Japanese white rabbits

Japanese white rabbits (female, nine weeks old, approximately 2 kg) were obtained from Japan SLC, Inc. (Hamamatsu, Japan). The animals were housed under standard conditions and treated according to the protocol approved by the animal care and use committee of the Hyogo College of Medicine (No. 12–066). The laboratory animal care center complies with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals by the United States National Research Council.[11 ] The animals were housed individually in cages with dimensions of 35 cm x 53 cm x 35 cm. The temperature and humidity were maintained at 20 ± 2°C and 40–60%, respectively. The ventilation frequency was 15 times per hour. The excreta were automatically washed away. The lighting was 150–300 lx, 40–85 cm above the floor, 12 hours per day. The animals had free access to water and CR-3 forage (CLEA Japan, Tokyo, Japan). The physical condition of the animals was monitored twice a day. According to the protocol, the animals were to be euthanized if they exhibited severe weight loss, decreased appetite or other signs of severe illness. However, no animals were euthanized prior to the endpoints. The number of animals required for this study was calculated based on the principle of the three Rs (i.e., reduction, refinement and replacement) for research animal welfare.

CCR7^−/− mice were obtained from The Jackson Laboratory (strain B6; 129P2(C) –Ccr7^tm1Rfor/J; stock number 006621). C57BL/6 mice were purchased from Japan SLC, Inc. and used as wild type (WT) mice. Japanese white rabbits were purchased from Japan SLC, Inc. All animal experiments were performed on females.

The animal experiments were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Kyushu University (No. A22-086-0). Japanese white rabbits (18 weeks old, male, body weight 3.0–3.5 kg) were purchased from Japan SLC (Shizuoka, Japan). The rabbits were housed in the Center of Biomedical Research, Research Center for Human Disease Modeling, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University. The rabbits were maintained on a standard diet (LRC4; Oriental Yeast, Tokyo, Japan) and were provided with water ad libitum.

Japanese white rabbits (18 weeks of age, 3.0–3.5 kg of body weight) were purchased from Japan SLC (Shizuoka, Japan) for in vivo evaluations. These rabbits were single-housed in cages and maintained on a standard diet with an adequate amount of water in the Center of Biomedical Research, Research Center for Human Disease Modeling, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University. In total, 18 rabbits were used (n = 6 per group).

Japanese white rabbits (18 weeks of age, 3.0–3.5 ​kg of body weight) were purchased from Japan SLC (Shizuoka, Japan) for in vivo evaluations. These rabbits were single-housed in cages and maintained on a standard diet with an adequate amount of water at the Center of Biomedical Research, Research Center for Human Disease Modeling, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University. In total, 6 rabbits were used (n ​= ​6 per group).