Focused on Serving & Supporting Your Research

JAX® NOTES Issue 506, Summer 2007

Since we began distributing mice to other institutions in 1933, supporting our fellow researchers has been a top priority. In keeping with that tradition, we are making significant enhancements in the following areas:

  • providing mice of the highest health status;
  • developing innovative mouse models to accelerate your research;
  • continually adding standard and customized research support services;
  • providing local access to JAX® Mice throughout North America, Europe, and Asia;
  • expanding access to our technical and reference publications (many now available online); and
  • providing additional Technical Information Specialists, Customer Service Staff, and Regional Representatives to better serve you.

This article describes some of the initiatives we are implementing to ensure world-class quality, service, and support to users of JAX® Mice and Services.

Providing Mice of the Highest Health Status: new state-of-the-art facilities

One of our primary objectives is to provide you with mice of the highest possible health status. We recently constructed four state-of-the-art barrier rooms modeled after microprocessor industry "clean rooms," which operate under the strictest standards for cleanliness. These new rooms have separate, dedicated corridors for personnel, clean supplies, and "dirty" materials, providing the greatest animal health protection available in any barrier facility today. Feed, bedding, supplies, and equipment are sterilized or disinfected and delivered through a sterile corridor. Movement of personnel is highly restricted. Animal care technicians wear specialized microdenier scrubs and double-layered electrostatic discharge (ESD) smocks (these contain carbon fibers to minimize the adhesion of particles such as bacteria, allergens, and skin cells), facility shoes, gloves, mask, hood, and pass through air showers before entering.

All animal procedures are performed in changing stations vertically supplied with HEPA-filtered air, ensuring that the mice are exposed only to a sterile environment and remain specific pathogen free (SPF). The mice are housed in pressurized individually ventilated (PIV) microisolator-style cages. Pedigree expansion colonies of our most popular JAX® Mice strains and breeding colonies of immunocompromised JAX® Mice strains are now maintained in these new maximum barrier rooms.

Recognizing the critical importance of laboratory animal health to researchers, we were the first to develop and disseminate Laboratory Animal Health Reports for our mice and mouse rooms, assuring our customers of the high health status of JAX® Mice. In early 2007, we improved these reports to provide clearer and more detailed information about the agents we test for, sampling frequency and protocols, historical information, and our laboratory animal health policies (JAX® NOTES 2007a). As a longstanding practice, we include relevant animal health reports and veterinary certificates with every shipment of JAX® Mice.

Developing Innovative Mouse Models to Accelerate Your Research

With nearly a century of experience in mouse breeding and model development, we have a unique capability for producing "next generation" models to accelerate research discovery. Additionally, as an international repository for novel mouse models, we import, develop, and characterize hundreds of strains from other research institutions each year. Two exciting new models developed by our scientists and two imported models are described below.

NOD.Cg-Prkdcscid Il2rgtm1Wjl/SzJ (005557) was developed by one of our senior staff scientists, Dr. Lenny Shultz, in collaboration with researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the University of Tennessee, the EMD Lexigen Research Center, and the University of Massachusetts. This mouse model can be used to engraft and mimic the human immune system better than traditionally used models. Research conducted using this mouse promises to significantly improve the success of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplants for treating leukemia, sickle cell disease, and other blood disorders, and to accelerate the discovery of therapies for HIV(AIDS) and other diseases of the immune system (JAX® NOTES 2005b).

NONcNZO10/LtJ (004456) was developed by another of our senior staff scientists, Dr. Edward Leiter. Unlike strains BKS.Cg-m +/+ Leprdb/J (000642), B6.V-Lepob/J (000632), and KK.Cg-Ay/J (002468), which are excellent models of monogenic obesity with extreme phenotypes (massive obesity and hyperphagia, either extremely high or no leptin in circulation, and extreme hyperinsulinism), NONcNZO10/LtJ models the more common human obesity-induced diabetes (diabesity) syndromes. Its behavioral and endocrine phenotypes are moderate, and males exhibit a maturity-onset transition from impaired glucose tolerance to a stable non-fasting hyperglycemia (JAX® NOTES 2005a).

