Animal Resources

ABSTRACT – ANIMAL RESOURCES SHARED RESOURCE The Animal Resources Shared Resource is a Cancer Center-managed Shared Resource that provides a comprehensive animal care and use program for Center investigators. The facility has been AAALAC-accredited since 1988. The Core provides five basic types of services: (1) husbandry and equipment sanitation/sterilization, (2) mouse breeding procedures and maintenance; (3) procedural techniques training and support; (4) in vivo imaging, blood analysis, and irradiation; and (5) veterinary services and administrative/IACUC support. The animal facility currently occupies 25,602 sq. ft of space in four buildings. Mice are the primary species used, with occasional housing of rats. Over the last 5-year grant period, AR averaged 8,389 occupied mouse cages per month, with growth in the last 2 years to more than 9,000 cages/month. The mice are housed in individually ventilated caging systems. There is sufficient capacity for growth, as the facility is capable of maintaining up to 13,000 cages but generally operates at ~70% capacity, which facilitates breeding colony maintenance and protocol housing requirements. AR provides full-service animal care that includes all husbandry as well as setting up breedings, weaning litters, obtaining tail samples, maintaining animal pedigrees, census and IDs. This comprehensive service is also cost-effective, with the per diem including those services at $0.72/cage for standard mice. The AR staff perform an additional range of services for Center investigators, including intravenous (tail and retro-orbital veins), subcutaneous, intradermal, intramuscular, intraperitoneal, and mammary fat pad injections, oral gavage, tumor measurements, blood and tissue collection, body weights, perfusions, and pre- and post-operative surgical care. The Core provides essential scientific support to Center members by supplying animal models and expert technical assistance for investigation of tumor development and growth in vivo. The Tumor Analysis facility is a key resource in this respect, providing access to a variety of xenograft models, including patient-derived xenografts, and further assisting with the experimental design and carrying out studies of genetic factors or experimental compounds that influence tumor growth and metastasis. This service is supported by an array of sophisticated imaging modalities for evaluating tumor progression, including luminescence, fluorescence, and ultrasound. Additional Animal Analysis services include blood cell, serum, behavioral, and metabolic analysis. In the past five years, 44 Investigators from all three Cancer Center programs have made extensive use of the Animal Resources, and the Core has provided support for the publication of 116 cancer-relevant papers by Cancer Center investigators.