MOUSE CORE FACILITY

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The goal of the Mouse Core Facility is to provide research support to all projects in the University of South Carolina COBRE-Center for Colon Cancer Research (CCCR) that require the use of mouse models for colon cancer. These include Projects I (T. Baudino), II (L. Hofseth), IV (D. Dixon), and V (J. Thompson) which will use a variety of mouse strains to examine the role of COX2 and c-myc proteins, angiogenic factors, retinoblastoma (Rb) and nitrogen oxide synthase(NOS)-mediated inflammation in colorectal carcinogenesis, and to develop novel diagnostic technologies for the detection of colorectal cancer. The Mouse Core will provide fully equipped research laboratories within the USC Animal Resource Facility (ARF) where investigators of the CCCR can plan and execute complex animal experiments pertinent to their projects at a centralized location in the USC campus. Specifically, the Core will provide support on the following aspects: 1) animal procurement, housing, and colony maintenance; 2) laboratory space, equipment, and reagents; 3) personnel support and expertise on animal handling procedures, designing experiments, tissue procurement and processing, and personnel training; 4) administrative support in developing Animal Use Protocols and grant preparation; 5) additional support from the ARF in training on basic animal handling and animal cage and room cleaning. The Mouse Core will maintain three laboratories for exclusive use by the CCCR investigators and their personnel. These include a Main laboratory for animal experiments, surgeries, and tissue culture; a PCR workstation laboratory to perform all aspects of PCR-based genotyping of the various mouse colonies maintained by the investigators; and 3) a Histology workstation laboratory for tissue procurement, processing, and analysis. The Mouse Core will provide all equipment and reagents for animal experiments, PCR genotyping, and tissue processing from its budget. These services will facilitate the timely execution of animal experiments in the CCCR that are aimed at understanding molecular mechanisms that might play a role in the initiation, progression, diagnosis, and treatment of colorectal cancer. Because colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, the results from these research projects will be of great benefit to the general public health.