The UCLA-CURE Digestive Disease Core Center is organized around a cohesive group of senior investigators who have strong independent research programs in upper gastrointestinal tract biology and/or mucosal disease. Specifically, these investigators are studying the role of peptide hormones and neuropeptides in regulation of gastric secretion, blood flow and emptying; regulation of parietal cell function and the biochemical mechanisms responsible for acid secretion; mechanisms for cellular transport of essential nutrients, including glucose, and of cytoprotective substances, particularly glutathione; and control of acute bleeding from peptic ulcers and long term prevention of recurrent ulcer disease. The major functions of the Center are to foster productive scientific interactions between members of the research groups, to develop new programs, and to provide a milieu in which young investigators can enhance their training and develop their careers. The six scientific cores outlined in this proposal provide ready access to technology and to clinical biological materials that are essential to the programs of Center members. These cores provide custom synthesis of peptides and methods for purifying and characterizing them including custom antibody production; sophisticated animal models for studies of gastric secretion, motor function, and blood flow; anatomical methods for identification of proteins, mRNA, and receptors; and imaging techniques to study intracellular responses to modifiers of cellular function as well as a clinical studies core. An administrative core provides general coordination of Center activities and additionally offers to all members computer and graphics services, grants management, and a dynamic enrichment program. Six pilot and feasibility study proposals add an innovative dimension to the Center's research parameters. Funding of this center grant will provide the resources and the environment to ensure enhanced collaborations among investigators. In addition, it will provide the milieu for a coordinated comprehensive training program that can take young investigators through a continuum from postdoctoral fellowships, through the invaluable experience of carrying out a pilot and feasibility study, to the ultimate goal of developing independent laboratory programs. Finally, a cohesive center setting allows a creative enrichment program to prosper. CURE investigators already have made a major impact in the peptic disease/mucosal biology field during the last 15 years. The Center will offer new areas of emphasis, relevant to the current interests of the participants, better organization, and a renewed spirit of cooperative interaction.
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