Animal Models Shared Resource

ANIMAL MODELS SHARED RESOURCE: PROJECT SUMMARY Animal models are powerful tools that are vital to translational cancer research. The Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC) Animal Models Shared Resource (AMSR), directed by Christopher Albanese, PhD (DC), comprises three components: rodent, zebrafish, and the Preclinical Imaging Research Lab (PIRL). Andrew Nelson, DVM (NJ), and Patricia Foley, DVM (DC), manage the rodent component; Eric Glasgow, PhD (DC) manages the zebrafish component; Albanese directs the PIRL. The function of AMSR is to facilitate the efficient, economical, state-of-the-art use and imaging of animals for the performance of cancer-related studies. This is accomplished through resources situated at both LCCC Consortium sites in DC and NJ, where highly trained faculty and staff provide access to animal services to LCCC Members. Significant emphasis is placed on assisting users with the design, performance, and imaging of studies using vertebrate models extending from zebrafish to genetically engineered and immunodeficient rodents. Major services in the rodent component of the AMSR include establishing and managing xenograft, patient-derived xenograft (PDX), and orthotopic models; performance of surgical procedures; mouse colony management; monitoring tumor growth and metastasis; blood collection; necropsy procedures; and administration of drugs or other compounds and delivery of specialized diets. Services for zebrafish include generation and maintenance of genetic models; toxicity screening; and xenotransplantation experiments (i.e., “zevatars”—zebrafish avatars. Animal studies are performed within Georgetown University’s (GU) Division of Comparative Medicine (DCM) and a centralized animal facility in NJ, both accredited by AAALAC International. Imaging services provided by the AMSR allow monitoring of tumor initiation, progression, metabolism, and response to therapy. Imaging equipment includes high-resolution, in vivo and ex vivo, small animal imaging and image analysis using a new (April 2021) Bruker 7 tesla magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy console secured with an NIH Shared Equipment grant (NIH S10 OD0251531), a new (March 2020) small animal ultrasound (VisualSonics Vevo 3100) workstation to supplement the existing Vevo 3100, a mouse DEXA instrument (Lunar PIXImus) and bioluminescent and visible to near-infrared Lumina spectroscopic imagers. The AMSR works closely with the Histopathology & Tissue Shared Resource, the Microscopy & Imaging Shared Resource, and the Biostatistics & Bioinformatics Shared Resource to support its users in correlating in vivo data with pathologic, genetic/genomic, molecular, mechanistic, and statistical analyses. In FY22, the AMSR supported 26 LCCC Members across all three Research Programs (10 Cancer Cell Biology [CCB], 15 Cancer Host Interactions [CHI], and 1 Cancer Prevention and Control [CPC] Member). During the current funding period, the AMSR contributed to 33 publications, of which 8 are in high-impact journals, and provided support that enabled the success of 42 extramurally funded research project grants.