt. Another system replacing the electric stimulation by air puff was newly developed. This system seems to be an ethical evolution in regards of the 3R's principles since the electrical aversive stimulus is replaced by a less noxious stimulus. Exhaustive endurance protocol was used to compare the two different treadmill systems. This test consists to expose mice to a long lasting middle intensity exercise protocol until they reach exhaustion. In addition of the exercise performance readouts, the adaptive mechanisms established to supply fuel to skeletal muscle during exercise and stress were respectively assessed by the analysis of biochemical parameters and markers of stress produced by the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis. The results obtained for the exhaustive protocol are comparable in terms of behavioral and physiological parameters (e.g. running distance, running time and physiological decrease of triglycerides and hepatic glycogen level). Interestingly, corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels were similar between the two types of stimulation. These results demonstrate that air puff stimulation could be an interesting alternative for the replacement of the electric stimulation during an exhaustion protocol. However, the stress level does not seem to be reduced when using air puff stimulation. Support or Funding Information Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, School of Life Sciences, Center of PhenoGenomics