Most projects of this center grant have depended and continue to depend to varying on the availability of cultured and isolated synovial microenvironment components as well as the availability of fresh and cultured synovial T cell preparations. The Core Facility provides a central source for all of these tissues and has applied the special expertise necessary to isolation and growth of the synovial lining cells. Each human tissue or peripheral blood specimen is logged in, processed, and, in the case of tissue, portions frozen for later culture and for immunohistology, portions prepared for light microscopy, and portions prepared for electron microscopy. The preparation and use of monoclonal antibodies are required by many of the Center's investigators and the Core Facility serves as a central source of numerous monoclonal antibodies. Tissue sections for immunofluorescence staining and for in situ hybridization assays have been necessary to many studies and remain essential to the continuing studies of synovial inflammation. A new addition to the Core Facility is the provision of flow cytometry facilities and expertise in use for phenotypic analysis and separation of lymphoid cells and cultured synovial lining cells or salivary epithelial cells. The principal justifications for this Core facility derive from the highly labor intensive nature of growing and characterizing synovial microenvironment components and the elimination of duplication of effort by individual investigators in obtaining the necessary cell populations and tissues for study.
The specific aims of this Core Unit I are to culture synovial cells and to provide fresh samples of macrophages and T cells to investigators for functional studies, to maintain a synovial tissue bank to provide fresh or frozen synovial tissue samples for studies, to provide tissue sections to investigators performing in situ hybridization studies, immunofluorescent assays, or light microscopic analysis, to provide monoclonal antibodies for studies, and to provide flow cytometry facilities and expertise to investigators. This facility is designed to be an important source of tissue culture cells and tissue sections that will be available to all members of the Center.
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