Vervet Research Colony as a Biomedical Resource

描述（由申请人提供）： 恒河猴的严重短缺已经迫切需要开发用于生物医学研究的替代非人灵长类动物模型。非洲长尾猴/非洲绿色猴（Chlorocebus aethiops）是填补这一职位的理想候选人。长尾猴是旧大陆的猴子，在行为、生理和解剖学上与恒河猴相似。源自加勒比海的长尾猴很容易获得，而且比恒河猴便宜，而且由于它们不携带猿猴疱疹病毒（B病毒），它们比恒河猴或其他亚洲猕猴替代品的健康和安全风险更小。加州大学洛杉矶分校的长尾猴研究中心（VRC）是一个成熟的中心，29年来一直支持当地的长尾猴神经生物学，行为和遗传学研究，使其成为国家资源中心的基础。在VRC收集的关于黑尾长尾雉的广泛的遗传和行为数据库使其成为许多生物医学领域合作研究的特别宝贵的资源，包括肥胖，糖尿病，衰老，精神和行为障碍以及心血管疾病的脆弱性。来自NCRR P40补助金的支持将使VRC能够a）通过为NIH资助的研究人员繁殖已知年龄和病史的美国殖民地出生的无特定病原体（SPF）的长尾长尾猴，增加用于生物医学研究的非人灵长类动物的供应; B）提供具有特定特征和条件的长尾猴（例如，c）保持一个纯种的、基因分型的长尾猴群体，用作研究对雌性医学特征的遗传贡献的国家资源; d）提供关于临床护理和管理长尾小灵猴的培训和信息，以加强其他中心对该物种的利用，以及e）支持继续使用长尾小灵猴模型进行遗传，生物行为和神经生物学研究，以及开发用于肥胖、糖尿病和代谢综合征研究的新的vervet模型。为实现这些目标，组织了两个核心。动物资源中心将管理动物护理和繁殖计划，维护殖民地记录系统，传播关于长尾猴的饲养和临床特征的信息，并培训兽医使用长尾猴进行生物医学研究。动物资源核心的研究部分将侧重于提高婴儿的生存能力。遗传学和生物行为核心将为当地和国家研究人员提供使用多代VRC谱系和单个动物遗传和生物行为信息的广泛数据库的机会，并将为外部研究人员提供统计遗传学支持，以利用此资源找到影响生物医学性状的基因。遗传学和生物行为核心的研究组成部分将有助于发展作为肥胖，糖尿病和代谢综合征模型的vervet。这些努力将产生重要的信息，并提供获得动物和研究机会，将扩大使用长尾猴作为一种替代的非人灵长类动物模型，用于研究人类疾病和障碍。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The critical shortage of rhesus monkeys has created an urgent need to develop alternative nonhuman primate models for biomedical research. The vervet / African green monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops) is an ideal candidate to fill this position. Vervets are Old World monkeys that resemble the rhesus in behavior, physiology and anatomy. Caribbean-derived vervets are readily available and are less expensive than rhesus, and because they do not carry Herpesvirus simiae (B virus), they present fewer health and safety risks than rhesus or other Asian macaque alternatives. The UCLA Vervet Research Colony (VRC) is an established center that has supported local research in vervet monkey neurobiology, behavior and genetics for 29 years, making it uniquely positioned to serve as the basis for a national resource center for vervet monkeys. The extensive genetic and behavioral database collected on vervets at the VRC make this a particularly valuable resource for collaborative research in a number of areas of biomedical interest, including obesity, diabetes, aging, psychiatric and behavioral disorders, and vulnerability for cardiovascular disease. Support from an NCRR P40 grant will enable the VRC to a) increase the supply of nonhuman primates for biomedical research by breeding US colony-born, specific pathogen free (SPF) vervets of known age and medical history for NIH-funded investigators; b) provide vervets with specific characteristics and conditions (e.g., aged, impulsive, obese, diabetic) to outside investigators; c) maintain a pedigreed, genotyped colony of vervets for use as a national resource for research on genetic contributions to faiomedical traits; d) provide training and information on the clinical care and management of vervets to enhance the use of this species in other centers, and e) support the continued use of vervet models for genetic, biobehavioral and neurobiological research, and the development of new vervet models for research in obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Two cores have been organized to accomplish these aims. The Animal Resources Core will manage the animal care and breeding program, maintain the colony record system, disseminate information on husbandry and clinical characteristics of vervet monkeys, and train veterinarians in the use of vervets for biomedical research. The research component of the Animal Resources Core will focus on increasing infant viability. The Genetics and Biobehavioral Core will provide access for local and national investigators to use the multigenerational VRC pedigree and extensive database of genetic and biobehavioral information available on individual animals, and will provide statistical genetics support for outside investigators to use this resource to find genes that influence biomedical traits. The research component of the Genetics and Biobehavioral Core will contribute to the development of the vervet as a model for obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. These efforts will generate critical information and provide access to animals and research opportunities that will expand the use of the vervet as an alternative nonhuman primate model for the study of human diseases and disorders.