The Immunotoxicology Core will serve as a centralized facility to assist the investigators at the Center to pursue high quality research on the three projects. In addition, it will also serve as a toxicity testing core for all projects by screening the various plant-derived compounds used in this application for systemic toxicity as well as immunotoxicity. This is necessary because although CAM is considered to be non-toxic, the herbal extracts or purified ingredients that are sold over the counter may exert toxic effects. In addition, while the projects deal with studies restricted primarily to T cells, it is critical to know how such plant-derived components affect the overall immune system. This is especially important because autoimmune and inflammatory diseases are often systemic and involve multiple types of immune cells. Furthermore, information on the immunotoxic effects of the plant derivates is critical in the development of bench-tobedside research.
The specific aims of the Immunotoxicology Core are 1) To examine the immunotoxic effects of the plant products under investigation 2) To provide the shared resources and technological assistance to pursue cutting-edge research on the individual projects 3) To provide training to investigators at the Center in the use of major equipment 4) To aid data collection and analysis in a timely manner 5) To enable data sharing between the projects, thereby enhancing collaborations 6) To participate in the development and conduct of experiments related to the research projects. There are two main components of this core. They are 1) Immunotoxicity testing which will include a) Standard Toxicity Testing b) Tier 1 Immunotoxicity Testing c) Tier 2 Immunotoxicity Testing. The Immunotoxicity testing will involve acute, short-term and chronic studies of resveratrol, grape seed/skin extracts for Project 1, American ginseng and its active ingredient for Project 2, and cannabidol (CBD) and CBD-rich fractions for Project 3. 2) Instrumentation Resources Facility which will a) Provide shared resources to enhance quality of research conducted at the Center, b) Enable data acquisition, analysis and sharing between investigators on the 3 projects. This would include statistical support provided by a biostatistician, c) Training of personnel in the use of core facilities. In summary, the Immunotoxicology Core will provide effective and economical shared resources to conduct cutting-edge research that leads to integration of all the projects at the Center.
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