NIMH Center Repository Supporting Stem Cell Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This revision of U24 l\/lH068457-08, "NIMH Center for Collaborative Studies on Mental Disorders," (NIMHC) requests funding for a "Repository Supporting Stem Cell Research Relevant to Mental Disorders" in response to NOT-MH-10-024. Since late 1998, the NIMHC, whose biorepository is at Rutgers University and whose data repository is at Washington University School of Medicine, has established a robust infrastructure for the receipt of blood samples and externally produced cell cultures. DNA and RNA has been extracted from blood and over 75,000 lymphoblastoid cell lines have been produced in-house for the NIMHC, with 99.8% success on the first attempt. In the past 5 years, the NIMHC has distributed -450,000 DNA, ~15,000 RNA and ~8,000 cell lines to researchers throughout the world. Based on serving the needs of NIMH Genetics Initiative grantees, the NIMHC maintains secure clinical (phenotypic) and genomic databases and a password protected, secure website for NIMH-approved researchers to access. The NIMHC has also developed and made available web-based bioinformatics resources for the design, analysis and interpretation of studies in psychiatric genetics. We propose to utilize the facilities, expertise and experience of the NIMHC to serve researchers wishing to use human patient and control primary cells, adult stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for investigation of the cellular bases of mental disorders. The NIMHC will receive primary tissue samples for the establishment and banking of primary cell cultures or adult stem cell lines. The NIMHC will also receive cultures of primary cells, adult stem cells and iPSCs for characterization and banking. These cell lines, along with subject clinical and genomic data and molecular and phenotypic data describing the cell lines, will be distributed to NIMH-approved researchers. The NIMHC will also provide consultation regarding the nature and use of these stem cell lines. To a lesser extent, the NIMHC will also produce, characterize and bank iPSCs made from primary cells. Freely sharing primary and stem cells within the research community is likely to greatly accelerate progress in understanding the cellular bases of mental disorders. Public Health Relevance: Mental disorders are a common, widespread and heterogeneous group of diseases whose biological bases are poorly understood. Elucidation of the underlying genetic and physiological bases for these disorders is necessary for the creation of effective therapeutics. Nerve cells or other cells derived from adult stem cells offer the possibility of modeling these disorders in cell culture and for preliminary screening of pharmaceuticals.