Standardization of the Whitten Effect to induce susceptibility to Neisseria gonorrhoeae in female mice.
Standardization of the Whitten Effect to induce susceptibility to Neisseria gonorrhoeae in female mice.
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发表时间：
2001-03
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通讯作者：
S. Dalal;J. S. Estep;I. Valentin-Bon;A. Jerse
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作者：
S. Dalal;J. S. Estep;I. Valentin-Bon;A. Jerse
雌性小鼠（Mus musculus）经常用于研究对感染性微生物的易感性或对药物制剂的反应的生殖相关差异。然而，一组小鼠内激素水平的周期性变化对此类研究的实验设计提出了挑战，因为在治疗时通常难以获得足够数量的处于发情周期所需阶段的小鼠。这项工作的目的是为研究人员提供通过暴露于雄性尿液（惠滕效应）诱导小鼠动情的标准化方案。此外，我们还展示了Whitten效应如何用于诱导小鼠对淋病奈瑟菌感染的易感性。雌性BALB/c小鼠通过弄脏的垫料暴露于雄性尿液0、24、48、72或96 h。通过阴道涂片细胞学检查和使用非放射性免疫测定试剂盒测量血清17-B雌二醇水平，监测暴露对生殖周期的影响。在一项单独的实验中，在阴道内接种淋病奈瑟菌之前，将小鼠暴露于雄性尿液浸泡的垫料0、24、72或96 h。通过使用阴道培养连续5天监测感染。我们发现，在发情期的小鼠中，暴露于雄性尿液浸泡的垫料96小时的小鼠比例最高。与这一发现相一致的是，小鼠在暴露于雄性尿液3至4天后更容易感染淋球菌。我们的结论是，利用这种自然的小鼠行为反应是一种简单而廉价的方法，通过这种方法，可以在一组小鼠中在规定的时间内同步发情。此外，该方案可用于增加小鼠对实验性淋球菌感染的易感性。
Female mice (Mus musculus) frequently are used to study hormonally related differences in susceptibility to infectious organisms or response to pharmaceutical agents. Cyclical variation in hormone levels within a group of mice, however, challenges the experimental design of such studies in that it is often difficult to obtain sufficient numbers of mice in the desired phase of the estrous cycle at the time of treatment. The purpose of this work is to provide investigators with a standardized protocol for inducing estrus in mice through exposure to male urine (Whitten Effect). In addition, we demonstrate how the Whitten Effect can be used to induce susceptibility of mice to Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection. Female BALB/c mice were exposed to male urine via soiled bedding for 0, 24, 48, 72, or 96 h. The effect of exposure on the reproductive cycle was monitored by cytologic examination of vaginal smears and measurement of serum 17-b estradiol levels by using a nonradioactive immunoassay kit. In a separate experiment, mice were exposed to male-urine-soaked bedding for 0, 24, 72, or 96 h prior to intravaginal inoculation with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Infection was monitored by using vaginal culture for 5 consecutive days. We found that the highest percentage of mice in estrus occurred among mice that were exposed to male-urine-soaked bedding for 96 h. Consistent with this finding was the demonstration that mice were more susceptible to gonococcal infection after exposure to male urine for 3 to 4 days. We conclude that exploitation of this natural murine behavioral response is a simple and inexpensive method by which estrus can be synchronized in a group of mice within a defined period of time. In addition, this protocol can be used to increase mouse susceptibility to experimental gonococcal infection.