CORE--CELL BIOLOGY

University Of Colorado Denver, Aurora CO

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Description: The Cell Biology Core supports Center investigators in the areas of tissue culture, microbiology, and molecular biology. Although services in these areas could potentially be designated as independent cores, the overlap among them is such that it is more efficient to combine them into a single core. Dr. Goodman initially established the tissue culture laboratory in 1968, and directed its use as an MRRC core unit until recently when Dr. Koeller took over as supervisor. Tissue culture is carried out in two rooms on the eighth floor of the BRB; one is reserved for the growth of fibroblast lines from human patients with inborn errors of metabolism (250 sq. ft.), and a second smaller room (65 sq. ft.) is used primarily for non-humans cell lines. The facility serves as a cell bank for inborn error patients, and now contains some 2,450 cell lines, including 101 with glutaric acidemia I, 86 with glutaric acidemia II, 140 with cystathione beta synthase deficiency, and 55 with propionic acidemia. Non-human cell line usage has been primarily to express genes and to grow embryonic stem cells for gene targeting experiments. In the future, the Baylor MRRC embryonic stem cell technology core will be used for the latter purpose. The molecular biology and microbiology facilities in the cell biology core occupy 200 sq. ft. of space dedicated to the study of disease causing mutations following their expression in prokaryotic hosts. Additionally, the ability to over-express proteins in vitro has allowed the crystallization of the human GCD protein as well as wild type and two mutant forms of human ETF, and wild type P. denitrificans ETF.