I am thinking of doing in utero injections of mice to study the effects of a drug on the embryos. However, we hope to use the female mice again after it gives birth to the injected pups. Is it possible for the female mouse to become pregnant again and if so, will the previous injection be a significant confounder to any possible results?
It is certainly possible for the mouse to become pregnant again if care is taken in giving the injections to pups in utero. Use a very small needle and a very small volume and avoid injuring the endometrium of the pregnant mouse. The injected material is likely to be taken up to some degree by the mother if it moves freely across the cellular epithelium and across cellular layers to the capillaries. So the mothers will have been "treated" with the same drugs or compounds injected into the fetuses. One might also see the injected material circulate among the fetuses if the mothers blood concentration is raised. This will not be an easy experiment to analyze if there is movement of the compounds through the blood systems.
All true as said by Jack. Give a gap of one or 2 estrous cycles, and check if mouse is cycling and than breed. Mice should breed normally
Thank you both. Is there a textbook or paper that has that information that I can cite?
I don't have a quick citation, but the biggest challenge will be convincing your animal care committee to do multiple surgeries. Have you pursued that yet?
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