title: Differences in nociceptive behavioral performance between C57BL/6J, 129S6/SvEv, B6 129 F1 and NMRI mice.
abstract: The interpretation of knockout and transgenic mouse studies in pain research critically depends on detailed knowledge of the performance profile of the background strains. Pain-related behavior was compared between four relevant mouse strains (C57BL/6J, 129S6/SvEv, B6 129 F1 and NMRI mice of both sexes) using an extended test battery that included an unusual variety of assays for thermal and mechanical acute nociception, and inflammatory and neuropathic pain. Strain- and gender-dependent differences were demonstrated in many of these nociceptive assays. Particularly, C57BL and 129 mice, which serve as the default genetic backgrounds for experiments in genetically altered mice, display quite different patterns of nociceptive performance. Compared to C57BL/6J mice, 129S6/SvEv animals are less sensitive to inflammatory pain conditions (thermal sensitivity after carrageenan subplantar injection; flinch behavior after formalin injection), while the opposite is observed in the neuropathic pain condition and the visceral pain model. These data may be of special interest for genetic studies, where issues related to the background phenotype may confound their interpretation.
authors.affiliation: Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Turnhoutseweg 30, B-2340 Beerse, Belgium. sleo@prdbe.jnj.com
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leo
authors.forename: Roel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Straetemans
authors.forename: Rudi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: D'Hooge
authors.forename: Theo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009619:Nociceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D010146:Pain / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity