Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 21, 2026
Short-Duration Hypothermia Induction in Rats using Models for Studies examining Clinical Relevance and Mechanisms
Published on: March 3, 2021
Translating animal model research: does it matter that our rodents are cold?
Shane K Maloney1, Andrea Fuller2, Duncan Mitchell1
1School of Anatomy Physiology and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia, Stirling Highway, Crawley, Australia; Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Parktown, South Africa;
Abstract:
Does it matter that rodents used as preclinical models of human biology are routinely housed below their thermoneutral zone? We compile evidence showing that such rodents are cold-stressed, hypermetabolic, hypertensive, sleep-deprived, obesity-resistant, fever-resistant, aging-resistant, and tumor-prone compared with mice housed at thermoneutrality. The same genotype of mouse has a very different phenotype and response to physiological or pharmacological intervention when raised below or at thermoneutrality.
