In the last fiscal year, the NIDCR intramural animal research program used 53,066 mice,535 rats, and 20 Xenopus frogs in research. The program provides an animal facility dedicated that can accommodate 5,760 mouse cages with a capacity up to 28,800 mice to NIDCR investigators only. The cage occupancy rate of that animal facility was about 98% of assigned space in August 2012. Additional mouse housing is provided in 8 other shared or centralized animal facilities on the Bethesda NIH campus and can accommodate 3,040 more mouse cages with a capacity of 15,200 mice. Housing for rats is available for 224 rat cages with a capacity of about 650 rats in a shared facility. Currently, there are seven Xenopus frogs that are housed in a separate aquatics holding area in another NIH campus animal facility. At this time no nonhuman primates, dogs, cats, farm animals, or fish are used by the intramural program of NIDCR. The NIDCR Animal Care and Use Committee reviewed and approved, or requested modifications for approval of 33 animal study proposals and 77 proposal amendments. New personnel were added to 105 protocols and 80 Annual Reviews of current animal study protocols were conducted by the ACUC. Training is required for all animal users, principal investigators, and ACUC members. NIDCR intramural scientists create and breed transgenic mice for experimental use in NIDCR operated and other NIH shared animal facilities. The NIDCR animal program is continually sharing these valuable animal resources and importing additional transgenic mice for specific research studies.
| Mukaibo, Taro; Munemasa, Takashi; George, Alvin T et al. (2018) The apical anion exchanger Slc26a6 promotes oxalate secretion by murine submandibular gland acinar cells. J Biol Chem 293:6259-6268 |
