Abstract
This manuscript emerged from a larger third-party funded project investigating a new poly-trauma model and its influence upon secondary sepsis. The present sub-study compared selected leukocyte subpopulations in the circulation and bone marrow after polytrauma in BALB/c versus CD-1 mice. Animals underwent unilateral femur fracture, splenectomy and hemorrhagic shock. We collected blood and bone marrow for flow cytometry analysis at 24h and 48h post-trauma. Circulating granulocytes (Ly6G+CD11+) increased in both strains after trauma. Only in BALB/c mice circulating CD8+ T-lymphocytes decreased within 48h by 30%. Regulatory T-cells (Tregs, CD4+CD25+CD127low) increased in both strains by approx. 32%. Circulating Tregs and lymphocytes (CD11b-Ly6G-MHC-2+) were always at least 1.5-fold higher in BALB/c, while the bone marrow MHC-2 expression decreased in CD-1 mice (p<0.05). Overall, immune responses to polytrauma were similar in both strains. Additionally, BALB/c expressed higher level of circulating regulatory T-cells and MHC-2-positive lymphocytes compared to CD-1 mice.
Highlights
Each year, approximately 11 million laboratory animals are used in Europe [1]
We investigated whether the genetic hetero- and homogeneity of BALB/c vs. CD-1 mice subjected to polytrauma influenced subsequent immunological responses of selected leukocyte subpopulations in the circulating and bone marrow leukocyte compartment
BALB/c and CD-1 mice showed an increase of activated granulocytes (Ly6G+CD11b+) from 24h to 48h after trauma (p
Summary
Approximately 11 million laboratory animals are used in Europe [1]. Mice account for approximately 70% of all animals used in preclinical research including critical care medicine making them the most frequently used species [2]. Inbred strains such as BALB/c and C57BL/6 belong to the most frequently utilized [3]. The massive amount of genetic information available for inbred strains eases genetic manipulations and facilitates selection of mice with exact genetic characteristics desired for a defined experiment [5]. The importance of using genetically heterogeneous organisms in experiments has been stressed given that they better mimic the heterozygosity of the human population.
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