title: Mouse housing system using pressurized cages intraventilated by direct-current microfans.
abstract: We performed the initial assessment of an alternative pressurized intraventilated (PIV) caging system for laboratory mice that uses direct-current microfans to achieve cage pressurization and ventilation. Twenty-nine pairs of female SPF BALB/c mice were used, with 19 experimental pairs kept in PIV cages and 10 control pairs kept in regular filter-top (FT) cages. Both groups were housed in a standard housing room with a conventional atmospheric control system. For both systems, intracage temperatures were in equilibrium with ambient room temperature. PIV cages showed a significant difference in pressure between days 1 and 8. Air speed (and consequently airflow rate) and the number of air changes hourly in the PIV cages showed decreasing trends. In both systems, ammonia concentrations increased with time, with significant differences between groups starting on day 1. Overall, the data revealed that intracage pressurization and ventilation by using microfans is a simple, reliable system, with low cost, maintenance requirements, and incidence of failures. Further experiments are needed to determine the potential influence of this system on the reproductive performance and pulmonary integrity in mice.
authors: Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. martinewski@gmail.com
authors: Alexandre
authors: A
authors: Martinewski
authors: Caio S C
authors: CS
authors: Correia
authors: Nívea L
authors: NL
authors: de Souza
authors: José L B
authors: JL
authors: Merusse
mesh_terms: D000392:Air Movements; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011312:Pressure; D014691:Ventilation