Animal Resources

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

5.1 Abstract - ANIMAL RESOURCES (Core Group A) The Animal Resources Shared Resource (Core Group A), an AAALAC-accredited facility since 1988, provides a comprehensive animal care and use program for all SBMRI scientists utilizing animals in their research. Core personnel work closely with the veterinarian and the IACUC to facilitate establishment of effective/productive animal protocols and to ensure efficient and humane use of animals. Encompassing over 23,000 sq. ft. in four buildings, the Core currently employs a well-trained staff of 28 FTEs. The Core houses over 600 unique lines of transgenic and knockout mice, as well as a small number of rats and frogs, with a maximum mouse housing capacity of 14,000 ventilated cages. The Core provides 5 basic types of services: 1) animal husbandry, 2) breeding colony maintenance and administrative support, 3) mouse reproductive services, 4) in vivo imaging and tumor analysis, and 5) technical support. While recognizing the need for investigators to perform certain specialized procedures, the Core attempts as much as possible to be a full- service resource in terms of routine procedures. Education and training represent an important role of the Core, which provides free training for scientists on routine and specialized procedures and the use of relevant imaging and analysis equipment. Scientific personnel also benefit from participation in Core-hosted, in-house presentations on topics relevant to the use of mouse models. The Core intranet website provides access to the web-based animal colony management software, the IACUC protocol database, IACUC policies, SOPs, industry resources and training modules. Investigators from all three Cancer Center programs make extensive use of the Animal Resources Core, studying more than a dozen different types of cancer using both xenograft and mouse genetic models. The Tumor Analysis service is a key resource in this respect, providing access to a variety of xenograft models, including patient-derived xenografts. This service is supported by an array of sophisticated imaging modalities for evaluating tumor progression, including luminescence, fluorescence, and ultrasound. Additional Animal Analysis services include blood cell, serum, behavioral, and metabolic analysis. Animal models allow Cancer Center investigators to address a range of topics including mutations and genetic drivers responsible for malignancy, understanding the signaling pathways affected by these mutations, defining the properties and role of cancer stem cells, investigation of the interplay between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment, probing mechanisms that underlie tumor invasion and metastasis from the primary tumor site, development of drugs to block various aspects of tumor cell biology, and devising ways to circumvent tumor resistance to therapy. In the past year (GY32), a total of 34 Cancer Center laboratories utilized vivarium services. During the past funding period, work in the vivarium supported the publication of over 127 papers with direct relevance to these areas of cancer research.