Drastic hypothermia after intraperitoneal injection of okadaic acid, a diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxin, in mice.

The mouse bioassay for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins had been used as the official method in Japan and also used in the world. In this study, hypothermia, one of the symptoms observed in mice after inoculation with DSP toxins, were characterized. Lethal and sublethal doses of okadaic acid (OA), a representative component of DSP toxins, were inoculated intraperitoneally into mice. Body-temperature changes over time were measured by an electronic thermometer or monitored by an infrared camera. Drastic hypothermia (<30°C in some mice) was observed in a few hours after administration of a lethal dose of OA. Dose-dependency was clearly seen between doses of OA inoculated and body-temperature decrease. Drastic hypothermia was also detected by using an infrared camera. These results suggest that hypothermia could be used as an index for the humane endpoint in experimental animal toxicological studies.