Development of an SPF Baboon Colony

描述（由申请人提供）：狒狒长期以来一直用于生物医学研究，在某些应用中，狒狒比其他灵长类动物具有相当大的优势。正如人们对猕猴的认识一样，构成研究动物正常菌群的病毒可以对研究结果及其有效性产生相当大的影响。众所周知，狒狒体内含有许多疱疹病毒和逆转录病毒的类似物，这些病毒已知会感染人类和其他灵长类动物。尽管多年来各种机构成功繁殖了狒狒，但OUHSC的新生SPF狒狒计划是世界上唯一的同类计划。该项目的总体目标是开发一个活跃的、自给自足的狒狒繁殖群，这些狒狒不含所有五种已知的狒狒疱疹病毒、四种逆转录病毒、SV40、麻疹和猴痘，主要用于支持美国国立卫生研究院资助的生物医学研究项目。为实现这一目标，我们提出以下具体目标：继续衍生和扩大SPF菌落。每年大约有25名新婴儿将被招募到SPF计划中。在申请的资助期内，最初的新成员将达到繁殖年龄，SPF群体应该开始通过SPF动物所生的婴儿经历“内部添加”。2. 在SPF计划中改善婴儿的“行为健康”。在专业指导下，将逐步修改人工喂养婴儿的方案，以改善SPF群体中狒狒成长和成熟时的整体行为健康。3. 在新的室内/室外畜栏设施中建立SPF狒狒的多龄繁殖群。目前正在建设的新设施建成后，SPF动物将被移入其中，形成几个由不同年龄的动物组成的繁殖群。4. 向美国国立卫生研究院资助的研究人员提供SPF狒狒。我们现在正在挽救有限数量的SPF雄性幼崽，以支持NHLBI/NIH和其他一些NIH支持的研究项目的关键需求，这些项目对SPF狒狒有关键需求。当群体开始成熟到繁殖状态时，多余的雄性将提供给研究界，用于美国国立卫生研究院支持的生物医学研究项目。由于血清转化为一种病毒而从该计划中剔除的动物也将用于研究项目，这些项目可以使用携带引发单个狒狒被淘汰的特定病毒的狒狒。5. 对选定的病毒建立PCR检测，分析这些病毒造成SPF状态的中断。CMV和HVP1是导致大多数婴儿从SPF计划中剔除的原因。为了在母体抗体减弱之前识别感染这些病毒的婴儿，我们将开发可以检测感染婴儿的聚合酶链反应试验。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The baboon has long been used in biomedical research and, for certain applications, has considerable advantages over other primate species. As is well appreciated for macaques, viruses constituting the normal flora of research animals can have a considerable effect on research results and their validity. Baboons are known to harbor analogs of many of the herpesviruses and retroviruses known to infect humans and other primates. Despite many years of successful breeding of baboons by various institutions, the nascent SPF baboon program at OUHSC is the only one of its kind in the world. The overall goal of this program is to develop an active, self-supporting breeding colony of baboons that are free of all five known baboon herpesviruses, four retroviruses, SV40, measles and monkeypox and that are available primarily to support NIH- funded biomedical research programs throughout the US. To accomplish this goal we propose the following specific aims:1. Continue derivation and expansion of the SPF colony. Approximately 25 new infants will be recruited into the SPF program each year. During the requested funding period, initial recruits will reach breeding age and the SPF colony should begin to experience "internal additions" via infants born to SPF animals. 2. Improve the "behavioral health" of infants in the SPF program. Protocols for hand-rearing of infants will be progressively modified with professional guidance to improve the overall behavioral health of baboons in the SPF colony as they grow and mature. 3. Establish multi-aged breeding groups of SPF baboons in a new indoor/outdoor corral facility. When the new facility currently under construction is completed, SPF animals will be moved into it to form several breeding groups consisting of animals of varied ages. 4. Provide SPF baboons to NIH-funded researchers. We are now saving back a limited number of SPF infant males to support the critical needs of the NHLBI/NIH and a few other NIH supported research programs that have critical need for SPF baboons. As the colony begins to mature to breeding status, excess males will be made available to the research community for use in NIH-supported biomedical research programs. Animals culled from the program due to sero-conversion to one virus will also be made available for use in research on projects that can use baboons with the specific virus that triggered the culling of the individual baboon. 5. Establish PCR assays for select viruses to analyze breaks in SPF status due to these viruses. CMV and HVP1 have been responsible for the majority of infants culled from the SPF program. In order to identify infants infected with these viruses before maternal antibodies wane, we will develop PCR tests that can detect infected infants.