Laboratory Syrian hamster

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Normal gait of an individual lab-bred hamster. Certain tests may change normal behavior.

Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) are one of several rodents used in animal testing. Syrian hamsters are used to model human medical conditions including various cancers, metabolic diseases, non-cancer respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, and general health concerns.[1] In 2014, Syrian hamsters accounted for 14.6% of the total animal research participants in the United States covered by the Animal Welfare Act.[2]

Use in research

Since 1972 the use of hamsters in animal testing research has declined.[3] In 2014 in the United States, animal research used about 120,000 hamsters, which was 14.6% of the total research animal use (under the Animal Welfare Act which excludes mice, rats, and fish) for that year in that country.[3][2] According to the Canadian Council for Animal Care, a total of 1,931 hamsters were used for research in 2013 in Canada, making them the sixth-most popular rodent after mice (1,233,196), rats (228,143), guinea pigs (20,687), squirrels (4,446) and voles (2,457).[4]

Human medical research

Cancer research

Humans get

non-small-cell lung carcinoma, which is one of the types of human lung cancer.[5] In research, when hamsters are injected with the carcinogen NNK several times over six months, they will develop that sort of cancer.[6] In both Syrian hamsters and humans, this cancer is associated with mutations to the KRAS gene.[7] For various reasons, collecting data on the way that Syrian hamsters develop this lung cancer provides insight on how humans develop it.[6]

Oral

c-myc which is similar to human cancer development.[10] Because hamsters develop this cancer so predictably, researchers are comfortable in using hamsters in research on prevention and treatment.[11]

There is scientific and social controversy about the virus SV40 causing cancers in human.[12] Leaving that controversy aside, Syrian hamsters injected with SV40 certainly will develop various cancers in predictable ways depending on how they are exposed to the virus.[13] The hamster has been used as a research model to clarify what SV40 does in humans.[14]

The golden hamster can contract contagious reticulum cell sarcoma[15] which can be transmitted from one golden hamster to another by means of the bite of the mosquito Aedes aegypti.[16]

Metabolic disorders

Syrian hamsters are susceptible to many

metabolic disorders which affect humans.[17] Because of this, hamsters are an excellent animal model for studying human metabolic disorder.[17]

dietary cholesterol or sucrose.[18] Hamsters metabolize cholesterol in a way that is similar to humans.[19] Different sorts of fats are more or less likely to produce gallstones in hamsters.[20] The gender differences in gallstone formation in hamsters is significant.[20] Hamsters of different genetic strains have significant differences in susceptibility to forming gallstones.[20]

Diabetes mellitus is studied in various ways using Syrian hamsters. Hamsters which are feed fructose for 7 days get hyperinsulinemia and hyperlipidemia.[21] Such hamsters then have an increase in hepatic lipase and other measurable responses which are useful for understanding diabetes in humans.[21] Streptozotocin or alloxan may be administered to induce chronic diabetes in hamsters.[21]

atherosclerotic plaques as humans do.[22]

Non-cancer respiratory disease

Smoke inhalation can be studied on Syrian hamsters by putting the hamster in a laboratory smoking machine.[23] Pregnant hamsters have been used to model the effects of smoking on pregnant humans.[24]

The emphysema component of

tracheas.[25]

tracheas.[26][27]

Cardiovascular

Cardiomyopathy in hamsters is an inherited condition and there are genetic lines of hamsters which are bred to retain this gene so that they may be used to study the disease.[28]

Microcirculation may be studied in hamster cheek pouches.[29] The pouches of hamsters are thin, easy to examine without stopping bloodflow, and highly vascular.[29] When examined, the cheek pouch is pulled through the mouth while being grasped with forceps.[30] At this point the cheek is everted and can be pinned onto a mount for examination.[30]

Reperfusion injury may be studied with everted hamster pouches also.[31] To simulate reperfusion, one method is to tie a cuff around the pouch to restrict blood flow and cause ischemia.[32] Another method could be to compress the veins and arteries with microvascular clips which do not cause trauma.[33] In either case, after about an hour of restricting the blood, the pressure is removed to study how the pouch recovers.[31]

Several

animal models for human forms of dilated cardiomyopathy. The gene responsible for hamster cardiomyopathy in a widely studied inbred hamster strain, BIO14.6, has been identified as being delta-sarcoglycan.[34] Pet hamsters are also potentially prone to cardiomyopathy
, which is a not infrequent cause of unexpected sudden death in adolescent or young adult hamsters.

