Specialized, State-of-the-Art Services Offered By Michigan Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center

July 12, 2017

The University of Michigan has been awarded $5.6M by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to establish the Michigan Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center (MMPC). The Center, directed by Dr. Malcolm Low, will advance medical and biological research using mouse models of diabetes, diabetic complications, obesity and related metabolic diseases and conditions.

It is comprised of four fee-for-service core laboratories that provide access to a broad range of comprehensive, state-of-the-art, specialized phenotyping services:

  • The Animal Care and Germ Free Mouse Core, directed by Drs. Robert Sigler and Jennifer Lofgren, is the gateway for all phenotyping involving live mice; providing mouse importation, quarantine, housing, veterinary care, clinical chemistry and histopathology services. The core also hosts a germ-free mouse facility, directed by Dr. Kathryn Eaton, which produces and distributes germ-free and gnotobiotic mouse models.
     
  • The Metabolism, Bariatric Surgery and Behavior Core, directed by Drs. Malcolm Low, Nathan Qi, and Randy Seeley, performs a variety of in-vivo physiological assessments encompassing glucose homeostasis, energy homeostasis, ultradian hormone secretion and behavioral measurements and generates bariatric surgery models. 
     
  • The Microvascular Complications Core, directed by Drs. Eva Feldman, David Antonetti, and Jeffrey Hodgin, provides a complete range of microvascular phenotyping of murine models of diabetes, obesity and metabolic disease; including validated, reproducible, and standardized phenotyping of the three major microvascular complications: diabetic polyneuropathy, nephropathy and retinopathy.
     
  • The Microbiome Core, directed by Drs. Vincent Young, Patrick Schloss, and Thomas Schmidt, serves the specific needs of investigators who are studying the role that complex microbial communities can play in shaping the overall metabolic state of their host. The core analyzes microbiome structure in mouse models of disease and cultivates microbes to permit hypothesis testing in murine models, including germ-free mice.

For more information about these services, and to learn how to request access, please visit the MMPC website or email michiganmmpc@med.umich.edu.