Skeletal, Metabolic and Neurobehavioral Core (SMNC)

PROJECT SUMMARY Our extended Skeletal, Metabolic and Neurobehavioral Core (Core A, SMNC) is a resource– and expertise–based core that supports all Projects across the primary and collaborating sites. It represents a transdisciplinary expansion of our current Core A—and now comprises a battery of six neurobehavioral tests and two stereotactic brain injection platforms, in addition to state–of–the–art facilities for skeletal and metabolic phenotyping. For the rodent–based Projects 1 through 3, we require the estimation of body fat, bone marrow adipose tissue, energy expenditure, bone structure and function, neurobehavioral testing and/or stereotactic injections, while all projects, including Project 4, need serum hormone assays. Thus, our expanded Core A will provide dual–energy X–ray absorptiometry (OsteoSys), quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR, EchoMRI-100), metabolic cages (Promethion), ELISA platforms, and a full complement of histology, immunohistochemistry and bone histomorphometry. At Maine Medical Center Research Institute (MMCRI), Core A will provide osmium micro–computed tomography (µCT, VivaCT-40 for bone marrow adipose tissue, and when required, qNMR (Bruker-7T) for body fat. Core A will also serve as a sample storage and distribution center. For bone µCT and 4–point bending tests, Core A will send bone samples to Dr. Jay Cao (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Grand Forks, North Dakota) and Dr. Mary Bouxsein (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School), respectively. For select studies, genetically–engineered mice will be relocated to Dr. Edward Guo’s laboratory at Columbia University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering for the measurement of fat depots by µCT (VivaCT-40). Finally, and importantly, Core A will continue to maintain our MediaLab Document Control System as a repository for data re–analysis, cross– institutional validation, and overall provenance. All U19 investigators will have unfettered access to all data files, supporting our continued attempts to ensure rigor and transparency.