IMAGE-GUIDED INJECTION WITH A HIGH-RESOLUTION ULTRASOUND SYSTEM ADAPTED FOR RODENT USE

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Living beings are composed of cells which are grouped together to form organs that are further organized into functional systems such as the respiratory, skeletal, digestive, nervous, and immune systems. The objective of the grant application is to gain knowledge on the immune system; in particular, we focus on a subset of white blood cells called T cells. T cells develop through a series of well-defined cellular stages in an organ called the thymus. These different cell stages rely on highly conserved molecular processes. As such, T cells are a great model to study cellular and molecular biology due to the ease with which these different cell stages can be identified, isolated, and modified. We are a group of five scientists working together to understand different aspects of the cellular and molecular interactions driving T cell development and function. Specifically, our group includes an immunogeneticist, a molecular immunologist, a cellular immunologist, a vascular biologist and a biophysicist. The diversity in our approaches has given rise to original and creative projects as well as to the development of new tools and techniques. The nature of our research requires that we study complex cell interactions in a physiological system. As such, the mouse represents the model of choice for our studies. One of the most effective means to delineate the function of specific genes, proteins, or cells in T cell development is to isolate T cells from the thymus of one mouse and transfer them into the thymus of another mouse strain. We then study T cells in the recipient mouse, lacking a specific gene for instance, to define the impact of that gene on T cell development and function. To perform these cell transfers into the thymus of live mice, we previously resorted to unreliable methods that are a barrier to discovery and the advancement of science; in addition, previous approaches are now rejected by our ethics board due to low success rates. We request the purchase of an image-guided injection system using high-resolution ultrasound adapted for use in mice. This device is user-friendly, such that all our personnel can rapidly be trained to independently carry out the cell transfers. The success rate of cell transfers with this system exceeds 95% for all trained users. In addition to significantly increasing research output, fewer animals will need to be used, in compliance with current ethical guidelines from the Canadian Council on Animal Care. We thus have a scientific and moral obligation to change our practices and begin routinely using high-resolution ultrasound system for in vivo studies in mice.