Core B is the Viral, Tissue Culture and Immunoassay Core (VTCIC) facility, which will support all four projects included in the Program Project, """"""""Signaling in Airway Inflammation."""""""" Core B will serve as a centralized resource for cell culture maintenance, cellular and viral purification, immunoassay performance, and mouse lung pathophysiology studies. The operation of Core B will be supervised by Dr. Garofalo, who brings considerable experience to facilitate the POI's research goals. Specific objectives of the Core are to: 1. Provide the infrastructure necessary to prepare reagents and perform the following assays;2. Maintain a tissue bank of human cell lines (mostly of epithelial origin);3. Prepare pools of sucrose-purified respiratory syncytial virus (RSV);4. Perform immunoassays for human and mouse cytokines and chemokines;and 5. Assist investigators in performing lung physiology studies using the Buxco and flexiVent platforms. Support of the VTCIC facility is justified based on the Program's critical need for a number of biological reagents, methodological procedures immunological assays, and studies on airway function in mice which are common to all four projects. Centralized acquisition of reagents and performance of tests will minimize costs and result in optimal standardization of assays and experimental procedures. The facility will take advantage of resources currently available to all POI investigators at UTMB including the Child Health Research Center laboratory, a 7,500 sq. ft., state-of-art facility where Core B will be located. Its central location on the UTMB campus will facilitate communication among the investigators of this Program Project, resulting in more efficient and collaborative research.
Core B provides critical services and cutting-edge technical support for all four POI projects. This activity is relevant in that it enhances the quality and synergy of research on how lung tissues respond to viruses and allergens in bronchiolitis and asthma.
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