This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The existing Molecular Biology and Tissue Culture Laboratory (MBL/TCL) core unit has played a key role in fostering research activities of various faculty and research investigators at Texas Southern University (TSU). The main purpose of the MBL/TCL was to enhance research investigations at the cellular and molecular level by providing resources and technical support, as well as hands-on-training in these areas. In order to increase competitiveness in the biomedical research arena, support new academic goals, and conform to post-genomic technological advances, the existing MBL/TCL requires continued support to enhance and expand the available resources. Enhancement of this facility will enable the MBL/TCL core to provide critical post-genomic technical and instrumentation services. The 3-dimensional (3-D) tissue culture technology has recently revolutionized biomedical research, particularly in the areas of tissue grafting, cancer research, and drug design. This 3-D tissue culture technology provides a novel in vitro tissue model system for understanding cell-cell interactions with respect to gene, protein, and receptor expression. The need for developing such a capability is timely as more researchers are increasingly turning to 3-D cell culture since patterns of gene expression and other biological activities more closely mirror what happens in a living system. Recent developments in tissue engineering clearly suggest that there are numerous differences between a 2-D flat layer of cells and a complex 3-D tissue. Expansion of the MBL/TCL facility involves the addition of a new Tissue Engineering (TE) component. This component will provide the training, technical support, and infrastructure to grow the complex 3-D tissue-equivalent architecture, which simulates in vivo, conditions for studying gene/protein expression and cell-cell interactions in human health and disease states. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to maintain funds to enhance, and expand the existing MBL/TCL core facility with a new TE technology to form the Molecular Biology and Tissue Engineering (MBTE) Core Facility. Integration of a tissue engineering component will complement the existing MBL/TCL core facility and strengthen its service capability to conduct advanced in vitro studies before proceeding to in vivo studies using whole animals.
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