Abstract
Endothermic organisms rely on tightly balanced energy budgets to maintain a regulated body temperature and body mass. Metabolic phenotyping of mice, therefore, often includes the recording of body temperature. Thermometry in mice is conducted at various sites, using various devices and measurement practices, ranging from single-time probing to continuous temperature imaging. Whilst there is broad agreement that body temperature data is of value, procedural considerations of body temperature measurements in the context of metabolic phenotyping are missing. Here, we provide an overview of the various methods currently available for gathering body temperature data from mice. We explore the scope and limitations of thermometry in mice, with the hope of assisting researchers in the selection of appropriate approaches, and conditions, for comprehensive mouse phenotypic analyses.
Highlights
Precise phenotyping of mice strains and genetically modified mice has become increasingly important for revealing correlations and inferring causality amongst specific physiological pathways
Temperature of the hairy or shaved skin covering the inter-scapular brown adipose tissue can be used as a measure of BAT thermogenesis
IR thermography of a mouse tail provides information about the vasomotor tone of the tail vasculature, whereas colonic thermometry produces a value of deep body temperature
Summary
Rectal probing is subject to procedural bias This method is suitable for first-line phenotyping, provided probe depth and measurement duration are standardized. It is useful for detecting individuals with out-of-range body temperatures (during hypothermia, torpor). IR imaging of the skin is useful for detecting heat leaks and autonomous thermoregulatory alterations, but it does not measure body temperature. Temperature of the hairy or shaved skin covering the inter-scapular brown adipose tissue can be used as a measure of BAT thermogenesis. Obtaining such measurements of sufficient quality is very difficult, and interpreting them can be tricky. Combining core body temperature measurements with metabolic rate measurements yields insights into the interplay between heat production and heat loss (thermal conductance), potentially revealing novel thermoregulatory phenotypes
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