(SWINE CORE) The Swine Core of the Indiana Diabetes Research Center is a Regional/National Shared Resource Core that has been operating and servicing researchers since 2004. The central function of the Swine Core is to reduce barriers to the use of Ossabaw swine, a unique animal model that closely approximates human metabolic syndrome (MetS) and progression to type 2 diabetes, with attendant long-term complications. Understanding and therapeutic treatment of MetS and diabetes with numerous long-term health complications in humans has been stifled by the lack of translational animal models. Experimental methods and translation to human clinical medicine is not possible from widely used rodent and transgenic mouse models. The Swine Core will characterize MetS and progression to type 2 diabetes and/or chemically-induced diabetes (MetS/D) and the resulting comorbidities in Ossabaw swine. We have provided Ossabaw tissue and/or live pigs to ~160 investigators during the 15 years of the Swine Core operation. A bank of ~50 different tissues available from each pig has enabled widespread dissemination to other investigators, providing outstanding resource sharing and cost-effectiveness. Providing this swine resource enables testing of numerous hypotheses about the integrated, in vivo pathogenesis and long-term complications and provides tissues for studies of cellular and molecular mechanisms. The Swine Core is a critical interface in the translation of research from simpler animal models (Islet & Physiology Core) to humans (Translation Core). The Swine Core is Directed by Dr. M. Sturek, a leader in modeling human diseases in swine, and Dr. M. Alloosh serves as the Associate Director.
The Specific Aims of the Swine Core are to: (1). Make lean and diet-induced MetS and diabetic (MetS/D) pigs readily available, i.e. ?on the shelf?. (2). Determine the endocrine, metabolic, and dyslipidemia indices of MetS/D to screen for optimal phenotypes. (3). Provide a tissue and data bank for distribution.
These aims of the Swine Core will reduce barriers to study of this highly relevant animal model, and will facilitate the progressive translation of research from simpler, less complex models to humans.
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