Reagent/Service Core

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The three research projects that comprise this Program Project are all focused on understanding molecular and cellular events and mechanisms leading to bladder carcinogenesis of both major pathways of low-grade, non-invasive and high-grade, invasive bladder cancer. In addition t o t h e intellectual and experimental synergies that link the individual projects into a cohesive program, each ofthe three proposed research plans all depend upon a common set of critical reagents and services made available on a continuous basis for their success. These include but are not limited to a set of cultured cell lines that represent different stages of bladder cancer, different unique mouse models of bladder cancer developed by Dr. Xue-Ru Wu, recombinant proteins, nucleic acid reagents, antibodies and cDNA constructs. Obviously, it would not make sense, nor would It be an efficient use of time, money, and resources for each laboratory to Independently generate, procure, characterize, and maintain all these reagents. Instead, we will establish a centralized Reagent and Service Core, one of whose purposes is to serve as a central repository for key reagents and provide a central supply for these important research tools that can be shared by all involved in this Program Project. In addition to the cost-effectiveness, this approach offers the advantage of ensuring the quality of these shared reagents across the individual projects. Providing supplies of cell lines, tissues and animal models from a centralized core eliminates variability in reagent handling, facilitating data comparison amongst the three individual projects. Furthermore, it promotes additional interactions among the Pis and guards against accidental loss of Invaluable reagents in emergency situations such as power outages (which we last experienced in 2003). Finally, the Core will also provide pathology and statistical support for the individual projects. In this section ofthe Program Project application, we describe these reagents, how the Core functions to control quality and maintain databases, the contribution ofthe core to the individual research projects, and a plan for prioritizing usage of core services. The specific aims ofthe Core are: i) To maintain a centralized supply and distribute a common core set of reagents vital to support the research efforts of individual component projects; ii) To collect human and mouse specimens and provide the necessary pathology support service; and iii) To provide dedicated statistical support.