automated home cage phenotyping labmaster system  (Labmaster)

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Identification of a Thermogenic Target in the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus for Weight Management

doi: 10.1101/2025.04.24.650283

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Schemata (created with BioRender.com ) to map activity-dependent Fos expression in mice fed a HFD for 7 days. Right panel: coronal views of the p-value of the voxel maps for Fos-positive cell densities at two different levels of DRN. White arrows indicate DRN regions significantly activated after 7 days of HFD feeding. ABA (Allen Brain Atlas) annotated image. (B) Time-course quantification of cFOS-positive neurons in the DRN of mice fed an HFD for 3 days, 2 weeks, and 16 weeks and representative immunohistochemical staining of cFOS in the DRN of mice fed an HFD for 16 weeks. (scale bar = 100um) (C) Schemata for chemogenetic inhibition of DRN VGAT neurons in vGat-IRES-Cre mice injected with CNO twice a day for 11 weeks in the preventive approach or injected daily for 17 days in DIO mice for the curative approach (right). Body weight change in mice fed a HFD for 11 weeks along with DRN VGAT neurons chemogenetic inhibition (n= 6-7 per group, P <0.0001) (middle) and body weight of DIO mice before and after chemogenetic inhibition of DRN VGAT neurons for 17 days (right) (n= 6-7 per group, P <0.0001). (D-G) (n= 6-7 per group, P < 0.05), Metabolic phenotyping of vGat-IRES-Cre after completion of the preventive approach. (D) Adiposity (% total body weight) (E) Average food intake (F) Interscapular BAT temperature (G) Whole-body median temperature (H-K) Indirect calorimetry of DIO Vgat-IRES-Cre mice injected inhibitory DREADDs and placed in metabolic cages for measurement of (H) oxygen consumption (VO 2 ), oxygen dioxide production (VCO 2 ), (J) locomotion activity and (K) energy expenditure. Data are represented as mean ± s.e.m. P values were calculated using a or an unpaired two-tailed Student’s t -test ( A, D-G ), two-way ANOVA with a multiple-comparisons test using a Tukey post-hoc approach ( C ) or using CalR software and a two-sided ANCOVA regression analysis taking body weight into account ( H-K ). P < 0.05 is considered significant. The CNO dose used was 1 mg/kg.

Article Snippet: Energy expenditure was assessed through measurement by indirect calorimetry of oxygen consumption (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), heat production, and locomotor activity using an automated home cage phenotyping system (TSE Systems).

Techniques: Activity Assay, Expressing, Immunohistochemical staining, Staining, Inhibition, Injection, Two Tailed Test, Software

Journal: Disease Models & Mechanisms

Article Title: The behavioural consequences of dystrophinopathy

doi: 10.1242/dmm.052047

Figure Lengend Snippet: Serial reversal learning with food reward in PhenoTyper cages. Mdx 5cv ( n =9-10), mdx52 ( n =14), DMD-null ( n =10-15) and WT ( n =32-33). (A) Discrimination learning (left target). Both mdx 5cv and mdx52 mice showed steeper learning curves than those of WTs ( P< 0.001 and P= 0.011, respectively) and DMD-null mice ( P< 0.001 and P= 0.018, respectively). (B) Reversal day 1 (right target). Mdx 5cv mice showed decreased learning compared to WTs ( P =0.017). (C) Reversal day 2 (left target). Mdx52 mice showed increased performance compared to WTs and mdx 5cv mice ( P< 0.001 and P= 0.013, respectively). (D) Reversal day 3 (middle target). Mdx52 mice showed increased learning compared to WTs ( P= 0.018). (E) Reversal day 4 (right target). No differences were found between groups. (F) Reversal day 5 (left target). No differences were found between groups. All graphs were cut off at n= 3 for visual purposes. Cartoons were created in BioRender by Verhaeg, M. (2025). https://BioRender.com/e60i623 . This figure was sublicensed under CC-BY 4.0 terms.

Article Snippet: PhenoTyper automated home cages (model 3000, Noldus Information Technology) consist of transparent Perspex walls (30×30×35 cm) and opaque Perspex floors and an infra-red camera in the top unit.

Techniques:

Journal: Disease Models & Mechanisms

Article Title: The behavioural consequences of dystrophinopathy

doi: 10.1242/dmm.052047

Figure Lengend Snippet: Spontaneous behavior in the PhenoTyper cages: activity-based behavior. Mdx 5cv ( n =14), mdx52 ( n =14), DMD-null ( n =16) and WT ( n =33). (A) Mdx52 mice showed a higher habituation index during the dark phase compared to WT, mdx 5cv and DMD-null mice ( P< 0.001, P= 0.025 and P <0.001, respectively). (B) Mean activity duration during the dark phase was lower in DMD-null mice than in WT and mdx 5cv mice ( P= 0.002 and P< 0.001, respectively). (C) In DMD-null mice, activity in anticipation of the dark phase was less changed than in WT mice ( P =0.004). (D) DMD-null mice showed less change in activity in response to the start of the dark phase than WTs ( P= 0.023). (E) Mdx52 mice showed a higher increase in activity in anticipation of the start of the light phase than WTs ( P= 0.032). (F) Mdx52 mice showed a lower decrease in activity change in response to the start of the light phase than WT and mdx 5cv mice ( P= 0.037 and P< 0.001, respectively). DMD-null mice also showed less of a decrease in activity than mdx 5cv mice ( P< 0.001). * P< 0.05, ** P< 0.01, *** P <0.001 (one-way ANOVA with post-hoc Tukey).

Article Snippet: PhenoTyper automated home cages (model 3000, Noldus Information Technology) consist of transparent Perspex walls (30×30×35 cm) and opaque Perspex floors and an infra-red camera in the top unit.

Techniques: Activity Assay

Journal: Disease Models & Mechanisms

Article Title: The behavioural consequences of dystrophinopathy

doi: 10.1242/dmm.052047

Figure Lengend Snippet: Spontaneous behavior in the PhenoTyper cages: sheltering behavior, movement and arrest. Mdx 5cv ( n =14), mdx52 ( n =14), DMD-null ( n =16) and WT ( n =33). (A) The long shelter visit threshold was increased in mdx 5cv mice compared to that in WT and DMD-null mice ( P< 0.001 and P =0.007, respectively). (B) Both mdx52 and DMD-null mice showed a lower cumulative duration of shelter visits above the long shelter visit threshold compared to that in WTs ( P< 0.001 and P= 0.009, respectively). (C) The long movement threshold was lower in DMD-null mice than in WT, mdx 5v and mdx52 mice ( P< 0.001, P< 0.001 and P= 0.027, respectively). (D) DMD-null mice had a lower duration of arrests above the threshold than WT and mdx 5cv mice ( P= 0.014 and P= 0.009, respectively). * P< 0.05, ** P <0.01, *** P <0.001 (we refer the reader to for an overview of the statistical tests performed).

Article Snippet: PhenoTyper automated home cages (model 3000, Noldus Information Technology) consist of transparent Perspex walls (30×30×35 cm) and opaque Perspex floors and an infra-red camera in the top unit.

Techniques: