Departments

Common plasma chemistry

Purpose

The measurement of various blood metabolites, ions, and enzymes provides a primary screen for function of major metabolic organs such as kidney, liver, gastrointestinal tract, as well as for lipid and glucose homeostasis.

A panel of primary screen parameters is proposed, including:

Electrolytes and ions: Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Chloride (Cl), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Phosphate (PO₄), iron (Fe), and bicarbonate (CO₂).
Enzymatic activities: Alpha-amylase, aspartate amino transaminase (AST), alanine amino transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH).
Metabolites: glucose, urea, creatinine, uric acid, total proteins, albumin, total bilirubin, triglycerides, free fatty acids, glycerol, as well as total and HDL cholesterol.

Additional parameters proposed for a secondary screening include: LDL cholesterol, fructosamine, ketone bodies (B-HBA), transferrin, ferritin, UIBC, creatine kinase (CK) and lipase.

Strain background references

Overnight fasting glycemia in different strains of mice and at different ages (females)

Overnight fasting glycemia in different strains of mice and at different ages (males)

Champy MF, Selloum M, Zeitler V, Caradec C, Jung B, Rousseau S, Pouilly L, Sorg T, Auwerx J. Genetic background determines metabolic phenotypes in the mouse. Mamm Genome. 2008 May;19(5):318-31. Epub 2008 Apr 5.

Equipment

These tests are performed with an AU-400 automated laboratory work station (Beckman Coulter France SAS, Villepinte, France).

Recommendations

Blood samples must be collected under standardized conditions (diet, fasting duration...).

Within the same cohort, approximately 9 mice per group are recommended for reliable data analysis.

Lipoproteins profiles

Purpose

The clinical-chemical primary screening can identify changes in plasma lipid concentrations including cholesterol, free fatty acids (FFA) and triglycerides (TG). More detailed analysis such as lipoprotein profiling (separation of VLDL, LDL and HDL fractions) can facilitate the identification of the underlying mechanism associated with the dyslipidemia.

Sample test results

Equipment

Fast Protein Liquid chromatography allows separation of the 3 major lipoprotein classes (VLDL, LDL, and HDL) in plasma samples by gel filtration. The cholesterol is measured on line in the different fractions by using enzymatic colorimetric reagent.

Recommendations

Blood samples must be collected under standardized conditions (diet, fasting duration...).

Within the same cohort, approximately 9 mice per group are recommended for reliable data analysis.

Diet challenges, e.g. high fat / high carbohydrate, high cholesterol, can be performed.

Some studies focusing on atherosclerosis can be performed on ApoE-KO or LDLR-KO mice.