Institutions and facilities
The Germ-Free Oeiras Service (GFOS)
The GFOS is part of the core animal facility of the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência in Oeiras, Portugal. The IGC mouse facility is partitioned into 5 independent areas, each with a specific bio-containment level, including germ-free and strict SPF. The facility hosts about 50,000 mice that cover close to a 100 different inbred strains, available to in-house and associated research groups and visiting scientists. Production and experimental areas are designed to serve active research in various fields of biology (development, neurobiology, infectious diseases, immunology, genetics). Ongoing scientific projects at the IGC involving the GFOS are related to studies of immuno-compromised mice.
The GFOS is adapted for breeding and experimentation purposes. Rigid and flexible Isolators, transfer chambers and containers are equipped with the Double Door Rapid Transfer Port (DPTE®), a user-friendly and safe connecting system for introducing and removing equipment and other materials to and from sterile isolators. Like other research facilities at the IGC, the GFOS is available to scientists worldwide upon agreement from the Institute's Director. Moreover, scientists who want to work with these mice can be temporarily hosted at the Institute's laboratories if they wish to conduct their own experiments.
Contact:
Dr. Jocelyne Demengeot
Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência
Rua da Quinta Grande 6, Apartado 14
PT-2781-901 Oeiras, PORTUGAL
Phone: +351 21 440 79 08
FAX : + 351 21 440 79 70
jocelyne@igc.gulbenkian.pt
http://www.igc.gulbenkian.pt/
The Core Facility for Germ-Free Research (CFGR)
Karolinska Institutet (KI), Sweden
The opportunity for the handling and maintenance of rodents reared under germ-free conditions have been available for more than 50 years at the KI (Gustafsson, 1948). Over the years germ-free or axenic mice have been used as important experimental tools. The access to genome information, high throughput analysis and the rapidly growing notion that microorganisms are important players in development and homeostasis has dramatically changed our potential to assess, at the genome level, the impact of microbes on the host. Thus, the availability of axenic mice facilitates the design of tailor-made experiments that investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colon cancer, type II diabetes, obesity and of course skin disorders. In addition, functional genomics studies on axenic mice should be helpful in order to identify new strategies for drug design to combat infections. There is an urgent need to learn about the fundamental mechanisms of host microbe interactions and reshaping of the innate and the adaptive system. Furthermore, there is growing demand to develop functional food products that can be used to sustain health within the community that will have a profound impact on both young and old people.
These types of studies are now available by the use of axenic mice.
The core facility for germ-free research (CFGR) at the Karolinska Institutet recently moved to new premises (2005) and has been completely renovated. In keeping with our previous unit, steel isolators form the basis for the barrier function and are used for the production of axenic mice. Specific experiments are then carried out in plastic based isolators. At full capacity, the unit can handle up to 1200 axenic mice. What is more, an SPF facility (capacity 3000 mice) is also located within the unit. Shipment of axenic mice to the customer can be performed in special designed shipping cannisters. Finally, help with the experimental design as well as assistance in the actual experiments is available upon request.
Contact:
Dr. Sven Pettersson, Professor
MTC, Division of Molecular Pathology
Laboratory of Gastrobiology
Karolinska Institute
Theorells väg 3
171 77 Stockholm
Phone +46 8 524 86686
FAX +46 8 33 15 47
sven.pettersson@mtc.ki.se