A technique for repeated blood and cerebrospinal fluid sampling from individual rats over time without the need for repeated anesthesia

Erin Santandrea; Farhang Aliakbari; Emily Truscott; Lynda McCaig; Neil S Donison; Danielle Graham; Michael J Strong; Kathryn Volkening

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-55666-6

A technique for repeated blood and cerebrospinal fluid sampling from individual rats over time without the need for repeated anesthesia

Sci Rep. 2024 Mar 2;14(1):5171. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-55666-6.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Medicine, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
² Animal Care and Veterinary Services, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
³ Molecular Medicine, Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. [email protected].
⁴ Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. [email protected].
⁵ Clinical Neurological Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Ethical animal use follows the 3R's: Replacement, Reduction and Refinement. Here, we present the use of simultaneous jugular vein and cisterna magna catheterization via a port system in rats for repeated fluid sampling for 14 consecutive days without loss of catheter patency. This technique allows repeated intra-animal sampling without anesthesia and, if used with pooling samples from a cohort of animals, replaces the need for terminal collections for sufficient sample volumes.

Keywords: Cerebrospinal fluid; Cisterna magna; Exosomes; Jugular catheterization; Repeated sampling; Rodent.

MeSH terms

Anesthesia*
Animals
Catheterization / methods
Catheters
Cerebrospinal Fluid
Cisterna Magna*
Humans
Rats
Specimen Handling / methods

Grants and funding

SOP-160442/CIHR/Canada