Method Article
This protocol describes a behavioral assay to evaluate social dominance in rodents using the tube test. Social dominance remains stable over time, and several models of developmental and neurological disorders exhibit robust social dominance abnormalities. Therefore, the tube test serves as a convenient outcome measure for mechanistic studies or preclinical therapeutic screening.
Social dominance is altered in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases and serves as a useful outcome measure in preclinical studies of these disorders. The tube test is a simple behavioral assay for evaluating social dominance that does not require expensive equipment. In this test, two mice enter opposite ends of a clear plastic tube, and after meeting in the middle, one (the less dominant) must back out. The tube test can be used for both male and female mice and includes several adaptable parameters to suit the investigator's needs. Mice may be tested against multiple unique opponents to provide an index of social dominance. Social dominance in the tube test remains stable over repeated testing and correlates with performance in other social assays. Additionally, the test can be conducted between cage mates to assess within-cage social dominance hierarchies. The tube test is particularly useful in preclinical therapeutic studies, as it enables longitudinal testing before and after experimental interventions. Therefore, it serves as a convenient outcome measure for mechanistic studies and preclinical therapeutic screening.
Disruption of social behavior is a feature of many human disorders, including developmental, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders1,2. Mouse models are used to gain insight into the pathogenesis of these disorders and to provide a platform for the preclinical testing of therapeutics. However, many assays for mouse social behavior are time-consuming to perform, require expensive equipment and/or video-tracking software to analyze, or have subjective scoring algorithms. In contrast, the tube test for social dominance is quick and simple to perform and requires no specialized equipment or video tracki....
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
All experimental procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and performed in accordance with the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC). Progranulin heterozygous mice were generated and crossed onto a C57BL/6J background as previously described9. The mice used for this study had been backcrossed onto the C57BL/6J background over at least 12 generations. Mice 9–16 months of age were used in the sample data, spanning a range of ages at which mice might be tested. Males and females were both used in this study. Mice were kept ....
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
The tube test has been extensively used in a mouse model of frontotemporal dementia due to progranulin mutations, Grn+/− mice8,9,22,23,25. These mice exhibit low social dominance by 9 months of age (Figure 2A-D)8. The low social dom.......
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
The tube test for social dominance provides an easily adopted and quickly performed assay that investigators may find useful as either a primary outcome measure or part of a battery of behavioral tests in mouse models. This article provides basic protocols for performing the tube test between strangers or between cagemates.
Investigators should be aware of several parameters that may affect tube test behavior. For all of these parameters, pilot studies are advisable to determine their effects .......
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
Erik D. Roberson has served as a consultant for AGTC and Lilly and received royalties from Genentech.
We thank James Black and Miriam Roberson for help with mouse breeding and colony maintenance, Anthony Filiano and Alicia Hall for assistance with tube test pilot assays, and Robert Farese, Jr. for providing progranulin knockout mice. This work was supported by the Consortium for FTD Research and the Bluefield Project to Cure FTD, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS075487, P30NS047466, and F32NS090678), and the National Institute on Aging (P30AG086401, R00AG056597, and K00AG068428). Behavior experiments were performed in the Animal Behavior Assessment Core Facility at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
....Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animals diet | Envigo | NIH-31 diet #7917 | Animals chow |
| CHLORHEXIDINE 2% SOLUTION 1GAL | Patterson Veterinary Supply INC | 78924243 | For cleaning tubes and surface |
| Ethanol 70% | Vion Biosciences | VNEE0069CS/4 | For cleaning tubes and surface |
| Large tube for male mice > 9 months old | Home Depot | Store SKU # 1000017942 | 1-7/8 in. O.D. x 1-1/2 in. I.D. x 24 in. Clear PVC Vinyl Tube |
| Medium tube for male mice 6–9 months old, female mice > 9 months old | Home Depot | Store SKU # 1000017945 | 1-5/8 in. O.D. x 1-1/4 in. I.D. x 24 in. Clear PVC Vinyl Tube |
| Small tube for male mice < 6 months old, female mice < 9 months old | Home Depot | Store SKU # 1000017938 | 1-3/8 in. O.D. x 1 in. I.D. x 24 in. Clear PVC Braided Vinyl Tube |
Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.
Request permission to reuse the text or figures of this JoVE article
Request Permission