Gnotobiotic Mouse Technology

The popularity of germ-free animal models, particularly mice, for investigation of human physiology and disease has recently exploded. Gnotobiotic Mouse Technology: An Illustrated Guide provides the first manual for the maintenance, husbandry, and experimental manipulation of germ-free and gnotobiotic mice. It includes information on all aspects of establishing and operating a germ-free mouse research facility, from basic principles and equipment to detailed instructions for assembling and maintaining isolators, sterilizing supplies, handling animals, and monitoring sterility. The book breaks down techniques and procedures into modules, each of which contains a step-by-step practical and visual guide to a set of related procedures. Each description consists of a materials list, introduction, and general overview, followed by a thoroughly illustrated walkthrough of the steps for each procedure. The descriptions end with troubleshooting tips. Technical chapters are heavily illustrated and include notations of potential pitfalls and alternatives. Other chapters discuss management procedures and practices such as the hiring and training of personnel, setting fee schedules, and record keeping. This book is a landmark resource for establishing and maintaining a facility for germ-free mouse research. Useful to both technicians and investigators, it presents every step necessary to establish a successful facility. It also gives direction in expanding multi-user facilities and applying new technologies to your current practices.

Gnotobiotics summarizes and analyzes the research conducted on the use of gnotobiotes, providing detailed information regarding actual facility operation and derivation of gnotobiotic animals. In response to the development of new tools for microbiota and microbiome analysis, the increasing recognition of the various roles of microbiota in health and disease, and the consequent expanding demand for gnotobiotic animals for microbiota/microbiome related research, this volume collates the research of this expanding field into one definitive resource. Reviews and defines gnotobiotic animal species Analyzes microbiota in numerous contexts Presents detailed coverage of the protocols and operation of a gnotobiotic facility

Normative Biology, Husbandry, and Models, the third volume in the four volume set, The Mouse in Biomedical Research, encompasses 23 chapters whose contents provide a broad overview on the laboratory mouse’s normative biology, husbandry, and its use as a model in biomedical research. This consists of chapters on behavior, physiology, reproductive physiology, anatomy, endocrinology, hematology, and clinical chemistry. Other chapters cover management, as well as nutrition, gnotobiotics and disease surveillance. There are also individual chapters describing the mouse as a model for the study of aging, eye research, neurodegenerative diseases, convulsive disorders, diabetes, and cardiovascular and skin diseases. Chapters on imaging techniques and the use of the mouse in assays of biological products are also included.

The Mouse in Biomedical Research, Volume III: Normative Biology, Immunology, and Husbandry focuses on the normative biology, immunology, and husbandry of laboratory mice. Topics covered range from gnotobiotics and gastrointestinal microflora to animal health surveillance and health delivery systems, along with environmental monitoring. The management and design of breeding and research facilities are also discussed. Comprised of 18 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of studies involving gnotobiotic mice, the induction of gnotobiosis, and microbiological testing of gnotobiotic animals. Maintenance of breeding colonies of gnotobiotic animals is also considered, together with the shipment of gnotobiotes and laboratory facilities for using gnotobiotes. The reader is then introduced to management and design of breeding and research facilities for gnotobiotic mice; practical factors associated with providing adequate nutrition for laboratory mice; and environmental and equipment monitoring. Subsequent chapters deal with the basic biology of the mouse, including anatomy, embryology, reproductive physiology, physiology, endocrinology, hematology, clinical biochemistry, and gastrointestinal microflora. The book also examines immunoglobulins and immunoglobulin genes; lymphocyte immunogenetics; immune response disorders; and biomethodology and surgical techniques. This monograph will be useful to biologists, immunologists, researchers, and others those who use mice in the laboratory or are concerned with the production and maintenance of colonies of mice.

Germfree Research: Biological Effect of Gnotobiotic Environments is an account of the Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Germfree Research. The volume comprises of 12 sections and 97 chapters. The first two sections serve as introduction to the status of germfree research as an approach to micro-ecology and gnotobiotic technology in clinical medicine. Another aspect discussed in the book deals with nutrition, metabolism, and microbiology. The last section provides a thorough and detailed discussion on gnotobiotic technology. Large part of the book focuses on gnotobiotic environments and its different aspects. Topics discussed include gnotobiotic environment on isolated patients and in dentistry and parasitology, as well as carcinogenesis in and physiological effects of gnotobiotic environments. The book is a very valuable source of information for many students and professionals in the fields of clinical medicine, biology, microbiology, nutritional science, and biochemistry.

This book offers a summary and discussion of the advances of inflammation and infection in various cancers. The authors cover the classically known virus infections in cancer, novel roles of other pathogens (e.g. bacteria and fungi), as well as biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy. Further, the chapters highlight the progress of immune therapy, stem cells and the role of the microbiome in the pathophysiology of cancers. Readers will gain insights into complex microbial communities, that inhabit most external human surfaces and play a key role in health and disease. Perturbations of host-microbe interactions often lead to altered host responses that can promote cancer development. Thus, this book highlights emerging roles of the microbiome in pathogenesis of cancers and outcome of therapy. The focus is on mechanistic concepts that underlie the complex relationships between host and microbes. Approaches that can inhibit infection, suppress chronic inflammation and reverse the dysbiosis are discussed, as a means for restoring the balance between host and microbes. This comprehensive work will be beneficial to researchers and students interested in infectious diseases, microbiome, and cancer as well as clinicians and general physiologists.

The surface of the human body and its mucous membranes are heavily colonized by microorganisms. Our understanding of the contributions that complex microbial communities make to health and disease is advancing rapidly. Most microbiome research to date has focused on the mouse as a model organism for delineating the mechanisms that shape the assembly and dynamic operations of microbial communities. However, the mouse is not a perfect surrogate for studying different aspects of the microbiome and how it responds to various environmental and host stimuli, and as a result, researchers have been conducting microbiome studies in other animals. To examine the different animal models researchers employ in microbiome studies and to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each of these model organisms as they relate to human and nonhuman health and disease, the Roundtable on Science and Welfare in Laboratory Animal Use of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop in December 2016. The workshop participants explored how to improve the depth and breadth of analysis of microbial communities using various model organisms, the challenges of standardization and biological variability that are inherent in gnotobiotic animal-based research, the predictability and translatability of preclinical studies to humans, and strategies for expanding the infrastructure and tools for conducting studies in these types of models. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

The book provides an overview on how the gut microbiome contributes to human health. The readers will get profound knowledge on the connection between intestinal microbiota and immune defense systems. The tools of choice to study the ecology of these highly-specialized microorganism communities such as high-throughput sequencing and metagenomic mining will be presented. In addition the most common diseases associated to the composition of the gut flora are discussed in detail. The book will address researchers, clinicians and advanced students working in biomedicine, microbiology and immunology.