Abstract
It is now well accepted that exposure to adverse environmental conditions in utero can predispose a fetus to disease later in life. Using an avian model to study the programming of disease has a unique advantage as it allows isolation of the direct effects of adverse conditions on fetal physiology, without any confounding effects via the mother or placenta. However, experiments in avian models are limited by the lack of well-established surgical protocols for the adult bird, which we have established in this study. Surgery was performed on seven young adult Bovan Brown chickens (body weight 1617±214 g, mean±s.d.) in order to instrument them with femoral arterial and venous catheters and a femoral arterial flow probe. Isoflurane and lidocaine were both found to have depressive effects on chicken cardiovascular function. Optimised methods of anaesthesia, intraoperative monitoring, surgical approach, postoperative care, and experimentation are described. Chickens recovered rapidly from surgery without significant blood gas perturbation, and basal in vivo cardiovascular studies were performed following 5 days of recovery. These techniques allow detailed investigation of avian cardiometabolic function, permitting determination of the consequences in later life of direct environmental insults to fetal physiology, isolated from additional effects on maternal physiology and/or placental endocrinology.
Highlights
The mechanisms by which this occurs can involve a direct influence of adverse conditions on fetal development or, alternatively, fetal development may be affected secondary to changes in the maternal and/or placental physiology
Avian species are ideal for isolating the direct effects of adverse conditions on fetal development from any confounding effects via the mother or placenta, as the chicken embryo develops inside the egg completely independent of adverse maternal conditions
Anaesthesia caused a significant decrease in heart rate (Fig. 2a) as well as a significant reduction in mean arterial blood pressure (Fig. 2b), which was due to a reduction in diastolic pressure rather than systolic blood pressure (Fig. 2c and 2d)
Summary
The theory of a Developmental Origin of Health and Disease states that exposure to adverse environmental conditions (e.g. undernutrition, obesity, hypoxia or stress) during development can programme an increased risk of disease in the offspring later in life.[1,2,3] The mechanisms by which this occurs can involve a direct influence of adverse conditions on fetal development or, alternatively, fetal development may be affected secondary to changes in the maternal and/or placental physiology. Avian species are ideal for isolating the direct effects of adverse conditions on fetal development from any confounding effects via the mother or placenta, as the chicken embryo develops inside the egg completely independent of adverse maternal conditions. There are several other advantages of using avian species They have a comparatively short incubation period, meaning studies can be conducted quickly. The number of animals required is significantly reduced, thereby abiding strongly by the 3R principle, enshrined in the United Kingdom by the Home Office. Despite these advantages, surgical techniques, which are invaluable to study in vivo cardiovascular and metabolic function in the adult individual, are not well described for birds. The aim of this study was to establish a surgical protocol for in vivo cardiovascular investigation in the adult chicken
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