The Mouse Phenotyping Core is currently organized around the three services Body Composition, Whole Body Metabolic Assessment and Metabolic Clamp. In the near future, the Core plans to add an enteral feeding program.
Body Composition measurements can be made through two systems that the Mouse Phenotyping Core operate: Dual energy x-ray absorbance (DEXA) and more recently added nuclear magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) analysis. The DEXA scanner (Piximus2) machine is located outside the mouse barrier facility and is most often used for terminal measurements or when bone density measurements are required. The MRI is located within the Berrie barrie facility and is most useful for serial measurements in mice without anesthesia. Scheduling an experiment with the core staff is done directly.
The Whole Body Metabolic Assessment program allows researchers to measure whole body mouse’s metabolic activity. Through the system, the mouse’s energy expenditure, food and water intake, movement, CO2 expenditure and RQ/RER are continuously measured, in up to sixteen mice per run. The system is located within a dedicated set of rooms within the Berrie Mouse Barrier Facility and will undergo an expansion that will more than double the capacity of the system. Scheduling an experiment is done with the core staff directly.