Name: in vivo electrophysiological measurements on mouse sciatic nerves
Uploaded: 2014-04-13T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vivo Electrophysiological Measurements on Mouse Sciatic Nerves at JoVE.com

This work was supported by SFB 604, DFG MO 1421/2-1 and Krebshilfe 107089 (to H.M.). A.S. is recipient of a Young Investigator Award from the Children&#8217;s Tumor Foundation (New York, USA).

The present study was performed according to the Protection of Animals Act of the Federal Republic of Germany (Tierschutzgesetz der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) and was approved by the Thuringian State Office for Food Safety and Consumer Protection (Th&#252;ringer Landesamt f&#252;r Lebensmittelsicherheit und Verbraucherschutz).
1. Setting Up the Measurements
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	<li>Anesthetize the mice by isoflurane/O2 inhalation - for initiation of anesthesia 3%, for maintenance 2% isoflurane ...

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The described protocol provides an easy and reliable method to determine sciatic nerve conduction properties on anesthetized mice without the need to expose the nerve of interest. Nevertheless, this experimental procedure causes tissue injury by needle puncture. It is therefore a reasonable option to sacrifice the animals after finishing the recordings. However, compared to other more invasive procedures, which require the exposure of the nerve prior to recordings, tissue damage is comparably small 3,14. There...

Electrophysiological measurements are an indispensable tool for investigating the functional integrity of peripheral nerves in both clinical and laboratory environments. In humans, a large number of neuromuscular disorders and neuropathies diagnostically rely on electrophysiological measurements. By measuring nerve properties as conduction velocity or potential amplitudes of the signal, it is possible to characterize the rough origin of peripheral nerve diseases.
The nerve conduction velocity is highly dependent on rapid signal propagation enabled by myelination. Therefore, demyelinating processes generally show decreased conduction velocities4. The compound motor action potential (CMAP) - correlating with the number of functional axons - is an indicator for axonal damage when significantly reduced5.
Thus, by means of electrophysiological methods the etiology of peripheral nerve damage can be discriminated, such as for hereditary neuropathies6,7, diabetic neuropathy8,9, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathies (CIDP)10, or metabolic neuropathies11.
Normally, in the human application noninvasive recordings on the sural or ulnar nerve are preferred. In mice, it is straightforward to analyze nerve properties of sciatic nerves, the largest nerve of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) containing both large - and small-caliber axons of the motoric and sensory system.
The procedure as demonstrated here is a quick, easy and reliable method to measure all standard values relevant for electrophysiology on peripheral nerves in the intact mouse. By taking recordings from a preserved organism, physiological conditions of the nerve environment are guaranteed.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="917">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:321px;">Concentric Needle Electrodes (Stimulation)</td>
			<td style="width:311px;">Natus Medical Incorporated 
			San Carlos, CA 94070, USA</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">9013S0901</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;">Digital Ring Electrodes (Recording)</td>
			<td style="width:311px;">Natus Medical Incorporated 
			San Carlos, CA 94070, USA</td>
			<td>9013S0302</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;">ToM - Tower of Measurement (A/D converter)</td>
			<td>GJB Datentechnik GmbH, Langewiesen, Germany</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;">AtisaPro, Data acquisition &#38; analysis software</td>
			<td>GJB Datentechnik GmbH, Langewiesen, Germany</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">HSE-Stimulator T</td>
			<td colspan="2">Hugo Sachs Elektronik, Hugstetten, Germany</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

in vivo electrophysiological measurements on mouse sciatic nerves

Electrophysiological studies allow a rational classification of various neuromuscular diseases and are of help, together with neuropathological techniques, in the understanding of the underlying pathophysiology1. Here we describe a method to perform electrophysiological studies on mouse sciatic nerves in vivo.
The animals are anesthetized with isoflurane in order to ensure analgesia for the tested mice and undisturbed working environment during the measurements that take about 30 min/animal. A constant body temperature of 37 &#176;C is maintained by a heating plate and continuously measured by a rectal thermo probe2. Additionally, an electrocardiogram (ECG) is routinely recorded during the measurements in order to continuously monitor the physiological state of the investigated animals.
Electrophysiological recordings are performed on the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), supplying the mouse hind limb with both motoric and sensory fiber tracts. In our protocol, sciatic nerves remain in situ and therefore do not have to be extracted or exposed, allowing measurements without any adverse nerve irritations along with actual recordings. Using appropriate needle electrodes3 we perform both proximal and distal nerve stimulations, registering the transmitted potentials with sensing electrodes at gastrocnemius muscles. After data processing, reliable and highly consistent values for the nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and the compound motor action potential (CMAP), the key parameters for quantification of gross peripheral nerve functioning, can be achieved.

We conducted a series of in vivo electrophysiological measurements on sciatic nerves of 12 mice in total for this study: 6 animals of each gender. The measurements were performed with the presented protocol and delivered the following results:
Both male and female mice display a mean sciatic nerve conduction velocity of approximately 20 m/sec (Figure 5). This is consistent with other measurements in the literature. Furthermore, it shows that there are no relevant diff...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vivo Electrophysiological Measurements on Mouse Sciatic Nerves at JoVE.com

In Vivo Electrophysiological Measurements on Mouse Sciatic Nerves

Measurements of nerve conduction properties in vivo exemplify a powerful tool to characterize various animal models of neuromuscular diseases. Here, we present an easy and reliable protocol by which electrophysiological analysis on sciatic nerves of anesthetized mice can be performed.

In Vivo Electrophysiological Measurements on Mouse Sciatic Nerves

Electrophysiological studies allow a rational classification of various neuromuscular diseases and are of help, together with neuropathological ...

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