Animal care: supporting research on autoimmune, inflammatory and muscle diseases

Lacu协助NIAMS IRP调查人员进行动物研究。NIAMS动物被安置在NIH园区的动物设施中，包括位于10号楼9C127室的NIAMS Lacu设施(动态护理研究设施(ACRF))，以及6B号楼、10A号楼、50号楼和14号楼。NIAMS动物使用者主要与老鼠打交道。 NIAMS IRP动物计划监督了24项使用小鼠和大鼠模型的动物研究建议(ASP)。LACU通过彻底的同行评审过程协助研究人员准备ASP，并在NIAMS动物保护和利用委员会(ACUC)有3名成员(2名投票和1名候补)。Lacu保持着近乎实时和详细的动物清单、寄养群体、大型繁殖群体以及IRP动物的哨兵计划。由Lacu群体经理管理的约1小时的培训计划，使所有新的NIAMS调查人员和PI熟悉NIH和NIAMS特定的指南，对啮齿动物群体管理的一般概述，以及与繁殖和研究指南相关的啮齿动物生物学。IRP项目领域包括关节炎、过敏性鼻炎和其他受体诱导的细胞反应、使用AID转基因小鼠的重组/染色质重构、家族性地中海热(FMF)和肿瘤坏死因子受体相关的周期性综合征。研究涉及肌肉和相关疾病(N-RAP蛋白、糖原储存疾病II型、SIRT1基因、肌原纤维组装和肌炎的实验)和骨骼肌亚细胞细胞器和细胞骨架，以及利用胎儿和成人皮肤组织进行逆转录病毒转导、骨髓移植和表皮分化的体外实验。许多研究所的研究涉及细胞凋亡和自身免疫，以及软骨研究，重点是组织工程软骨、软骨生成、GDF-F、COMP和骨关节炎。 NIAMS计划继续满足国际实验室动物护理评估与认可协会(AAALAC)提出的所有认证要求，并正在为2021年6月的下一次NIH全范围访问做准备。

The LACU assists the NIAMS IRP investigators with their research involving animals. NIAMS animals are housed in animal facilities located on the NIH campus, including the NIAMS LACU facility located in Building 10, room 9C127 (the Ambulatory Care Research Facility (ACRF)), as well as in Buildings 6B, 10A, 50 and Building 14. NIAMS animal users work primarily with mice and rats. The NIAMS IRP Animal Program has oversight for 24 Animal Study Proposals (ASPs) using mouse and rat models. The LACU assists researchers with preparing ASPs through a thorough peer-review process and has 3 members (2 voting and 1 alternate) on the NIAMS Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC). The LACU maintains a close to real time and detailed animal inventory, the foster colony, a large breeding colony, and the sentinel program for the IRP animals. An approximately 1-hour training program, administered by the LACU colony manager, familiarizes all new NIAMS investigators and PIs with NIH and NIAMS-specific guidelines, a general overview of rodent colony management, and rodent biology as it relates to breeding and research guidelines. IRP project areas include arthritis, allergic rhinitis and other receptor-induced cellular responses, recombination/chromatin remodeling using AID transgenic mice, familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), and TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome. Research involves muscle and related diseases (experimentation with N-RAP protein, glycogen storage disease Type II, SIRT1 gene, myofibril assembly, and myositis) and sub-cellular organelles and cytoskeleton in skeletal muscle, as well as in vitro experiments examining retroviral transduction, bone marrow transplantation, and epidermal differentiation using fetal and adult skin tissues. Many of the institutes studies involve apoptosis and autoimmunity, as well as cartilage studies focused on tissue-engineered cartilage, chondrogenesis, GDF-F, COMP and osteoarthritis. The NIAMS program continues to meet all accreditation requirements set forth by Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC), and is preparing for the next NIH-wide visit in June of 2021.