Breeder Diet Strategies for Generating Ttpa-Null and Wild-Type Mice with Low Vitamin E Status to Assess Neurological Outcomes.

Studying vitamin E [α-tocopherol (α-T)] metabolism and function in the brain and other tissues requires an animal model with low α-T status, such as the transgenic α-T transfer protein (Ttpa)-null (Ttpa - / -) mouse model. Ttpa + / - dams can be used to produce Ttpa - / - and Ttpa+/+ mice for these studies. However, the α-T content in Ttpa + / - dams' diet requires optimization; diets must provide sufficient α-T for reproduction, while minimizing the transfer of α-T to the offspring destined for future studies that require low baseline α-T status. The goal of this work was to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of 2 breeding diet strategies on reproduction outcomes and offspring brain α-T concentrations. These findings will help standardize the breeding methodology used to generate the Ttpa - / - mice for neurological studies.