Cryopreservation and recovery: Critical components in disaster preparedness for mouse-based research
JAX® NOTES Issue 511, Fall 2008
|
Dr. Rob Taft, Director of Reproductive Services at JAX, reviewing cryopreserved sperm. |
Past Tragedies:
Tropical storm Allison drowns Houston research mice, delays research
On June 9, 2001, tropical storm Allison's heavy rains pounded large areas of Texas, affecting the lives of millions of people, including thousands involved in biomedical research. The rain flooded basements and knocked out power to research buildings and hospitals at Houston's Texas Medical Center, a vast biomedical complex that annually attracts about $1 billion of NIH grant support. Federal officials declared the research region a disaster area (the Laboratory Animal Management Association (LAMA).
Total losses at the Texas Medical Center complex were estimated at $102 million. Approximately 35,000 research animals, mostly genetically engineered mice and rats, drowned. Also, an untold number of reagents were obliterated, and many investigations at the University of Texas Health Science Center and the Baylor College of Medicine were either destroyed or severely set back. At the University of Texas alone, an estimated $105 million in sponsored research awards were affected, and all animal-based research was delayed up to 18 months (LAMA).
Total losses at the Texas Medical Center complex were estimated at $102 million. Approximately 35,000 research animals, mostly genetically engineered mice and rats, drowned. Also, an untold number of reagents were obliterated, and many investigations at the University of Texas Health Science Center and the Baylor College of Medicine were either destroyed or severely set back. At the University of Texas alone, an estimated $105 million in sponsored research awards were affected, and all animal-based research was delayed up to 18 months (LAMA).
Geneticist Michael Blackburn's entire colony of mutant mice drowned in the raging flood. Blackburn had spent eight years and millions of dollars developing and characterizing the strain, an important disease model for lung fibrosis. Blackburn's work had attracted $2.5 million in NIH grants, and several doctoral candidates had projects tied to the strain (Berger 2001).
On the afternoon after the flood, Katherina Walz, a postdoc working in the laboratory of geneticist James Lupski, found that she had lost two years of chromosomal-engineering experiments when her colony of 150 mice drowned. Fortunately, three female mice with a genetic deficiency to mimic the Smith-Magnis mental retardation disease survived in another research building (Dalton 1991).
The losses due to tropical storm Allison hampered the development of diagnostic tools, more effective treatments and drugs, and preventative measures for many diseases, including stroke, heart disease, and respiratory diseases. Dr. Huda Zoghbi, geneticist at Baylor College of Medicine, summed up the situation in these words: "It is a major setback that reagents are lost, but the significant loss is time-all the work that will have to be repeated. Many of us collaborate with researchers everywhere. The impact of this will be worldwide." (Berger 2001).
Hurricane Katrina destroys Louisiana research mice
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina's impact on at least two research institutions was catastrophic, affecting $130 million of NIH-sponsored research awards. Louisiana State University lost all its research animals when the four animal facilities housing them flooded. Tulane University had to evacuate its transgenic founder lines and humanely euthanize most of its mouse colonies.
Power outage at Ohio State University kills hundreds of research animals
On July 12, 2006, a power outage at six Ohio State University (OSU) Medical Center buildings shut off air conditioners, killing nearly 600 laboratory mice. According to Douglas Kniss, Senior Associate Vice President for OSU research, "For the faculty and students engaged in this work, the death of these animals is devastating" (Ohio State University, 2006).
University of Iowa research animals relocated
Recently, heavy rains in the Midwest taxed the capacity of several major rivers, including the Mississippi, Cedar, and Iowa. Areas threatened included several University of Iowa buildings. Although not directly affected by flood waters, three buildings housing research animals were at risk of losing electrical service and drinking water. To avoid a potential disaster, University staff relocated equipment and research animals, including some 20,000 mice, to an alternate site where the critical resources were less likely to be compromised. The University of Iowa's emergency plans were executed perfectly, and no animals were lost. However, this event acutely reminded the University that, as prepared as they were, Mother Nature could have dealt them a much harsher blow. Dr. Paul Cooper, University of Iowa Veterinarian, directed the preemptive animal evacuation. He stated: "We never expected this type of disaster to take place here in Iowa. It proved that good disaster planning is necessary, including flexibility as it plays out. Since you never know what disaster may occur, or when, it is also important to preemptively consider all methods of protection of animals, which may include multiple colony housing locations and cryopreservation of critical lines." (Pers. comm., Dr. Paul Cooper, University of Iowa Veterinarian).
