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Comparison of the lateral tail vein and the retro-orbital venous sinus as routes of intravenous drug delivery in a transgenic mouse model

Lab Animal volume 37, pages 26–32 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

In mice, intravenous injections are commonly administered in the lateral tail vein. This technique is sometimes difficult to carry out and may cause stress to mice. Though injection through the retro-orbital venous sinus can provide certain advantages over lateral tail vein injection, this method is poorly defined and infrequently used. To compare the efficacy of these two routes of drug delivery, the authors injected MAFIA transgenic mice with the depletion agent AP20187, which selectively induces apoptosis in macrophages. Each mouse received five consecutive daily injections through either the lateral tail vein or the retro-orbital venous sinus. The authors then compared macrophage depletion in different tissues (lung, spleen, bone marrow and peritoneal exudate cells). Both routes of injection were similarly effective. A separate experiment using BALB/c mice indicated that retro-orbital venous sinus injection was the less stressful of the two methods.

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Figure 1: Splenomegaly and blanched bone marrow occurred in MAFIA transgenic mice treated with AP20187 dimerizer, regardless of the route of i.v. administration (lateral tail vein or retro-orbital sinus).
Figure 2: We used multicolor flow cytometry to evaluate the depletion of macrophages in MAFIA transgenic mice after i.v. administration of AP20187 dimerizer.
Figure 3: We used multicolor flow cytometry to evaluate the effect of AP20187 treatment on macrophages in hematopoietic tissue (spleen and bone marrow) and in non-hematopoietic tissue (peritoneal exudate cells).
Figure 4: Hematoxylin and eosin staining of orbital tissues in mice receiving retro-orbital injections of 10 mg/kg AP20187.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, 23507, VA

    Christina D. Steel,  Amber L. Stephens, Suzanne M. Hahto &  Richard P. Ciavarra

  2. Division of Comparative Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, 23507, VA

    Sylvia J. Singletary

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  1. Christina D. Steel
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  2. Amber L. Stephens
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Correspondence to Christina D. Steel.

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Steel, C., Stephens, A., Hahto, S. et al. Comparison of the lateral tail vein and the retro-orbital venous sinus as routes of intravenous drug delivery in a transgenic mouse model. Lab Anim 37, 26–32 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0108-26

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