Cancer services offered by INFRAFRONTIER partners via the canSERV project:

Generation of precision cancer mouse models using CRISPR-Cas9

The personalised cancer mouse model generation service involves project design including prediction of off-target sites, preparation of sgRNA’s and Cas9 mRNA/protein, and injection into zygotes to generate F0 founder mutant animals (C57BL/6N or C57BL/6J genetic background preferred). Selected F0 animals will be bred to germline to produce F1 genome edited animals. Possible allele types that can be generated are indels, exon deletions (< 10kb) and point mutation insertions. Newly developed mouse models will be made available to selected applicants within an average of 2 to 3 months following provision of all required information to start the mouse production.

Service providers: NKI HMGU UOULU CCP MLC VetMedUni PHENOMIN-ICS

Service data sheets:
NKI UOULU CCP MLC Vetmeduni PHENOMIN-ICS

In-depth cancer-based phenotyping

This service combines mouse breeding and experimental animal pathology. The mouse breeding includes the breeding, genotyping and selection of the mice that will be phenotyped. The mouse handling involves the bi-weekly palpation of the mice, measuring the tumors and checking for metastasis and overall welfare. It also involves sacrificing the mice for dissection and freezing down and storing the viable tumor pieces. A health check will be performed and tumors genotyped. The experimental animal pathology encompasses the complete necropsy of 15 mice, followed by complete histology (tissue trimming, processing, paraffin embedding, sectioning, staining with hematoxylin and eosin), and histopathology report of all abnormalities (phenotypes) of several body parts and organs.

Service providers: NKI CCP

Service data sheets:
NKI CCP

Cancer and gut microbiota interaction pipeline in mouse models

The access unit covers the derivation of a single mouse mutant line into a germ-free condition, from a breeding nucleus or from frozen materials provided by the applicants. Mice will be kept under germ-free conditions for 12 weeks. The service includes the access to tumor samples, organs, tissues and biofluids from the germ-free mice (and SPF controls if requested). Tumor follow-up and solid tumor size will be measured following guidelines provided by the applicants. Mutant mouse lines will be provided by the selected applicants as live animals (minimum of 10 females and 5 males) or quality controlled frozen embryos or sperm (minimum of 40 embryos or 2 straws of sperm). The service provider will transfer and breed mice under SPF conditions (if SPF controls are needed), and introduce and foster 2 litters or 8 animals into one germ-free isolator until 3 months of age.

Service provider: IGC

Service data sheet:
IGC

Systemic phenotyping of cancer mouse models

In this service, user-provided mice cohorts are analysed systemically covering a broad range of tests to identify novel phenotypes. These tests and screens analyse the behaviour, neurology, clinical chemistry, nociception, dysmorphology, allergy, energy metabolism, cardiovascular function, sight, immunology and pathology.

Service providers: HMGU MLC

Intravital microscopy (IVM) with fluorescent biosensors in mouse models of cancer

Intravital microscopy (IVM) is the study of localization and dynamics of cellular processes relevant to cancer within the native tumor microenvironment. Services include housing of mice, surgical procedures necessary for installation of optical imaging windows adjacent to an tumors/organ of interest. Cancer model may include orthotopic/ectopic xenograft models in immunodeficient, syngeneic mouse tumor cell lines that can be genetically modified to express fluorescent reporters proteins for imaging purposes and genetic mouse models engineered to develop cancer.

Service providers: UOULU CNR

Service data sheets:
UOULU CNR

Digital pathology and Machine Learning-based image analysis for histology

This service offers tissue processing, embedding, sectioning and staining of histology samples. This is followed by quality-controlled digitization of whole-slide histological images of tumour and parallel normal tissue, including annotated pathological and survival data and dissector with laser acquisition.

Service provider: UOULU.

Service data sheet:
UOULU

Interested in using the above services free-of-charge for your research? Then…

Our other cancer resources

Frequently Asked Questions