The commercial objective of MusWorks Inc. is to provide a mouse aggregation chimera production service to the biomedical research community. Mouse chimeras are genetically composite animals whose cells are derived from different embryos. Chimera analysis is a particularly valuable tool for assessing how mutations affect the cellular interactions that underlie complex biological systems, most notably the formation and function of the brain.
We aim to evaluate the feasibility and utility of using large series of chimeras to analyze a variety of genes that have different roles in central nervous system development and function. We will create four series of chimeras incorporating different mouse mutant models: the Clock mutant, prestin knockout mice tamoxifen-inducible CREB-repressor transgenic mice, and a Math1 gene knock-in. In applying chimera analysis to study a variety of neuroscience problems, we will assess, by extension, the value of chimera analysis to biomedical research in general. Large-scale chimera analysis has the potential to contribute substantially to the analysis of mouse mutant phenotypes, including important mouse models of human function and dysfunction.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) - Phase II (R44)
Project #
5R44MH066670-04
Application #
7085474
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-MDCN-3 (10))
Program Officer
Grabb, Margaret C
Project Start
2002-08-26
Project End
2008-06-30
Budget Start
2006-07-01
Budget End
2008-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$478,969
Indirect Cost
Name
Musworks, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
106735512
City
Falls Church
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
22042
Cheatham, Mary Ann; Low-Zeddies, Sharon; Naik, Khurram et al. (2009) A chimera analysis of prestin knock-out mice. J Neurosci 29:12000-8