Kunming Mouse Husbandry Protocol

A total of 12 specific pathogen-free (SPF) Kunming mice (3 weeks of age, half male, half female) were purchased from Hunan Slike Jingda Laboratory Animal Co., Ltd. and fed in a regulated barrier system with light and dark cycles of 12 h, 23–25°C, and 50–70% relative humidity. After 1 week of adaptive feeding, animals were divided into male and female groups and fed for 8 weeks. Mice were fed by the Animal Experiment Center of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine with nutritional standards in line with GB/14924.3 and sanitation standards in line with GB/T149.24.2 to support their growth and reproduction. All animal experiments were licensed by the Animal Experiment of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine (Changsha, China), and the protocol was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine [Facility use permit number: SYXK (Xiang) 2019-0009].