In the absence of filter individually ventilated cages, is there a possibility that nude mice be housed in filter-top cage in rooms meant for animal rearing without any sophisticated arrangements/ HEPA filtration?
Suggestions would be highly appreciated.
Images courtesy:
https://www.tecniplast.it/en/product/conventional-housing-for-small-rodents.html
http://labexofma.com/product.php?ProductID=4046
Yes, it can be done, but you basically have to sterilize everything the mice encounter - sterile bedding, sterile cages - including tops and wire racks, sterile water bottles with sterile water, and you have to use sterile surgical gloves to handle the mice. It's best to do that in a blow-out hood. We used to have to do this decades ago, before HEPA filter air systems were available.
nude mice are immune-deficient because they lack T lymphocytes. They still have B lymphocytes and can produce antibodies. scid mice and nsg mice like T and B lymphocytes - nsg mice also lack NK cell function and are therefore much more susceptible to lethal infection than nude mice are.
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