Morphological imaging : alterations of phenotype

MORPHOLOGICAL IMAGINS : ALTERATIONS OF PHENOTYPE

pharmacology :

mouse tail reaction : stiffening of the tail in rats and mice following the administration of a small dose of morphine
hormones :

Allen-Doisy test : a formerly common test for estrogens : the material being tested was injected into spayed laboratory mice (Mus musculus ) and a change from leukocytes to cornified cells in their vaginal secretions was a positive result.
Corner-Allen test (for progesterone activity) : female rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus ) are mated during estrus and the ovaries are removed 18 hours later; the endometrial changes are measured and compared to those of pregnancy
Loeb's deciduoma : a tumor-like structure resembling the maternal placenta, produced in the uteri of guinea pigs by the action of progesterone
pregnancy tests

ovarian hyperemia test : the intraperitoneal injection of urine or blood serum of pregnant women into immature female mice (Mus musculus ) produces a reddened appearance of the ovaries
male frog or toad test : urine or serum of a woman suspected of being pregnant is injected into the dorsal lymph sac of 2 male frogs (Rana pipiens) or male toads (Bufo marinus). The presence of spermatozoa in the cloacal fluid of both animals is positive; in one animal, inconclusive; in neither animal, negative
Xenopus test : a female African clawed toad (Xenopus laevis ) is injected with 2 mL of urine, or 1 mL of an extract, into the dorsal lymph sac; a deposit of 5–6 or more eggs within four to twelve hours indicates pregnancy

behavioural tests

Skinner box : an experimental enclosure for testing animal conditioning, in which the subject animal performs (e.g., presses a bar or lever) to obtain a reward
Yerkes discrimination box : a maze with a series of doors, used in the laboratory in studies of visual discrimination in animals; opening of the proper door produces a reward, but opening of the wrong door produces an electric stimulus.
Morris water maze is used to test whether mutations or drugs affect mouse memory. Set afloat in a tub, rodents (Mus musculus ) quickly learn to escape the chill by finding a submerged platform. But 5 consecutive swims in a 20 °C water maze plunges the animals into hypothermia : mice who appear confused might actually just be cold and confound results. The animals should be allowed several minutes to warm up between trials using heaters and lamps or swim in a toasty 28°C pool. Animals that are genetically modified to mimic Alzheimer's disease lose heat even faster than normal.

plus-maze test
forced swim test (FST)

biochemical testings

LPS : pyrogenic test in rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus ) by measuring body temperature in 3 hs after injection.

xenodiagnosis : a method of animal inoculation using laboratory-bred bugs and animals in the diagnosis of certain parasitic infections when it is not possible to demonstrate the infecting organism in blood films

originally used in the diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas' disease) : bugs are fed or offered the patient's blood through a membrane, and the feces or intestinal contents are examined later for the presence of the organisms
Trichinella spiralis infections : muscle tissue from patients is fed to laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus ) to detect larvae of the parasite.
Sérény test : inoculation of EIECs in guinea-pig (Cavia porcellus ) of 250 g induces keratoconjunctivitis.
cockade reaction : the reaction of a sensitized guinea pig (Cavia porcellus ) to intradermal injection of tuberculin; it consists of a large papule with a necrotic, hemorrhagic center
Neill-Mooser reaction : a reaction in laboratory animals produced by inoculation with Rickettsia typhi . The inflammatory exudate of the scrotal swelling contains large mononuclear cells filled with rickettsiae.
Straus' phenomenon or reaction : when material containing virulent glanders bacilli is inoculated into the peritoneal cavity of male guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus ), scrotal lesions develop

bursal duct ligation (BLG) in Aves
Winn assay : the simplest in vivo assay to determine the ability of T lymphocytes to control tumor growth in immunodeficient (scid) or syngeneic mice or rats which had been irradiated (2.5 Gy) 24 h before inoculation mice, showing protection of naive recipients against tumor challenge. Effector and target cells are washed twice separately in saline before final suspension in saline. The 2 cells are mixed at designated ratios and centrifuged. They are suspended in final concentration (2 x 10⁶ effector cells and 1–2 x 10⁵ target cells in 0.2 ml of saline) for inoculation. Each 10-ml suspension contains target cells at 200 cells/ml, 1% normal mouse serum, and relevant or control lymphocytes at 3 x 10⁷ cells/ml. The suspensions are incubated in 75-ml tissue culture flasks at 37°C, 5% CO₂ in a humidified incubator for 1 to 2 h. Following the incubation, 2 groups of 10 naive mice ae injected i.p. or s.c. in the flank with 1 ml of the relevant or control suspension (200 tumor cells and 3 x 10⁷ relevant or control lymphocytes, effector:tumor cell ratio of 1.5 x 10⁵). As a control, target cells alone are also inoculated in naïve mice. Animals are followed for survival or tumor weight at appropriate points after inoculation.
chemotaxis in vitro :

chemotactic activity for human monocytes, PMNs, and T cells was evaluated using 48-well micro Boyden chambers (Neuro Probe, Inc.)^ref1,
ref2. The filters were stained and chemotactic activity was expressed as the average number of cells migrated in five oil immersion fields counted.

chemotaxis in vivo >

air pouch : air pouch formation was induced by injecting 4 ml of air 7 and 3 d before the experiment. Then, 1 µg of Trx was injected into the air pouch in 1 ml of sterile, pyrogen-free saline, containing 0.5% (wt/vol) carboxymethylcellulose (USP grade; Sigma Chemical Co.) to avoid a rapid diffusion of Trx from the site of injection. Control mice were injected with this vehicle. To determine the proportion of different leukocyte subsets, cells from Trx-treated and control mice were stained with antibody markers to identify granulocytes, monocyte/macrophages, and lymphocytes. Reagent preparation and staining methods were as previously described^ref. Cells from six individual Trx-treated mice (4 h) were analyzed. 6 untreated control mice were pooled in order to obtain sufficient cell numbers for analysis. Samples were analyzed on a flow cytometer modified to simultaneously detect 10 fluorochromes^ref. Propidium iodide exclusion identified live cells. Granulocytes were identified as GR-1⁺ (RB6-8C5). Monocyte/ macrophages were identified as GR-1, CD11b⁺ (M1/70), F4/80⁺. Lymphocytes were identified as negative for the above-mentioned markers and confirmed by forward and side scatter characteristics. Animal studies were performed in accordance with Institutional guidelines and approved by the Institutional Review Board.
1 µg of the candicate chemoattractant is injected in the air pouch. Control mice are injected with vehicle only. 4 h later, the cells in the air pouch are recovered, counted, and analyzed by FACS^®

lapinization [Fr. lapin rabbit] : passage of a virus through rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus ) as a means of modifying its characteristics