B6.Cg-Foxp3tm2Tch/J (006772) and C.Cg-Foxp3tm2Tch/J (006769): Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) plays a critical role in the development and function of the immune system. Studies of this protein have helped clarify the delicate balance between autoimmunity and regulatory mechanisms (Torgerson 2006). Experiments involving bone marrow chimeric mice have revealed that FOXP3 defects in both hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells are required for the development of severe autoimmune disease (Chang et al., 2006). These two strains, both under development, should prove very useful in immunological research of regulatory T cell proliferation and localization, and antigen independence during the primary immune response. For a more detailed description, use the stock numbers (006772 and 006769) to search the JAX® Mice Database.

Expanding Our Standard and Customized Research Services

We routinely work closely with scientists from academic institutions, the government, and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry to support their research through JAX® Services, a comprehensive and integrated suite of services for mouse-based biomedical research. Four of our newest and most popular services are briefly described below:

  • JAX® Sperm Cryopreservation and Recovery Service: Newly developed by our scientists, this is the first truly reliable service for cryopreserving and recovering sperm from transgenic and knockout strains with C57BL/6, FVB, DBA/2, and C3H backgrounds, F1 hybrid backgrounds of these strains, and B6;129 hybrid backgrounds (JAX® NOTES 2006; www.jax.org/jaxmice/services/spermcryo). It is a space-saving and cost-effective alternative to maintaining strains on the shelf and helps safeguard strains against inadvertent disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, animal health contamination, and genetic contamination. Learn more.
  • JAX® In Vivo Services: This service provides a broad array of high-throughput, cost-effective, non-invasive, and highly customizable test platforms for characterizing mouse models, evaluating key physiological parameters, validating drug targets, and testing drug efficacy for a variety of human diseases. Recently added test platforms include the Morris Water Maze (test of hippocampus-dependent learning and spatial memory) and EchoMRI (measures total body fat, lean mass, body fluids, and total body water). Additional test platforms under development include radial arm maze and automated gait analysis. Learn more.
  • Inventoried JAX® DIO Mice: This service provides you with preconditioned DIO mice so you can begin your research immediately, without tying up valuable research time and mouse room space to pre-condition the mice yourself. The mice are 6- to 26-week old diet-induced obese (DIO) C57BL/6J (B6, 000664) males, the most widely used models of diet-induced obesity. Age-matched controls are also available (JAX® NOTES 2007b). To be informed about the availability of these mice, subscribe to our weekly DIO Mice Inventory Report e-mail.
  • JAX® Tissue Harvesting Service: This service provides mouse organs and tissues to investigators who do not need whole mice. Requesting organs or tissues is easy through our online request form at our secure web site. View a complete list of available organs and tissues (and prices).
Providing local access to JAX® Mice throughout North America, Europe, and Asia

To better serve our domestic customers we have developed a dedicated ground transportation network to provide safe, cost-effective, weekly transport of JAX® Mice to over 98% of the U.S.A. and most of Canada. Specially-constructed trucks engineered with environmental control systems facilitate sanitation and air flow and ensure that JAX® Mice experience a low-stress, clean, comfortable, and safe ride. Mice are packed within the isolators and barrier facilities in which they are raised. They are shipped in state-of-the-art autoclaved and sterilized JAX® Mice Shipping Containers supplied with Beta Chip® bedding, a Napa Nectar® water source, and the same feed used in production. Mice shipped by this method arrive clean and in excellent health. Our most popular JAX® Mice strains are also locally available on the west coast from JAX® West. View a complete list of these strains.

To provide local supplies of JAX® Mice to biomedical researchers in many European and Asian countries, we recently renewed our collaborative agreement with Charles River Laboratories, Inc. Through this agreement, Charles River serves as the sole authorized commercial import and distribution agent for over 3,100 JAX® Mice strains in the following countries: Austria, Belgium, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. This agreement enables researchers in these countries to obtain supplies of the most popular JAX® Mice strains locally, bred by Charles River according to our breeding protocols, and to work with Charles River to perform research services on these mice. Researchers around the world may continue to obtain JAX® Mice strains and JAX® Services directly from Jackson Laboratory facilities in Bar Harbor, Maine, or in West Sacramento, California.

This relationship provides international researchers the convenience of working with Charles River's numerous international sales offices, in their own time zones, and in their native languages when ordering and importing JAX® Mice strains. Through this cooperative agreement, the research community worldwide has convenient access to JAX® Mice and benefits from the expertise of both organizations.

