As a result of CCSG strategic planning and evaluation of services offered, the former Mouse Tumor Models shared resource (MTM) was renamed the Experimental Tumor Model Shared Resource (ETM). ETM has expanded its experimental models to include xenografts, organoid and spheroid models from patient derived samples. The major objective is to provide high quality, cost-effective, custom services tailored to the needs of individual investigators and to provide a consolidated resource of experimental models and technical expertise for all aspects of in vivo experiments to support the research efforts of CCSG investigators. The ETM shared resource served a total of 65 Roswell users, of which 60 (92%) were CCSG members. ETM is a great value for their users as there are no commercial options that offer the full range of services for in vivo studies that are provided by ETM. The consolidated breeding colonies for the production of animals offer a profound savings over buying the transgenic mice through commercial sources. The ETM resource has two primary areas of focus: (i) experimental studies that utilize cancer models which includes maintaining models; biobank of tissues from each model; and providing technical support for treatment, evaluation of response and tissue procurement; and (ii) histological services for murine tissues. ETM service includes the full spectrum starting with study protocol development, providing experimental models, performing in vivo treatments to tissue procurement and histological staining with standardize murine IHC protocols. The histology services offered by ETM are focused on murine tissues. The resource maintains breeding colonies of several widely used models of prostate cancer. The ETM also maintains transgenic-based models of sarcoma, lung, pancreas (in development), and a carcinogen-induced model of bladder cancer. The ETM establishes and maintains a variety of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models.
The Specific Aims of the ETM are: 1) To provide a consolidated resource for conducting in vivo studies utilizing experimental models of cancer including biospecimens, experimental models and technical support for in vivo studies, and 2) To provide tissue procurement and histological support for research involving experimental models. ETM plans to establish new PDX models from clinical samples; establish lung squamous carcinomas PDXs with deep molecular characterization; establish PDXs, organoids and spheroids from the same patient samples; provide multiple transgenic models, PDX and 3-D culture methods; and establish the KPC transgenic model, biorepository of pancreatic models and tissues, and patient derived models (xenograft, organoids and spheroids).
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