Isoflurane as euthanasia method: mice mitochondrial bioenergetics impact

The mouse euthanasia method can impact some experiment types, which could add undesirable artifacts to the measurements. Hence the importance of investigating euthanasia methods that use anesthetics, which are generally used for this purpose as they imply minimal stress to the animal and to the researcher. This study proposes to investigate changes in mitochondrial bioenergetics that the use of isoflurane may imply in the euthanasia of female mice compared to the cervical displacement method that does not use drugs. To this end, a high-resolution respirometer, Oroboros®, was used in physiological conditions at 37 °C. Our results indicate that the use of isoflurane in high quantities and for a long time can significantly inhibit the phosphorylation state when complex I substrates are used, which can directly impact ATP production when compared to animals euthanized with cervical dislocation.