High tail-cuff blood pressure in mice 1 week after shipping: The need for longer acclimation

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20 Scopus citations

Abstract

BackgroundFor vendor-derived mice, an acclimation period of 1 week is usually recommended before blood pressure measurements are started. However, we observed hypertension in wild-type vendor-derived mice 1 week after shipping.MethodsThe index group (n = 12, BALB/c, age 3 months, weight 26-28g) was shipped overnight (by truck, duration 13h). Tail-cuff systolic blood pressures (SBPs) of the index group were compared to two control groups (n = 6/group), one acclimated for 3 weeks after shipping, and one derived from an in-house colony.ResultsOne week after shipping, SBP in the index group was 141±3mmHg. Because this was much higher than reported previously for this strain, acclimation was prolonged. Six weeks after shipping, SBP had fallen to 124±3mmHg (P< 0.005). During this time, heart rate also fell from 721±15 to 665±13bpm (P< 0.01). SBP in the two control groups was also lower than in the index group 1 week after shipping, including the group acclimated for 3 weeks (129± 3 vs. 141± 3mmHg, P< 0.05) and the in-house mice (124 ±3 vs. 141± 3mmHg, P< 0.005).ConclusionsVendor-derived mice are hypertensive 1 week after shipping, become normotensive after 3 weeks, but do not return to levels of in-house mice until after 6 weeks. Acclimation periods of at least 3 weeks are required when measuring blood pressure in mice.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)534-536
Number of pages3
JournalAmerican Journal of Hypertension
Volume24
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2011

Keywords

  • BALB/c mice
  • blood pressure
  • hypertension
  • noninvasive blood pressure measurements
  • shipping
  • tail-cuff
  • vendor

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine

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