Standard protocol for grip strength test
Mice are brought to the testing room and allowed to acclimatize for 10 minutes before the test begins. A Grip Strength Meter from Columbus Instruments (Columbus, OH) is used to measure forelimb grip strength as an indicator of neuromuscular function. The grip strength meter is positioned horizontally and mice are held by the tail and lowered toward the apparatus. Mice are allowed to grasp the smooth, metal, triangular pull bar (forelimbs only) and are then pulled backward in the horizontal plane. The force applied to the bar at the moment the grasp is released is recorded as the peak tension (kg). The test is repeated 5 consecutive times within the same session and the highest value from the 5 trials is recorded as the grip strength for that animal. Mice are not trained prior to testing and each mouse is tested once (5 trials equal one test session).
Customized options
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Repeated testing over time with or without compounds
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Measurements of hindpaw grip strength
References
Costa, AC, Walsh, and Davisson. Motor dysfunction in a mouse model for down syndrome. Physiol & Behav. 1999;68(1-2):211-20 [PubMed: 10627083].
Van Damme, P., Leyssen, M., Callewaert, G., Robberecht, W., and Van Den Bosch, L. The AMPA receptor antagonist NBQX prolongs survival in a transgenic mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neuroscience Letters 2003;343:81-84 [PubMed: 12759169].
Whittemore LA, Song K, Li X, Aghajanian J, Davies M, Girgenrath S, Hill JJ, Jalenak M, Kelley P, Knight A, Maylor R, O'Hara D, Pearson A, Quazi A, Ryerson S, Tan XY, Tomkinson KN, Veldman GM, Widom A, Wright JF, Wudyka S, Zhao L, Wolfman NM. Inhibition of myostatin in adult mice increases skeletal muscle mass and strength. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2003; 300(4):965-71 [PubMed: 12559968].
