As gene-targeted mice and mouse models of cardiovascular disease are increasingly used as major research approaches for preclinical cardiovascular studies, the Core function will assist investigators in their translational research in animal models of cardiovascular diseases. Our goal is to provide services, training, and resources to COBRE and non-COBRE investigators who work on projects involving phenotyping of transgenic and knockout mouse models of cardiovascular disease.
The Core has four main functions: 1) To provide comprehensive assessments of cardiovascular structure and function using high-resolution echocardiographic imaging tools; 2) to perform surgical procedures that may be technically difficult or time-consuming for investigators without the proper expertise, experience, and/or equipment; 3) to provide general blood cell and chemistry analyses, ECG/BP telemetry services, and metabolic measurements, and 4) to provide tissue-specific or inducible Cre or reporter mouse lines to facilitate mouse genetic analysis of cardiovascular phenotyping.
Leadership.
Lijun Xia, MD, Ph.D., Director
Jasimuddin Ahamed, Ph.D., Co-Director
Michael McDaniel, M.S., Core Coordinator
Services. The Phenotyping Core provides echocardiographic and Doppler imaging of cardiovascular structures and functions of genetically modified mice using the state-of-the-art Vevo-2100 system (VisualSonics). The Core also provides investigators with consultation, training, genetic resources, and special instrumentation for general phenotyping. These include peripheral blood cell and chemistry analyses, and sophisticated mouse cardiovascular procedures/disease models. In addition, the Core will maintain colonies of valuable mouse genetic tools such as inducible or tissue-specific Cre or reporter lines to facilitate the genetic analysis of cardiovascular phenotypes.