Improving Our Online Resources

Our online resources are some of the most widely-used in the world. They include the JAX® Mice Database, Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI), the Mouse Phenome Database, the Type 1 Diabetes Resource, and many others. These resources are maintained by our scientists, who know the needs of their fellow researchers. With their help and your feedback, our informatics staff routinely introduces improvements, new features, and new information to these resources. For examples, in this issue of JAX® NOTES, you can read about the more user-friendly JAX® Mice and Mouse Phenome databases, the expanded Type 1 Diabetes Resource, the new Parkinson's Disease Mouse Models Repository, the New Models for Translational Vision Research resource, the new gene trap information in the MGI Database, and the latest version of the Gene Expression Notebook (GEN) in the Gene Expression Database. To make it easier to find the appropriate strain(s) for your research, we have also developed new ways to search the JAX® Mice Database. You can now find strains displaying a specific phenotype, or strains related to human disease. For more details on this new search functionality, visit our Web site.

For an education article on how networks of genes work to control obesity, cancer, and heart disease and on how The Jackson Laboratory contributes to biomedical research, see Discover Magazine:

Zimmer C. 2007. Mendel's mouse. Discover 28(5):30-5.

As part of our mission to provide educational and research resources, we publish a great deal of informative and practical literature, including our JAX® Mice Catalog (a detailed listing of our JAX® Mice strains), Resource Manuals (practical guides to choosing appropriate JAX® Mice models and services), JAX® NOTES (our quarterly newsletter), and JAX® Mice News (our twice-monthly e-mail newsletter keeping you updated on our available resources). Because many of you prefer electronic versions of publications, we are making many of these available electronically from the JAX® Mice Web site. Subscribers of the electronic version of JAX® NOTES receive it via e-mail sooner than those who receive the printed version.

Regional Representatives, Customer Service Staff, Technical Information Scientists Eager to Help

Whether you are a North American or International customer, a member of our knowledgeable team of Regional Representatives is available to speak with you about how JAX® Mice and Services can facilitate your research and make the best use of your research dollars. Contact information for your Regional Representative can be found on our Web site.

Our professional Customer Service Representatives are particularly attuned to the needs of research scientists and will do everything possible to ensure that you receive the mice you need, when you need them. Orders for JAX® Mice can now be accepted until 3:00 PM Pacific time (6:00 PM EST), and mice that are readily available can be packed and shipped the next day. To order mice, call 1-800-422-MICE (6423), 1-207-288-5845, or send an e-mail to orderquest@jax.org.

Our dedicated Technical Information Services team is well equipped to answer your technical questions, help you select mouse models, and provide valuable information to facilitate your research. We are currently expanding this team to assist with JAX® Services project requests and to help our Regional Representatives keep you better informed about how our latest resources and services can benefit you and your research. This expanded staff will also provide facilitated access to our world-renown scientific staff. To contact our Technical Information Services team, call 1-800-422-MICE (6423), 1-207-288-5845, send an e-mail to micetech@jax.org, or submit a contact form.

In summary, we are continually finding new ways to better serve you and your research. If you have suggestions or comments on how we can improve our services and resources, please let us know by submitting the Web form.

References

Chang X, Zheng P, Liu Y. 2006. FoxP3: A genetic link between immunodeficiency and autoimmune diseases. Autoimmun Rev 5:399-402.

JAX® NOTES 2007a. JAX® Mice health reports revised. JAX® NOTES 505:8.

JAX® NOTES 2007b. Inventoried DIO mice now available. JAX® NOTES 505:1,6.

JAX® NOTES 2005a. NONcNZO10/LtJ, a new JAX® Mice model for obesity-induced type 2 diabetes. JAX® NOTES 497:1-3.

JAX® NOTES 2005b. NOD.Cg-Prkdcscid Il2rgtm1Wjl/Sz, a new model for engraftment with human hematopoietic stem cells. JAX® NOTES 498:4-5.

JAX® NOTES 2006. Reliable new sperm cryo service developed at The Jackson Laboratory. JAX® NOTES 504:1-2.

Torgerson TR. 2006. Regulatory T cells in human autoimmune diseases. Springer Semin Immunopathol 28:63-76.

Sponsored Strain Distribution Service Now Using Sperm Cryopreservation

Our sponsored Strain Distribution Service is a convenient and cost-effective way of distributing your novel mouse strain(s) to the biomedical research community and for fulfilling NIH requirements for sharing model organisms. We have dramatically reduced the cost of this service by using sperm cryopreservation to maintain strains with appropriate backgrounds. For more information, visit our Web site for sponsored distribution.