Infection research

Syrian hamsters have been infected with a range of disease causing agents to study both the disease and the cause of the disease.

Choclo virus will infect hamsters but not cause any disease.[35][39]

histopathological tests.[40] However, hamsters do not develop clinical symptoms of the disease.[41] Hamsters might be used to study the infection process.[42]

Leptospira viruses cause Leptospirosis in humans and similar symptoms in Syrian hamsters.[40][43] Syrian hamsters are used to test drugs to treat the disease.[44]

Bacteria which have been studied by infection Syrian hamsters with them include

Clostridium difficile, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Treponema pallidum.[45]

Parasites which have been studied by infecting Syrian hamsters with them include

Taenia, Ancylostoma ceylanicum, and Schistosoma.[46]

Syrian hamsters are infected with scrapie so that they get transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. [47]

In March 2020, researchers from the

Syrian hamsters could be a model organism for COVID-19 research.[48]

Other medical conditions

Scientists use male hamsters to study the effects of steroids on male behavior.

castrated hamsters is compared to typical male hamsters.[49] Castrated hamsters are then given steroids and their behavior noted.[49] Some steroid treatments will cause castrated hamsters to do behaviors that typical male hamsters do.[49]

Poor nutrition may cause female infertility in mammals.[50] When hamsters do not have enough of the right food, they have fewer

estrous cycles.[51] Studies in hamsters identify the nutritional needs for maintaining fertility.[52]

Syrian hamsters are used to study how

gavage.[55] When the hamster is chronically ill, it can be used to test anti-ulcer drugs.[55]

Syrian hamsters are also widely used in research into alcoholism, by virtue of their large livers, and ability to metabolise high doses.[56]

Research on Syrian hamsters themselves

In captivity, golden hamsters follow well-defined daily routines of running in their

circadian rhythms research. For example, Martin Ralph, Michael Menaker, and colleagues used this behavior to provide definitive evidence that the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain is the source of mammalian circadian rhythms.[57]

Hamsters have a number of fixed action patterns that are readily observed, including scent-marking and body grooming, which is of interest in the study of animal behavior.

Scientific studies of animal welfare concerning captive golden hamsters have shown they prefer to use running wheels of large diameters (35 cm diameter was preferred over 23 cm,[58] and 23  cm over 17.5  cm,[59]), and that they prefer bedding material which allows them to build nests, if nesting material is not already available.[60] They prefer lived-in bedding (up to two weeks old – longer durations were not tested) over new bedding, suggesting they may prefer bedding changes at two-week intervals rather than weekly or daily.[61] They also prefer opaque tubes closed at one end, 7.6 cm in diameter, to use as shelter in which to nest and sleep.[62]

