ANALYTICAL AND RESOURCE CORE SERVICES

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. The Analytical and Resource Core was established in January, 2008 to 1) increase communication and efficiencies among laboratories all of which provide, in one form or another, assay services; 2) provide a larger organizational unit that could buffer fluctuations in the amount of business conducted by each individual laboratory; and 3) facilitate user access to the services, and especially to the resources, offered by CNPRC. The "Analytical" component of the ARC includes service functions associated with previously independent Cores at CNPRC, and the "Resource" component of this Core makes available viral stocks, reagents, tissues, and other resources available at CNPRC. Because many of these resources were developed by the same laboratories that provide assay services, the two functions, services and resources, were combined into a single Core. The structure of the ARC comprises the following seven CNPRC laboratories: Clinical Laboratory provides clinical and research support to internal CNPRC units, as well as to outside investigators using our facility, for monitoring the health status of colony animals for both routine and experimental purposes Endocrine Core Laboratory provides to investigators a service of hormone analysis as well as consultation relating to endocrine research conducted with nonhuman primates. This Core Laboratory also develops and validates steroid, monoamine, and protein hormone assays as needed by investigators. Flow Cytometry Core Laboratory provides access to, and services utilizing, two instruments, a FACS Calibur, which can be used for standard 4-color assays, and a FACS Aria, which has 3 lasers and can be used for multicolor flow cytometric analysis and for live cell sorting. The Laboratory performs the staining, acquisition, and analysis of standard Clinical Laboratory panels, but Principal Investigators can request custom panels. Genetics Core Laboratory provides research support in the following areas: custom DNA extraction and purification, whole genome amplification, SNP, STR and mtDNA assays; bioinformatic analysis including whole genome and target region linkage and association analyses; and candidate gene evaluation. Infectious Disease Immunology Core Laboratory provides the following services: blood and tissue processing (including mucosal tissues), antibody ELISAs against whole SIV, flow cytometric assays for phenotypic and functional characterization of multiple cell types (through the Flow Cytometry Core Laboratory), RNA / DNA isolation (blood and tissues) and analysis for several target genes. In addition, the Luminex multiplex microbead assay for the detection of antibodies and multiple immunomodulators in plasma or culture supernatants is available; this includes use of multiplex panels from commercial sources as well as custom assay development. Pathogen Detection Core Laboratory offers antibody, antigen, virus, DNA, RNA and other diagnostic marker detection for a number of infectious agents including HIV, HVP2 (Herpes B surrogate marker), LCV, RRV, SFV, SIV, SRV, STLV, SV40, TB, RhCMV and other non human primate pathogens. Services are provided to investigators and to the CNPRC colony. Custom testing, training, and consultation are also available. Respiratory Disease Immunology Core Laboratory provides technical expertise and resources to investigators interested in the immunological evaluation of rhesus macaque models for lung disease. Services include assistance with experimental design, allergen characterization and preparation, evaluation of allergen-specific IgE and IgG, and quantitation of histamine. The Core Laboratory also provides technical support for sample processing, including bronchoalveolar lavage, lymphoid tissue, lung tissue, and blood. Flow cytometry and molecular analysis of lung and blood samples are coordinated with the Flow Cytometry Core Laboratory and the Infectious Disease Immunology Core Laboratory. Immunohistochemistry of lung samples is also offered in conjunction with the Computational Imaging Core. In addition to immunological evaluation, the Respiratory Disease Immunology Core Laboratory can provide investigators with primary cell isolates and in vitro culture of rhesus lung epithelial cells and fibroblasts. In addition to these seven Laboratories, the ARC has formal links to one Affiliated Laboratory located off-site. This Laboratory is directed by a CNPRC staff scientist, and while it provides a broad range of services to the research community (including assays on human tissue), it also provides services to nonhuman primate researchers using species-specific reagents. By linking to this Laboratory, we can preclude the need to duplicate existing services and insure good communication between all service units across campus that are offering assay services of one type or another to investigators using nonhuman primates.