Duke Skin Disease Research Core Center

描述(申请人提供)：皮肤是一个复杂的器官，通过许多不同类型的细胞相互作用而不断更新。了解这些细胞类型之间的相互作用对于全面了解人类皮肤病的机制和开发有效的新疗法至关重要。重要的工具可以加速皮肤生物学和疾病中的细胞和机械发现。这些工具包括分子技术的进步，这些技术能够产生基因定义的角质形成细胞、成纤维细胞和其他与皮肤病相关的细胞。通过将这些方法与建立体外和活体人类皮肤模型的技术相结合，我们可以探索正常皮肤和疾病皮肤中遗传修饰的功能效应。为了提供对这些技术和相关技术的访问，以促进皮肤生物学和疾病方面的发现和翻译，我们建议建立杜克皮肤病研究核心中心(SDRC)。我们的总体目标是提供关键的难以复制的技术和资源，以促进基因、细胞、组织和动物水平的研究，了解皮肤生物学和皮肤病的发病机制，并最终促进皮肤病新疗法的开发。我们提出了以下具体目标。1)建立细胞和基因修改核心，利用最先进的基因和细胞修改技术，通过特定的遗传操作支持角质形成细胞、成纤维细胞和其他感兴趣的细胞的发展。2)建立动物模型和组织工程核心，提供对一系列全皮肤模型的访问和专业知识。3)利用新的和现有的资源建立组织采购和分析核心，该核心将为人体组织和血液以及相关的病理/组织病理学分析提供一个经履约协助方案批准的高质量组织和血清库。4)制定积极的充实计划，包括试点助学金计划、翻译和创新研究支持助学金、研讨会系列、年度会议和辅导研究计划，旨在提高学生和医学生，特别是代表不足的少数族裔对皮肤研究的兴趣。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A complex organ, skin is constantly renewing through the interactions of many distinct cell types. Understanding the interactions among these cell types is crucial to achieving complete understanding of the mechanisms of human skin disease and for development of effective new therapies. Important tools can accelerate cellular and mechanistic discoveries in skin biology and disease. These tools include advances in molecular technology that enable generation of genetically defined keratinocytes, fibroblasts and other cells relevant to skin disease. By coupling these approaches with techniques to create in vitro and in vivo human skin models, we can probe the functional effects of genetic modifications in both normal and diseased skin. To provide access to these and related technologies to advance discovery and translation in skin biology and disease, we propose creation of the Duke Skin Disease Research Core Center (SDRC). Our overall objective is to provide access to critical difficult-to-duplicate technologies and resources to facilitate studies at the gene, cellular, tisse and animal levels with relevance in understanding skin biology and pathogenesis of skin disease, and ultimately to facilitate development of new treatments for skin disease. We propose the following specific aims. 1) Establish a Cell and Gene Modification Core to support development of keratinocyte, fibroblast and other cells of interest with specific genetic manipulations using state of the art gene and cellular modification techniques. 2) Establish an Animal Model and Tissue Engineering Core to provide access to and expertise on a range of whole skin models. 3) Leverage new and existing resources to establish a Tissue Procurement and Analysis Core, which will provide a high quality, CAP-approved tissue and serum bank for human tissue and blood and related pathological/histopathological analyses. 4) Develop an active enrichment program, including a pilot grants program, Translational and Innovation Research Support grants, seminar series, annual meetings and a mentored research program directed at increasing interest of students and medical students, especially underrepresented minorities, in skin research.