Nadine Baumgart

• Dr. rer. nat.
• Leiterin TARCforce3R at Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Simple Summary In scientific research, there are various fields that require the simultaneous sampling of tissue and marking of mice shortly after birth. One approach is the amputation of the distal phalanx, a method that not only provides a lasting mark but also allows for the use of the removed tissue for early genotyping. While the use of this m...

Simple Summary Refinement-oriented research remains essential for animal welfare and data reproducibility. When evaluating mouse locomotion, the implementation of the CatWalk XT is helpful for gait assessment, but its application requires eliciting movement of the animals across the corridor, usually by forcing them with unpleasant stimuli. In this...

In utero electroporation (IUE) requires high-level training in microinjection through the mouse uterine wall into the lateral ventricle of the mouse brain. Training for IUE is currently being performed in live mice as no artificial models allow simulations yet. This study aimed to develop an anatomically realistic 3D printed simulator to train IUE...

The adoption of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes has given a major push to the formation of Three Rs initiatives in the form of centres and platforms. These centres and platforms are dedicated to the so-called Three Rs, which are the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal use in experiments. AT...

Public awareness and discussion about animal experiments and replacement methods has greatly increased in recent years. The term 'the Three Rs', which stands for the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animal experiments, is inseparably linked in this context. A common goal within the Three Rs scientific community is to develop predictive non-...

Veterinary ethics play a critical role in animal research since veterinarians practicing in laboratory animal facilities face ethical dilemmas every day, such as the animal welfare issues that come along with standard laboratory housing. It is a common code of practice to keep mice in single-sex groups, although housing males together can result in...

Levrat's rat model is often the first choice for basic studies of oesophageal adenocarcinoma. The position of the tracheal bifurcation represents the preferred location for the high-intrathoracic anastomosis following oesophagectomy for cancer and is thus of importance in basic research of oesophageal adenocarcinoma. In addition, it is also the typ...

Background: 8-week old Sprague Dawley rats represent the standard rodent model of oesophageal surgery, which is challenging and might be eased by larger oesophageal lengths. Therefore, we aimed to analyse whether oesophageal length would linearly increase with bodyweight and ensure comparable experimental conditions. Methods: We analysed 41 8-week...

Background/Purpose: Delayed primary repair is still the method of choice in the management of long-gap oesophageal atresia in many centres, but the timing of anastomoses varies. Some assume the infant's bodyweight to be an important factor, whereas others prefer age. We therefore aimed to clarify whether age or bodyweight determined oesophageal len...

Cage cleaning is a routinely performed husbandry procedure and is known to induce stress in laboratory rats. As stress can have a negative impact on well-being and can affect the comparability and reproducibility of research results, the amount of stress experienced by laboratory animals should be minimized and avoided when possible. Further, the d...

Early death of mouse pups is a commonly known problem in breeding mice colonies, which is still often regarded as ‘normal’ or is even overlooked due to the counting procedures applied. As reduced breeding performance probably indicates reduced well-being, this seems to be an underestimated welfare issue in laboratory mouse breeding. The present stu...

Establishing new refinement strategies in laboratory animal science is a central goal in fulfilling the requirements of Directive 2010/63/EU. Previous research determined a profound impact of gentle handling protocols on the well-being of laboratory mice. By introducing clicker training to the keeping of mice, not only do we promote the amicable tr...

In utero electroporation is a widely used technique for fast and efficient spatiotemporal manipulation of various genes in the rodent central nervous system. Overexpression of desired genes is just as possible as shRNA mediated loss-of-function studies. Therefore it offers a wide range of applications. The feasibility to target particular cells in...

Coevolution of ticks and the vertebrate immune system has led to the development of immunosuppressive molecules that prevent immediate response of skin-resident immune cells to quickly fend off the parasite. In this article, we demonstrate that the tick-derived immunosuppressor sialostatin L restrains IL-9 production by mast cells, whereas degranul...

The quality of the adaptive immune response depends on the differentiation of distinct CD4+ helper T cell subsets, and the magnitude of an immune response is controlled by CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg cells). However, how a tissue- and cell type–specific suppressor program of Treg cells is mechanistically orchestrated has remained largely un...

In utero electroporation is a fast an efficient tool to specifically address gene expression in the murine central nervous system. This technique was originally established in ICR/CD-1 outbred mice. Neuroanatomical differences between the different mouse strains and variations in gestation length require the optimization of the conditions for each...

e21505 Background: Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma, NOS (not otherwise specified) formerly known as MFH comprise about 15-20% of all soft tissue sarcomas (STS) in adults. This kind of sarcoma is characterized by low response to radiation or chemotherapy. Thus, surgery with the aim of R0-resection is still the cornerstone for a curative treatme...

Inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER) is a transcriptional repressor, which, because of alternate promoter use, is generated from the 3' region of the cAMP response modulator (Crem) gene. Its expression and nuclear occurrence are elevated by high cAMP levels in naturally occurring regulatory T cells (nTregs). Using two mouse models, we demonstrate...

Interferon-regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) is essential for the development of T helper 2 (Th2) and Th17 cells. Herein, we report that IRF4 is also crucial for the development and function of an interleukin-9 (IL-9)-producing CD4(+) T cell subset designated Th9. IRF4-deficient CD4(+) T cells failed to develop into IL-9-producing Th9 cells, and IRF4-spec...