Differences in susceptibility of mouse strains to tetrodotoxin.
The mouse bioassay for tetrodotoxin has been used for many years in Japan. To the best of our knowledge, however, there have only been a few reports that have specifically investigated differences in susceptibility to tetrodotoxin among mouse strains. In this study, we investigated the response of various mouse strains to tetrodotoxin. Tetrodotoxin solution was injected intraperitoneally into male mice of 5 inbred strains (A/J, BALB/c, C3H/He, C57BL/6, and DBA/2) and male and female mice of 2 non-inbred strains (ddY and ICR). Significant differences in susceptibility to tetrodotoxin were found among the mouse strains tested. In comparison to the ddY male mice, which are designated to be used in the Japanese reference method, the 5 inbred strains of mice tested were significantly more resistant to tetrodotoxin. However, no significant differences in tetrodotoxin susceptibility were observed between ddY male and female mice or between ddY male mice and ICR male and female mice. These results indicate that the users of the mouse bioassay should pay attention to differences in mouse strain in susceptibility to tetrodotoxin.
Division of Biomedical Food Research, National Institute of Health Sciences, Kamiyoga 1-18-1, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan. Electronic address: hodaka@nihs.go.jp.
Hodaka
H
Suzuki
D000818:Animals; D001681:Biological Assay; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D013045:Species Specificity; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000633:toxicity*
D013779:Tetrodotoxin
Mouse bioassay; Mouse strain; Susceptibility; Tetrodotoxin; Word