Not so hot: Optimal housing temperatures for mice to mimic the thermal environment of humans

It has been argued that mice should be housed at 30 degrees C to best mimic the thermal conditions experienced by humans, and that the current practice of housing mice at 20-22 degrees C impairs the suitability of mice as a model for human physiology and disease. In the current paper we challenge this notion. First, we show that humans routinely occupy environments about 3 degrees C below their lower critical temperature (TO, which when lightly clothed is about 23 degrees C. Second, we review the data for the T-IC of mice. Mouse T-IC is dependent on body weight and about 26-28 degrees C for adult mice weighing > 25 g. The equivalent temperature to that normally experienced by humans for most single housed adult mice is therefore 23-25 degrees C. Group housing or providing the mice with bedding and nesting material might lower this to about 20-22 degrees C, close to current standard practice. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier GmbH.