Core--Murine asthma

Columbia University Health Sciences, New York NY

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Description (provided by applicant): The Core will be set up to provide the scientific and technical expertise and the equipment and space to perform mouse asthma models for the investigators of the program project. The Core is set up so that service can be provided at different levels. Investigators can choose to have the complete experiment including analysis done by the Core. Alternately, investigators may seek advice and training so that they can perform the experiments partially or fully themselves. The Core facilities are located in the Institute for Health Sciences of the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and are part of the J.P. Mara Center for Diseases of the Lungs (director, Dr. G.M. Turino). The facilities are within 20 minutes reach from the Columbia University Health Sciences campus using the subway or taxis. Mice will be transported by private car or by a commercial carrier. The Core facilities include lung function equipment (including plethysmograph), computer and software to examine lung function in anaesthetized, ventilated mice. The facilities also include an apparatus for Isofluorane anesthesia used for the intranasal challenges. Instruments and equipment for surgery and for collection and analysis of bronchioalveolar ravage, blood and organs are available and set up as to optimize the work-flow. A large variety of models have been set up or further developed by myself and the most appropriate model for each question will be selected. Ovalbumin and an organism-free extract of Aspergillus fumigatus will be used to induce antigen-dependent airway disease. For each study, priming and challenge protocols will be selected to achieve the appropriate intensities of the immune and inflammatory responses in the control, wild type mice T cell transfer studies will be performed to either determine the effects in the lungs of specific T cell lines. The T cell lines will be made in vitro from spleens of T cell-receptor transgenic mice. Another T cell transfer model will be used to determine the requirements for T cell priming. T cells will be isolated from the spleens of naive, wild type mice. Dendritic cell transfer studies will be used to determine the immune response induced by antigen-pulsed dendritic cells in the lungs. Intranasal challenges with recombinant cytokines will be used to determine the effects of specific cytokines in the lungs.