Notes

  1. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, pp. 875–898.
  2. ^ a b Speaking of Research (2015), US Statistics, Speaking of Research, retrieved 18 April 2016
  3. ^ a b Smith 2012, p. 750.
  4. ^ CCAC – CCAC Animal Data Report 2013
  5. ^ a b Valentine 2012, p. 877 cites
  6. ^ a b Valentine et al. 2012, p. 877.
  7. ^ Valentine 2012, p. 877 cites
    • Oreffo, VI; Lin, HW; Gumerlock, PH; Kraegel, SA; Witschi, H (1992). "Mutational analysis of a dominant oncogene (c-Ki-ras-2) and a tumor suppressor gene (p53) in hamster lung tumorigenesis". Molecular Carcinogenesis. 6 (3): 199–202.
      S2CID 46715712
      .
  8. ^ a b c d e f Valentine 2012, pp. 877–878 cites
    • Vairaktaris, E; Spyridonidou, S; Papakosta, V; Vylliotis, A; Lazaris, A; Perrea, D; Yapijakis, C; Patsouris, E (April 2008). "The hamster model of sequential oral oncogenesis". Oral Oncology. 44 (4): 315–24.
      PMID 18061531
      .
  9. ^ Valentine 2012, pp. 877–878 cites
    • Werkmeister, R; Brandt, B; Joos, U (January 2000). "Clinical relevance of erbB-1 and -2 oncogenes in oral carcinomas". Oral Oncology. 36 (1): 100–5.
      PMID 10889928
      .
  10. ^ Valentine 2012, pp. 877–878 cites
    • Papakosta, V; Vairaktaris, E; Vylliotis, A; Derka, S; Nkenke, E; Vassiliou, S; Lazaris, A; Mourouzis, C; Rallis, G; Spyridonidou, S; Anagnostopoulou, S; Perrea, D; Donta, I; Yapijakis, C; Patsouris, E (n.d.). "The co-expression of c-myc and p53 increases and reaches a plateau early in oral oncogenesis". Anticancer Research. 26 (4B): 2957–62.
      PMID 16886620
      .
  11. ^ Valentine 2012, p. 877-878 cites
    • Shklar, G (December 1999). "Development of experimental oral carcinogenesis and its impact on current oral cancer research". Journal of Dental Research. 78 (12): 1768–72.
      S2CID 33285671
      .
  12. ^ Valentine 2012, pp. 877–878 cites
    • Pershouse, Mark A.; Heivly, Shane; Girtsman, Teri (2006). "The Role of SV40 in Malignant Mesothelioma and Other Human Malignancies". Inhalation Toxicology. 18 (12): 995–1000.
      S2CID 30590705
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  13. ^ Valentine 2012, p. 878 cites
  14. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, p. 878.
  15. PMID 14220251
    .
  16. S2CID 12611674
    .
  17. ^ a b Valentine et al. 2012, p. 879 cites
  18. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, p. 880 cites Trautwein, EA; Siddiqui, A; Hayes, KC (September 1999). "Characterization of the bile acid profile in developing male and female hamsters in response to dietary cholesterol challenge". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A. 124 (1): 93–103.
    PMID 10605070
    .
  19. PMID 1772872
    .
  20. ^ a b c Valentine et al. 2012, p. 880.
  21. ^ a b c Valentine et al. 2012, p. 881.
  22. ^ a b c Valentine et al. 2012, p. 882.
  23. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, p. 883.
  24. PMID 8597648
    .
  25. ^ Valentine 2012, p. 883 cites
  26. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, p. 884.
  27. PMID 1705351
    .
  28. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, p. 885.
  29. ^ a b Valentine 2012, p. 885 cites
  30. ^
    PMID 3881981
    .
  31. ^ a b Valentine et al. 2012, pp. 886–7.
  32. PMID 2415477
    .
  33. PMID 8759251
    .
  34. PMID 9097966
    .
  35. ^ a b Valentine et al. 2012, p. 887.
  36. PMID 11601912
    .
  37. PMID 15262501
    .
  38. PMID 12404153
    .
  39. PMID 18385367
    .
  40. ^ a b Valentine et al. 2012, p. 888.
  41. PMID 15596843
    .
  42. PMID 18760437
    .
  43. PMID 18547690
    .
  44. PMID 17110394
    .
  45. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, pp. 888–890.
  46. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, pp. 891–894.
  47. S2CID 28998012
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  48. PMID 32215622
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  49. ^ a b c d Valentine et al. 2012, p. 895.
  50. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, p. 896 cites
  51. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, p. 896 cites
    • Wade, GN; Schneider, JE; Li, HY (January 1996). "Control of fertility by metabolic cues". The American Journal of Physiology. 270 (1 Pt 1): E1–19.
      PMID 8772468
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  52. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, p. 896.
  53. ^ Valentine et al. 2012, pp. 897–898.
  54. ^ a b Valentine et al. 2012, p. 897 cites
  55. ^ a b Valentine 2012, p. 897 cites
  56. ^ Alcohol: an ancient medicine New York Times Nathalie Angier 11 September 2007
  57. ^ Ralph, M.R., et al., Transplanted Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Determines Circadian Period. Science, 1990. 247(4945): pp. 975–978.
  58. S2CID 21311908
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  59. PMID 9562919
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  60. S2CID 15374287
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  61. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2010.04.001
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  62. S2CID 80236560
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References
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