The Jackson Laboratory lost mice to fires in '47 and '89
The Jackson Laboratory is no stranger to disaster. In 1947, a fire burned thousands of acres on Mount Desert Island and devastated all JAX® Mice colonies — 100,000 mice (The Jackson Laboratory Archives). The colonies were rebuilt with mice shipped back to The Laboratory from investigators worldwide. Over 40 years later, on May 10, 1989, JAX lost approximately 400,000 mice in another fire that started in a mouse room undergoing renovations. The fire raged for five hours before it was brought under control. Eleven breeding rooms and cage-washing and materials-storage facilities were completely destroyed, and smoke considerably damaged an adjoining building (JAX® NOTES 1989). As a result of these events and the critical nature of the mouse strains we house and provide to the research community, we proactively cryopreserve all strains that are imported into JAX and store them in multiple on- and off-site locations.
To read more about these and other examples of disasters that have affected animal-based biomedical research, go to the LAMA "Real Life Disaster Reviews: Floods, Hurricane and Earthquake" website.
The Jackson Laboratory is ready to help
We understand how strong institutional preparedness can help mitigate the effects of unexpected events. JAX® Cryopreservation and Recovery Services can help ensure that your mouse colonies are rapidly and completely recovered should disaster strike — for any reason.
JAX® Sperm Cryopreservation and Recovery Service
It can take six to 18 months and cost $100,000 or more to develop and phenotype a genetically modified strain by conventional techniques. Our Sperm Cryopreservation and Recovery Service can help you restock your facilities in record time and at a fraction of the cost. Cryopreserving the sperm of a genetically engineered strain and storing it at our facilities for three years generally costs about $1,800. In contrast, maintaining the same strain on the shelf typically costs more than $6,000 a year. An added benefit of cryopreservation is that strains can be put to "sleep" until needed, freeing up space, money, and time to conduct other research.
Just Published
Ostermeier GC, Wiles MV, Farley JS, Taft RA. 2008. Conserving, distributing and managing genetically modified mouse lines by sperm cryopreservation. PLoS ONE 3:e2792.
The JAX Freeze Team
The JAX Freeze Team is a group of reproductive specialists that can be quickly deployed to your facility to cryopreserve large numbers of strains in a matter of days. The team can routinely cryopreserve 120 strains or more per week.
JAX® Embryo Cryopreservation and Recovery Service
Although sperm cryopreservation works with most mouse strains, embryo cryopreservation is the preferred method for strains with multiple knockouts or transgenes. Using this method, live mice can quickly be produced from frozen embryos on an as-needed basis. Embryos are stored for five years, and cost varies with strain background, fertility, and number of embryos recovered.
Disaster planning and preparedness website
We recently added a Disaster Planning & Preparedness section to our website. The site includes a multimedia presentation entitled "Disaster Planning and the Importance of Cryopreservation" and links to relevant JAX® Services.
For more information about JAX® Cryopreservation and Recovery Services, visit our website, or contact us at 1-800-422-6423, 1-207-288-5845, or jaxservices@jax.org.
References
Berger E. 2001. Not so fertile ground: scientists hope mouse plan B will save research. Houston Chronicle. July 25, section A, page 1.
Dalton R. 1991. Texas facilities count cost of tropical storm. Nature 411:874.
JAX® NOTES. 1989. Fire levels much of Morrell Park. JAX® NOTES 438:1-4.
Laboratory Animal Management Association.
Ohio State University. 2006. Power loss results in deaths of rodents used in research. Ohio State University press release, updated 10/23/06.
