The Animal Research Core examines changes in metabolic patterns and evaluates the cellular and molecular changes in organs, blood, and tissues from mice and rabbits following established mouse and rabbit models of burn injury that recapitulate the development of the hypermetabolic response from the Human Subjects Core. Knowledge acquired from observation of the common changes in the metabolic response after burn injury will build upon our strong foundation for comparisons between metabolic changes observed in the clinical samples and animal studies. The interpretation of the results from the murine and rabbit models can help us redesign our models to more closely mimic the human phenotype. Such studies are required for the development of effective therapeutic strategies to prevent the occurrence of potentially fatal complications in seriously burned patients. This facility ensures that all investigation perform the burn injury with uniform, reproducible results. Secondly, we strive to have all murine studies including the knockout models on a C57BL/6 background to facilitate interpretation and comparison of our results. Preparation and handling of the complex animal models used in the Burn Trauma Center can be problematic for young investigators and research fellows without substantial experience. The Animal Research Core is extremely helpful in the pre-and post-operative care and the administrative responsibilities for animal care, and has provided consistency and reproducibility within and between studies, while insuring that animal welfare is maintained. The Animal Research Core provides several services to the Burn Trauma Center. The core provides the investigators with a central facility and technical staff that is equipped to set up and maintain uniform, complex mouse and rabbit models. The facility assumes an enormous responsibility that all animal studies funded by the Center are current and up-to-date and that all procedures follow strict humane guidelines. The facility has acquired a library of books and protocols related to the performance of animal procedures and freely shares this information with Center investigators.
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