Metabolic Tissue Function

PROJECT SUMMARY: Metabolic Tissue Function Core The purpose of the Metabolic Tissue Function Core is to improve the efficiency of diabetes-related research through provision of expertise, equipment, and services that optimize the investigational capacity of Washington University Diabetes Research Center (DRC) members. The Core facilitates acquisition of high quality rodent and human islets and assists investigators in developing induced pluripotent stem cells. In addition, the Core provides services for the functional analyses of islets and other metabolic tissues relevant to the pathogenesis of diabetes and its complications. These functional studies include hormone secretion assays, assessment of -cell mass, quantification of metabolism, and characterization of other variables critical to the pathogenesis of diabetes. The Core provided services to 34 different DRC member laboratories during the past funding period, including 6 P&F recipients, and these services supported the publication of 51 papers. The Metabolic Tissue Function Core, through its unique expertise, state-of-the-art equipment, and services, thus has considerable potential to contribute to the development of new therapies likely to improve the health of Americans with diabetes, prediabetes, related endocrine and metabolic diseases, and their devastating complications.