A new study by the Kurts lab, published in JCI Insight, shows that housing mice in metabolic cages — a common setup for urine and feces collection — can unexpectedly reduce kidney inflammation. This effect is caused by stress, which raises glucocorticoid levels and dampens immune responses. The findings highlight how experimental conditions can significantly influence outcomes in disease research.
Publication:
Yin J, Eichler M, Lisowski C, Li J, Von Vietinghoff S, Garbi N, Mei Q, Gellner AK, Kurts C.
Residence of mice in metabolic cages reduces experimental kidney inflammation through stress-induced glucocorticoids.
JCI Insight. 2025; doi:10.1172/jci.insight.189794
