The effect of handling techniques on serum ALT activity in mice

The effect of handling mice by the tail or by the body on serum alanine transaminase (ALT) activity was investigated in normal mice and in mice pretreated with a known hepatotoxin. In normal mice, the mean ALT activity 1 h after grasping the body was almost four times greater than in the control (not-handled) and tail-handled groups. However, when ALT analyses were repeated 1 week later, all groups were equivalent. In mice given a hepatotoxic dose of 30 mg kg-1 carbon tetrachloride, the mean ALT activity was approximately three times greater in mice handled by the body than in mice grasped by the tail only. Handling mice by the body may reduce the usefulness of ALT activity as a measure of hepatotoxicity.