Metabolic Phenotyping
The TSE PhenoMaster measures oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production of mice with an indirect gas calorimetry approach. It is a high-throughput phenotyping system for up to 24 animals. The system allows the investigator to analyse a wide range of metabolic, behavioural, and physiological parameters in a familiar, stress-reduced environment. Housing and testing the mice in home cages addresses animal welfare, reduces result-influencing effects, and creates experimental conditions that increase the validity of the results.
- Available Modules
Drinking, Feeding, Body Weight
High-precision sensors measure the amount of consumed food or water. The body weight is measured by a red sit-in tube every time the animal visits. This module is used for deprivation experiments or food/liquid intake control and can be combined with other modules.
Activity Monitoring
Different activity monitoring systems allow the researcher to observe the correlation of changes in metabolic parameters with the activity level of the animal. Activity can be measured using an infrared light beam ram, which analyses the detailed activity and exploration patterns in the XY-plane and the Z-plane when the mouse rears up as seen in the video below (white arrow). In addition, a running wheel module can be used to provide a variety of information, such as running distance and time, which can be preset by the investigator, e.g., to define the maximum running distance or workload.
Implantable Telemetry
Implantable Telemetry
A small (15.5x6.5mm) emitter can be implanted in mice for telemetry measurements. This system provides the analysis of telemetric data such as core body temperature and gross motor activity.
- Applications
Indirect calorimetry in fasting and refeeding
Fasting may result in torpor, a sleeplike condition of small animals to tolerate food deprivation. The pink line shows the course of feed intake, which is prevented during the restriction phase. During torpor, the whole metabolism is reduced to a minimum. This is characterized by a decrease in body temperature (not shown), a decrease of the respiratory exchange ratio (blue line) due to reduced oxygen consumption and a dramatic drop in energy expenditure (red line). Overall Acitivity during torpor is zero (brown line).
