SPECIALIZED ANIMAL RESOURCE MODULE

自1997年第一个供资周期以来，专门动物资源单元得到了大量使用。由于 由于现有调查人员和新调查人员的需求增加，我们最近增加了第二名全职技术人员， 凯瑟琳·宗戈洛维奇在病例医疗中心（CMC）的支持下，协助石楠巴特勒繁殖大量的 VSRC研究者使用的小鼠品系。我们还增加了一名兼职（20%）兽医尤金妮亚·迪亚科努， 也得到CMC的支持，教导和帮助研究者进行困难的眼部注射程序（例如，角膜， 玻璃体内和视网膜下）。 小鼠和大鼠的突变品系在眼睛的现代研究中具有相当大的价值。然而，在当前 由于预算的限制，管理突变菌株的成本往往太高，无法添加到个人研究者赠款中， 特别是试点项目。正确处理突变菌株是一个主要问题，因为特殊的专业知识是 需要从有价值的创始人建立菌株，克服突变体可能引起的育种问题 表型，有效地管理集落，以产生足够的，但不是太多的后代的权利年龄在 正确的时间，并获得组织样本（通常是脚趾或尾巴剪麻醉下），以确定基因型。与 有价值的菌株，也有必要使用隔离笼，以避免感染，减少存活后代的数量 会危及整个蚁群SAR模块与MB模块的基因分型臂合作， 提供转基因动物的育种、管理、鉴定和断奶服务。除了动物 Eugenia Diaconu，D.V.M.在兼职的基础上协助模块。 SAR模块提供了关键的支持，使我们的视觉研究小组能够更好地利用 基因工程小鼠和突变大鼠品系。该模块建立在动物的专用空间中， 资源中心（ARC）在医学院的地下室。然而，由于目前的大规模翻新， 凯斯医学院的动物护理设施将于2007年底完工，SAR模块育种 位于Wolstein Research Building附近。该设施是一个新的国家的最先进的屏障动物设施， 只对无病毒的小鼠有效。该设施控制空气流量、温度和湿度，并且这些参数是 由远程传感器持续监测。繁殖设施位于200码内的所有调查人员在 动物由动物护理单位工作人员从VSRC育种中心（和其他育种中心）转移 现在位于Wolstein的中心）每天或根据需要向每个研究者的殖民地发送。如果需要一两个笼子 动物转移是在专门用于此目的的加热/空调车辆中完成的。电弧 该中心获得了充分的认证，并雇用了高技能的工作人员，包括三名全职兽医。设施内的空间 根据需要分配，只有我们的全职兽医技术人员，参与研究者和ARC工作人员 进入该房间（附录A）。 在过去的五年里，VSRC的研究人员已经做出了戏剧性的转变，研究了大量的各种各样的 小鼠转基因、敲除和敲入系。拥有一个在培育具有挑战性的小鼠方面具有广泛专业知识的模块 应变和分析和记录眼部缺陷满足了我们的研究人员的关键需求。

The Specialized Animal Resource (SAR) Module has been heavily used since the first funding cycle in 1997. Due to increased demand from current investigators and new investigators, we recently added a second full-time technician, Kathryn Zongolowicz, supported by Case Medical Center (CMC), to assist Heather Butler in breeding the large number of mouse strains utilized by VSRC investigators. We also added a part time (20%) veterinary surgeon, Eugenia Diaconu, also supported by CMC, to teach and assist investigators with difficult ocular injection procedures (e.g., corneal, intravitreal and subretinal). Mutant strains of mice and rats are of considerable value in modern research on the eye. Yet, within the current limitations on budgets, the costs of managing mutant strains is often too high to be added to individual investigator grants, especially for pilot projects. Proper handling of mutant strains represents a major problem in that special expertise is needed to establish the strain from valuable founders, overcome possible breeding problems caused by the mutant phenotype, manage the colonies efficiently in order to produce enough but not too many progeny of the right ages at the right time, and to obtain tissue samples (usually toe or tail snips under anesthesia) for determination of genotypes. With valuable strains, it is also necessary to use isolation cages to avoid infections that reduce the number of surviving progeny and can endanger the entire colony. In collaboration with the genotyping arm of the MB Module, the SAR Module provides a service of breeding, management, characterization and weaning of transgenic animals. In addition to animal management, Eugenia Diaconu, D.V.M. assists in the Module on a part-time basis. The SAR Module provides the critical support that allows our group of vision researchers to take greater advantage of genetically engineered mice and mutant rat lines. The Module was established, in a dedicated space in the Animal Resource Center (ARC) in the basement of the School of Medicine. However, due to the current extensive renovation of the animal care facility at the Case School of Medicine that should be completed by late 2007, the SAR Module breeding room is in the nearby Wolstein Research Building. This facility is a new state-of-the-art barrier animal facility dedicated only to virus-free mice. The facility is controlled for air flow, temperature and humidity, and these parameters are monitored continuously by remote sensors. The breeding facility is located within 200 yards of all investigators in the VSRC, and animals are transferred by the Animal Care Unit staff from the VSRC breeding center (and other breeding centers now located at Wolstein) to each investigator's colony daily or as needed. If more than a cage or two need to be transferred, animal transfer is accomplished in heated/air-conditioned vehicles specifically for this purpose. The ARC is fully accredited and employs a highly skilled staff, including three full-time veterinarians. Space within the facility is assigned on a need basis, and only our full-time veterinary technicians, participating investigators, and ARC staff have access to this room (Appendix A). The investigators of the VSRC have made a dramatic transition over the past five years to studying a large variety of mouse transgenic, knockout and knock-in lines. Having a module with extensive expertise in breeding challenging mouse strains and analyzing and documenting ocular defects meets a critical need for our investigators.