N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea mutagenesis produced a small number of mice with altered plasma electrolyte levels

Background: Clinical chemical blood analysis including plasma electrolytes is routinely carried out for the diagnosis of various organ diseases. Phenotype-driven N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mouse mutagenesis projects used plasma electrolytes as parameters for the generation of novel animal models for human diseases. Methods: Here, we retrospectively evaluated the use of the plasma electrolytes calcium, chloride, inorganic phosphorus, potassium and sodium in the Munich ENU mouse mutagenesis project where clinical chemical blood analysis was carried out on more than 20,000 G1 and G3 offspring of chemically mutagenized inbred C3H mice to detect dominant and recessive mutations leading to deviations in various plasma parameter levels. Results: We identified a small number of animals consistently exhibiting altered plasma electrolyte values. Transmission of the phenotypic deviations to the subsequent generations led to the successful establishment of mutant lines for the parameters calcium and potassium. Published data from other phenotype-driven ENU projects also included only a small number of mutant lines which were generated according to altered plasma electrolyte levels. Conclusion: Thus, use of plasma electrolytes detected few mouse mutants in ENU projects compared to other clinical chemical blood parameters.