The broad, long term objective of this application is to obtain funds to purchase a new JEOL JEM-1400 transmission electron microscope (TEM) for the Electron Microscopy Research Laboratory (EMRL) at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). This core facility has been in operation since 1972, and has received annual financial support from KUMC continuously. The EMRL has superb, experienced technical staff and contains all of the necessary ancillary equipment to carry out a wide range of experiments using TEM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). However, the only operative TEM instrument available is a JEOL JEM-100CX II that is more than 24 years old. This microscope is now obsolete. Several NIH-funded teams researching a diverse set of health-related topics currently rely on the EMRL at KUMC. These include projects that address mechanisms of (a) normal kidney glomerular capillary development and defects leading to loss of filtration barrier properties;(b) formation of neuronal synapses;(c) intestinal dysmotility and bacterial overgrowth in cystic fibrosis;(d) damage induced by oxidative stress in aging muscle and brain;(e) somatic cell-gonadal germ cell interactions critical for fertility;(f) composition and functions of the bacterial cytoskeleton important for cell division;(g) pathogenesis of HIV-AIDS in a primate model;and (f) anti-cancer activity of select fatty acids on human breast cancer cells. Progress on all of these projects will be enhanced with the availability of a reliable, modern TEM, and throughput will also be increased with access to the requested AMT digital camera system and 5 sample grid holder.
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