Third-party funded Projects of the Bf3R

Funding by: German Research Foundation (DFG)

Funding period: 2017 - 2021

Aim: Assessing the burden of mice in animal experiments is a complex undertaking from both ethical and biomedical perspectives. The methods used in this project allow for burden analysis from the animals' perspective by incorporating expectancy valence and preferences.

3R Relevance: A standardized stress classification according to measurable and clearly defined criteria helps to minimize pain and suffering of laboratory animals in terms of the Animal Welfare Act.

Publications:

Habedank A., Kahnau P., Diederich K., Lewejohann L. (2018) Severity assessment from an animal's point of view. Berliner und Münchener Tierärztliche Wochenschrift 2018:18007. External Link:https://www.openagrar.de/receive/openagrar_mods_00047828

Lewejohann L., Schwabe K., Häger C., Jirkof P. (2020) Impulse for animal welfare outside the experiment. Lab Anim.; 54(2):150-158. doi: External Link:10.1177/0023677219891754.

Lewejohann, L. (2020): Enrichment für Versuchstiere. LBH: 10. Leipziger Tierärztekongress – Tagungsband 1, 452-454.

Weegh N., Füner J., Janke O., Winter Y., Jung C., Struve B, Wassermann L, Lewejohann L, Bleich A, Häger C. (2020) Wheel running behaviour in group-housed female mice indicates disturbed wellbeing due to DSS colitis. Lab Anim.; 54(1):63-72. doi: External Link:10.1177/0023677219879455.

Leenaars, C.H.C., van der Mierden, S., Durst, M., Goerlich-Jansson, V.C., Ripoli, F.L., Keubler, L.M., Talbot, S.R., Boyle, E., Habedank, A., Jirkof, P., Lewejohann, L., Gass, P., Tolba, R., Bleich, A. (2020) Measurement of corticosterone in mice: a protocol for a mapping review. Lab Anim.; 54(1):26-32. doi: External Link:10.1177/0023677219868499.

Jirkof, P., Rudeck, J., Lewejohann, L. (2019) Assessing Affective State in Laboratory Rodents to Promote Animal Welfare-What Is the Progress in Applied Refinement Research? Animals (Basel); 9(12):1026. doi: External Link:10.3390/ani9121026.

Kahnau, P., Habedank, A., Diederich, K., Lewejohann, L. (2020) Behavioral Methods for Severity Assessment. Animals (Basel); 10(7):1136. doi: External Link:10.3390/ani10071136.

Van der Mierden, S., Leenaars, C.H.C., Boyle, E.C., Ripoli, F.L., Gass, P., Durst, M., Goerlich-Jansson, V.C., Jirkof, P., Keubler, L.M., Talbot, S.R., Habedank, A., Lewejohann, L., Tolba, R.H., Bleich, A. (2021) Measuring endogenous corticosterone in laboratory mice - a mapping review, meta-analysis, and open source database. ALTEX; 38(1):111-122. doi: External Link:10.14573/altex.2004221.

Habedank, A., Kahnau, P., Lewejohann, L. (2021) Alternate without alternative: Neither preference nor learning explains behaviour of C57BL/6J mice in the T-maze. Behaviour; 158(7):625–662. doi: External Link:10.1163/1568539X-bja10085

Habedank, A., Urmersbach, B., Kahnau, P., Lewejohann, L. (2022) O mouse, where art thou? The Mouse Position Surveillance System (MoPSS)-an RFID-based tracking system. Behav Res Methods; 54(2):676-689. doi: External Link:10.3758/s13428-021-01593-7

Funding by: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Funding period: 2021 - 2024

Aim
The aim of this project is the testing and validation of an already approved drug for the supportive treatment of fractures and fracture healing disorders. This will include using already established in vitro models (2D and 3D) by osteogenically differentiating human mesenchymal stromal cells and treating them with deferoxamine (DFO). Data obtained in these experiments will then be compared with results from in vivo experiments to assess whether and how clinical translation of the obtained findings is possible.

3R Relevance
The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment is participating in this study as one of two laboratories investigating different concentrations of DFO in cell culture with respect to their effect on human mesenchymal stromal cells (precursor cells for bone-forming osteoblasts). Both laboratories will use the same protocols, consumables, cell culture materials and cells. In addition, both laboratories will receive different dilutions of the drug DFO in a blinded fashion. Subsequently, the data collected in this way will be analyzed by another collaborative partner in the study. This is to determine how good the comparability of in vitro studies from different laboratories really is and whether such a study design has advantages or not. Furthermore, the data from the laboratory experiments will be compared to those from animal experiments to determine how well the in vitro experiments can predict data from in vivo experiments. This has direct relevance to the work of the German Center for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), as the study will demonstrate that better study design, as well as the inclusion of reliable in vitro data, can reduce the number of laboratory animals needed (Reduce).

Funded by: German Research Foundation (DFG)
Funding period: 2019 - 2022
Project website:
www.scienceofintelligence.de
www.scienceofintelligence.de/research/researchprojects/project_03/

Aim
Cognitive enrichment and understanding individual intelligent behavior. For this purpose, mice are presented with learning tasks in which a reward (oat flake) is hidden in a locked box. The box can only be opened if various mechanisms that block each other are released in the correct order. In this way, the mice learn to use already gained experience sequentially and thus to solve complex tasks.

3R Relevance
Boredom can be stressful for laboratory animals. To prevent stress, boxes are being developed for use as cognitive enrichment in animal husbandry (refinement).

Publications
Hohlbaum K., Andresen N., Mieske P., Kahnau P., Lang B., Diederich K., Palme R., Mundhenk L., Sprekeler H., Hellwich O., Thöne-Reineke C., Lewejohann L. (2024) Lockbox enrichment facilitates manipulative and cognitive activities for mice. Open Res Eur.; 4:108. External Link:https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.17624.2

Lang B., Kahnau P., Hohlbaum K., Mieske P., Andresen N.P., Boon M.N., Thöne-Reineke C., Lewejohann L., Diederich K. (2023) Challenges and advanced concepts for the assessment of learning and memory function in mice. Front Behav Neurosci.; 17:1230082. External Link:https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1230082