Animal Use.

This study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. The protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Indiana University School of Medicine (permit 3616). All surgery was performed under isofluorane anesthesia and all efforts were made to minimize suffering. This included the administration of analgesia (buprenorphine) postoperatively. Although criteria (including minimal movement, not taking food, loss of more than 15% of body weight) for early euthanasia were in place, early euthanasia was not necessary. The animals were monitored regularly: continuously while under anesthesia and then daily. The method of euthanasia, overdose of a barbituric acid derivative with subsequent exsanguination, is consistent with the American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals.
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