Safety assessment of allergic contact dermatitis hazards: an analysis supporting reduced animal use for the murine local lymph node assay.
The original Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Test Guideline 429 (OECD TG 429) for the murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) required five mice/group if mice were processed individually. We used data from 83 LLNA tests (275 treated groups) to determine the impact on the LLNA outcome of reducing the group size from five to four. From DPM measurements, we formed all possible four- and five-mice combinations for the treated and control groups. Stimulation index (SI) values from each four-mice combination were compared with those from five-mice combinations, and agreement (both SI<3 or both SI ≥ 3) determined. Average agreement between group sizes was 97.5% for the 275 treated groups. Compared test-by-test, 90% (75/83) of the tests had 100% agreement; agreement was 83% for the remaining eight tests. Disagreement was due primarily to variability in animal responses and closeness of the SI to three (positive response threshold) rather than to group size reduction. We conclude that using four rather than five mice per group would reduce animal use by 20% without adversely impacting LLNA performance. This analysis supported the recent update to OECD TG 429 allowing a minimum of four mice/group when each mouse is processed individually.
J.K. Haseman Consulting, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA.
Joseph K
JK
Haseman
Judy
J
Strickland
David
D
Allen
Eleni
E
Salicru
Michael
M
Paris
Raymond R
RR
Tice
William S
WS
Stokes
D000818:Animals; D017449:Dermatitis, Allergic Contact / Q000209:etiology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D007509:Irritants / Q000633:toxicity*; D023441:Local Lymph Node Assay; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018401:Sample Size
D007509:Irritants