Tail pinch assay - Mechanical

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Has anyone used the Rodent Pincher Analgesia assay for mechanical nociception? @tberta @thicunha @tonellor @ShanTan @CandlerPaige

https://www.iitcinc.com/rodentpincher.html

It seems fairly straightforward. We’ve been trying it out. We put animals in a conical restrainer and then slowly pinch the base of the tail and look for when they start to struggle.

The nice thing is that response is pretty clear. They go from no movement to escape-movement. The most variability I would say comes from the rate of force application. And of course, nobody likes to restrain animals due to concerns for ‘stress induced analgesia’ but for us, as long as we’re being consistent and have controls, i don’t really care.

I just haven’t seen this used much. I did see a nice paper looking at this assay using a device from Bioseb that is similar.
Application of calibrated forceps for assessing mechanical nociception with high time resolution in mice.

Here is some piloto data across two days. Data got tighter on day 2. Y axis is gram force.

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And responsive to oxycodone

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We use a homemade pincher to apply pressure to the paw, and it is okay.

Pincher
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Nice Temo! What are you calling the response?

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Behavioral response to noxious mechanical stimuli exerted by blunt pressure using an alligator clip. Blunt pressure is presumably transduced by C-fiber nociceptors in mice, as referenced in: The mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo2 mediates sensitivity to mechanical pain in mice - PubMed (nih.gov).

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We also have a home made device to get time and force data together with live imaging. Works like a charm.