Normative Clinical Chemistry Data for ICR Mice, Wistar Rats, Dunkin-Hartley Guinea Pigs, and New Zealand White Rabbits at National Laboratory Animal Center, Mahidol University, Thailand

Luxkana Truatnok; Chinnadit Ngamwongronnachai

Authors

Luxkana Truatnok Laboratory Analysis Unit, National Laboratory Animal Center, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand
Chinnadit Ngamwongronnachai Laboratory Analysis Unit, National Laboratory Animal Center, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand

Keywords:

ICR mice, Clinical chemistry, Wistar rat, White rabbit, Guinea pig

Abstract

Clinical chemistry data are essential for evaluating alterations in organ function or tissue damage in experimental animals. However, only a limited number of publications provide reliable reference intervals, and methodological details are often insufficiently described. In this study, we characterized common clinical chemistry parameters in young and adult male and female ICR mice (Mlac:ICR), Wistar rats (Mlac:WR), Dunkin-Hartley guinea pigs (Mlac:DH), and New Zealand White rabbits (Mlac:NZW). Blood samples were collected and analyzed for electrolytes, substrates, metabolites, and enzymes. Age-related variations were identified in both sexes of mice, specifically creatinine, uric acid, cholesterol, triglyceride, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and in guinea pigs, where creatinine, triglyceride, ALT, AST, and ALP differed significantly between age groups. Additionally, for some parameters, significant age-related differences were observed in only one sex across the studied species. These findings highlight the importance of establishing age-specific reference values to support accurate interpretation of clinical pathology data in biomedical and toxicological research.

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