Exposure to varied cage-size habitats alters pain sensitivity and inflammation-related biomarkers

Abstract Background Nature and size of rodent cages vary from one laboratory or country to another. Little is however known about the physiological implications of exposure to diverse cage sizes in animal-based experiment. Here, we exposed male Swiss mice to various cage sizes used across laboratories in Nigeria, top-rated paradigms were used to profile changes in physiological behaviours, and this was followed by evaluation of modified biochemical metrics. Results The study showed a better systemic regulation of glucose metabolism in cage migrated mice compared to cage stationed. Strikingly, peripheral oxidative stress and pain sensitivity decreased significantly in cage-to-cage migrated mice despite increased pro-inflammation mediators (IL-6 and NF-κB) which contrast the norm reported in inflammatory conditions. Interestingly, emotion-linked behaviours, neurotransmitters (serotonin, noradrenaline and GABA) and body electrolytes were not altered by cage-to-cage migration. Conclusion Taken together, these results suggest that varied size cage-to-cage migration of experimental mice could affect targeted behavioural and biomolecular parameters of pain and inflammation, thus diminishing research reproducibility, precipitating false negative/positive results and leading to poor translational outcomes.