Modern exercise suite for basic research in small rodents

我们的联合研究计划侧重于阐明几个组织中控制细胞新陈代谢的新机制。运动代表着代谢动态平衡的快速扰动，因此已经成为我们关于代谢控制的机械性研究的基石，因此对于每个独立的研究项目来说都是绝对必要的。 我们正在为一个小型啮齿动物运动套装申请资金，费用约为10万美元(73870美元)。该设备包括一台可同时容纳6只大鼠或12只小鼠的跑步机，用于更换损坏的设备，以及一台跑步机和跑轮，这是我们现有的综合实验动物监测系统(CLAMS)代谢笼系统的模块化附件。这种模块化的基础设施将与我们现有的CLAMS单元一起使用，使我们能够测量运动期间的能量消耗和底物氧化，从而显著提高生成的数据质量。这个基础设施非常适合我们的目的，因为跑轮适合我们现有的单一动物住所，允许我们在鼠标圈内调节运动持续时间和强度，同时继续监控全身的燃料利用。此外，模块化跑步机(一个用于小鼠，另一个用于大鼠)与CLAMS单元接口，以确定动物的有氧能力。 我们需要所要求的系统主要有两个原因：1)我们迫切需要这些设备来维持我们的研究生产力和HQP培训，因为我们目前的两台啮齿动物跑步机已经损坏，而且由于它们不断老化，无法修复；2)所要求的设备将扩大我们的能力，使我们能够更准确/更全面地研究能源消耗和燃料利用。因此，所要求的设备是推进我们的研究计划和确保HQP能够获得必要的技术来解决我们领域的前沿问题的关键组成部分。此外，所要求的设备将支持人类健康和营养科学部(HHNS)由NSERC资助的~13个实验室的研究，其中&GT；50个HQP目前使用我们现有的小型啮齿动物代谢套件。 这是一个极具成本效益的建议，因为所需的设备将优化我们现有的设备，但仅占过去10年我们部门代谢动物设施总投资(NSERC+CFI)的5%。

Our combined research programs focus on elucidating novel mechanisms controlling cellular metabolism in several tissues. Exercise represents a rapid perturbation to metabolic homeostasis, and therefore has become the cornerstone of our mechanistic research pertaining to metabolic control, and thus is absolutely essential for each independent research program. We are requesting funds for a small rodent exercise suite costing ~$100,000 ($73,870 USD). This equipment consists of a treadmill accommodating 6 rats or 12 mice simultaneously to replace broken equipment, as well as a treadmill and running wheels that are modular attachments for our existing Comprehensive Laboratory Animal Monitoring System (CLAMS) metabolic caging system. This modular infrastructure will be used with our existing CLAMS unit and allow us to measure energy expenditure and substrate oxidation during exercise, significantly enhancing the quality of data that is generated. This infrastructure is ideal for our purposes as the running wheels fit inside our existing single animal housing, allowing us to regulate exercise duration and intensity within the mouse enclosure while continuing to monitor whole body fuel utilization. Moreover, the modular treadmills (one for mice and another for rats) interface with the CLAMs unit to determine the aerobic capacity of animals. We require the requested system for two primary reasons: 1) the equipment is urgently needed to maintain our research productivity and HQP training as two of our current rodent treadmills are broken, and because of their advancing age cannot be fixed, and 2) the requested equipment will expand our capabilities that will enable us to study energy expenditure and fuel utilization more accurately/comprehensively. As a result, the requested equipment represents a critical component of advancing our research programs and ensuring HQP have access to the necessary technology to address leading edge questions in our field. In addition, the requested equipment will support the research of ~13 NSERC-funded laboratories in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS) with >50 HQP currently using our existing small rodent metabolic suite. This is an extremely cost-effective proposal, as the requested equipment will optimize our existing equipment, but only represents <5% of the total investment (NSERC+CFI) in our departmental metabolic animal facility in the past 10 years.