Eng et al. have found that the standard temperature at which mice are housed has an effect on treatment response. The sensitivity of several pancreatic tumour models to cytotoxic therapies was increased when mice were housed at a temperature of 30 °C compared with the standard temperature of 22 °C. Mice housed at 30 °C have decreased levels of norepinephrine, which mediates the physiological response to cold stress. Increased therapeutic sensitivity correlated with decreased levels of norepinephrine in tumours; therefore, sensitivity could be increased by administration of an adrenergic receptor antagonist at that temperature.
References
Eng, J. W-L. et al. Housing temperature-induced stress drives therapeutic resistance in murine tumour models through β2-adrenergic receptor activation. Nature Commun. 6, 6426 (2015)
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Villanueva, M. Stay warm. Nat Rev Cancer 15, 199 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3943
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3943