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Considerations for designing and analysing inter-generational studies in rodents

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The environment experienced by an individual early in life has long-term health consequences. Here we summarize key factors that should be considered when designing studies in rodents that aim to address the developmental programming of metabolic disease.

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Fig. 1: Distinguishing between trans-generational and inter-generational studies.
Fig. 2: Examples of how using multiple offspring from the same litter can lead to incorrect experimental conclusions.
Fig. 3: A summary of the key considerations for experimental design in developmental programming studies.

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Acknowledgements

Our work is supported by the MRC (MC_UU_00014/4), BHF (RG/17/12/33167 and PG/20/11/34957) and Royal Society (DHF\R1\221051).

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  1. University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit, Wellcome MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge, UK

    Laura Dearden & Susan E. Ozanne

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  1. Laura Dearden
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  2. Susan E. Ozanne
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Correspondence to Laura Dearden or Susan E. Ozanne.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Dearden, L., Ozanne, S.E. Considerations for designing and analysing inter-generational studies in rodents. Nat Metab 5, 1–4 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-022-00721-7

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