Mouse Physiology Laboratory


Exercise & Metabolic Testing

The mouse physiology laboratory can perform metabolic, exercise and endurance testing on mice. Using a RotaRod treadmill, mice can be run to reveal their level of fitness or to stress their cardiovascular system. Intolerance to running is often a sign of dysfunction in one or more organ systems. Long term running programs can also be used to induce a physiological conditioning or hypertrophy to the heart. When combined with telemetry, mouse blood pressures, heart rates and body temperatures can be simultaneously recorded.

The mouse physiology laboratory's RotaRod has been custom modified so that one section is enclosed to permit metabolic rate testing at rest or when running. Using indirect calorimetry, we can monitor the oxygen consumption and CO2 generation at rest or when running at any speed to obtain the animal's metabolic rate and R values. As with exercise testing, this can be combined with telemetry to obtain additional data.

NEW: We have recently added rodent glucose tolerance testing (GTT), insulin tolerance testing (ITT) and oxygen saturation (SaO2) monitoring in awake animals to our metabolic testing tools which can reveal a wide range metabolic disorders.