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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2020 Mar;52(3):577–587. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002166

Table 1:

Free Living Male B6 and MIN Mice Characteristics

Free Living Mice Stratified Free Living Mice Wheel Mice
B6 MIN Pre-CX CX B6 MIN

Age (wks) 12.5 ± 0.3 17.8 ±0.3 17.7± 0.5 17.8 ± 0.5 13.8 ± 0.5 15.8 ± 0.4
N 24 22 12 10 17 19
Cachexia Indices
Max BW (g) 24.1 ± 0.3 23.8 ± 0.4 23.7 ± 0.4 23.9 ± 0.7 23.4 ± 0.4 23.3 ± 0.4
BW @ Sac (g) 24.1 ± 0.3 22.2 ± 0.4* 23.4 0± .4 20.8 ± 0.6# 23.9 ± 0.4 22.5 ± 0.3**
BWΔ Peak (%) 0.0 ± 0.3 −6.3 ± 1.45* −1.1 ± 0.6 −12.7 ± 1.3# 0 ± 0 −3.9 ± 1.9**
Plasma IL-6 (pg·ml−1) 0 ± 0 34 ± 6* 21± 4 50 ± 10# 0 ± 0 6.2 ± 2.4
Tumor counts 0 ± 0 60 ± 9* 49 ± 27 81 ± 51 0 ± 0 32 ± 6**
Gastrocnemius (mg) 117 ± 3 102 ± 4* 113 ± 3 89 ± 4# 122 ± 2 112 ± 3**
Hindlimb Muscle (mg) 316 ± 7 241 ± 11* 265 ± 9 212 ± 10# 280 ± 10 264 ± 6**
Testes (mg) 195 ± 3 175 ± 5* 189 ± 4 158 ± 5# 181 ± 3 178 ± 7
Seminal Vesicle (mg) 211 ± 12 106 ± 13* 147 ± 15 57 ± 8# 187 ± 7 147 ± 11**
Spleen (mg) 140 ± 13 385 ± 31* 341 ± 38 438 ± 47 125 ± 17 276 ± 29**
Epididymal Fat (mg) 320 ± 15 91 ± 21* 145 ± 28 30 ± 16# 230 ± 12 158 ± 16
Tibia Length (mm) 16.8 ± 0.1 16.7 ± 0.1 16.8 ± 0.1 16.7 ± 0.1 16.6 ± 0.1 16.7 ± 0.1
Animal Behaviors
Food Intake (g· BW−1· d−1) 0.13 ± 0.01 0.16 ± 0.01* 0.15 ± 0.01 0.17 ± 0.02 0.17 ± 0.01 0.16 ± 0.02
Activity (counts · d−1) 27,301 ± 1,435 11,206 ± 1,607* 14,384 ± 2,265 7,512 ± 2,055# - -
Rearing Up (counts · d−1) 826 ± 160 607 ± 160 982 ± 245 157 ± 42# - -
Wheel Distance (km) - - - - 88.5 ± 19.0 33.5 ± 9.4**
Time Active (min) - - - - 1,705 ± 247 979 ± 28.3**

Data is expressed as mean ±SEM. First, we determined the effect of cancer on cachexia indices and animal behaviors (Left Column) (B6; N=24, MIN; N=22). We then compared the severity of all of the MIN mice by body weight loss (Middle Column). Pre-cachectic mice (Pre-CX) had < 5% body weight loss and cachectic mice (CX) > 5% body weight loss (Pre-CX; N=12, CX; N=10). Lastly, we conducted a 2-week wheel study where mice were given free access to wheels for two weeks (Right Column). Hindlimb muscle mass is the sum weight of the soleus, plantaris, gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, extensor digitorum longus, and rectus femoris. A subset of mice was used to monitor animal behaviors (B6; N=16, MIN; N=22). Abbreviations: wks: weeks, BW: Body Weight, BWC: Body Weight Change from Peak, g: Grams, IL-6: Interleukin-6, pg · ml−1: picograms per milliliter, mg: Milligrams, g · gBW−1 · d−1: grams per gram of body weight per day, mm: millimeter. Unpaired Students t-test were used to compare cachexia indices and animal behaviors of B6 to MIN, then to compare severity within the MIN, and to compare B6 and MIN wheel groups. Statistical significance was set a p<0.05.

*

Different than B6

#

Different than Pre-CX.

**

Different than B6 Wheel.