Effects of environmental stress on the architecture and permeability of the rat mesenteric microvasculature.

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to determine the effects of environmental stress on the leakage to albumin and architecture of microvessels in the rat mesentery.
METHODS: One group of rats (Group A, n = 6) were examined immediately upon arrival at the animal care facility. Groups B (n = 24) and C (n = 32) were housed in rooms with high and low personnel activity, respectively, for up to 7 weeks. Group D (n = 18) was housed in the high activity room for 2, 3, or 4 weeks followed by the low activity room.
RESULTS: Rats in the low activity room for 3-4 weeks showed robust microvascular networks within 25% to 50% of the mesenteric windows (each window consisting of the tissue extending between two adjacent feeding arterioles in the mesentery), whereas rats in Group B only showed fragile vessels at the edges of the mesenteric windows within fat deposits. Groups A and C demonstrated little mesenteric fat and few fragile vessels, in contrast to group B. Group D showed increased mesenteric networks and decreased mesenteric fat as recovery progressed. The microvascular networks of 6 rats, randomly selected from Group C, showed few venular leaks following perfusion with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA). Such leaks were abundant in the mesenteric microvasculature of 3 rats randomly selected from Group B.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that environmentally induced stress alters the architecture and leakage to albumin of the rat mesenteric microvasculature, and emphasizes the importance of closely monitoring the environment of experimental animals.