SEARCHBreast: a new resource to locate and share surplus archival material from breast cancer animal models to help address the 3Rs

Animal models have contributed to our understanding of breast cancer, with publication of results in high-impact journals almost invariably requiring extensive in vivo experimentation. As such, many laboratories hold large collections of surplus animal material, with only a fraction being used in publications relating to the original projects. Despite being developed at considerable cost, this material is an invisible and hence an underutilised resource, which often ends up being discarded. Within the breast cancer research community there is both a need and desire to make this valuable material available for researchers. Lack of a coordinated system for visualisation and localisation of this has prevented progress. To fulfil this unmet need, we have developed a novel initiative called Sharing Experimental Animal Resources: Coordinating Holdings—Breast (SEARCHBreast) which facilitates sharing of archival tissue between researchers on a collaborative basis and, de facto will reduce overall usage of animal models in breast cancer research. A secure searchable database has been developed where researchers can find, share, or upload materials related to animal models of breast cancer, including genetic and transplant models. SEARCHBreast is a virtual compendium where the physical material remains with the original laboratory. A bioanalysis pipeline is being developed for the analysis of transcriptomics data associated with mouse models, allowing comparative study with human and cell line data. Additionally, SEARCHBreast is committed to promoting the use of humanised breast tissue models as replacement alternatives to animals. Access to this unique resource is freely available to all academic researchers following registration at https://searchbreast.org

SEARCHBreast: An online resource designed to increase the efficiency of using materials derived from breast cancer studies in animals

No abstract available

Introducing SEARCHBreast: a virtual resource to facilitate sharing of surplus animal material developed for breast cancer research

Animals studies have made significant contribution to expanding our knowledge of breast cancer. Often material is leftover and archived. SEARCHBreast provides a platform for collaborative sharing of archived material via a dedicated on-line database whereby users can both share and search available tissue. The SEARCHBreast database has information on over 50 different mouse models, including tissue from PDX models, available to share. With thousands of samples freely available, SEARCHBreast should be the first point of call for any researcher looking for animal material to aid their breast cancer research

SEARCHBreast: A new online resource to make surplus material from in vivo models of breast cancer visible and accessible to researchers

No abstract available

The SEARCHBreast portal: A virtual bioresource to facilitate the sharing of surplus animal materials derived from breast cancer studies

The SEARCHBreast portal (https://searchbreast.org/) provides access to a virtual bioresource enabling researchers to access and share material derived from breast cancer related animal studies on a collaborative basis. By registering as members of SEARCHBreast, researchers can browse the SEARCHBreast platform for relevant tissue and models, and request access to these to help answer their specific biological question(s). SEARCHBreast mediates the collaborations formed from requests for these materials. As of July 2016, the virtual bioresource has received 8 requests for tissue and has sent hundreds of tissue samples saving approximately 400 animals. SEARCHBreast is currently developing a bioinformatics pipeline, enabling users to access and mine published data on animal models of breast cancer, potentially helping to reduce experimental redundancy further, prioritising new relevant research

Leucine did not stimulate growth and accretion in either stressed or unstressed Atlantic salmon

The aim of the current trial was to test whether leucine affected growth and accretion including test any effects on leucine upon stress. Quadruplicate tanks each containing 50 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) (mean start body weight of 524 ± 28 g) were fed diets containing 27.3, 30.0, 35.0 and 41.0 g leucine/kg diet for 74 days. Two tanks per dietary group were exposed to a stressor (5 min chasing) three days a week to test whether enriched leucine diet aid coping with chronic stress, while two tanks per dietary groups were left unstressed. The stressed fish consumed less feed and grew less than the unstressed fish, irrespective of diet. Leucine inclusion did not affect protein accretion, but leucine retention declined with increasing dietary leucine in both stressed and unstressed fish. No difference between the stressed or unstressed fish was present. Leucine did not affect relative liver size, but unstressed fish had slightly higher relative liver size compared with stressed fish (p = 0.05). Free leucine in the muscle and liver was not affected by dietary leucine, but unstressed fish had higher concentration of valine and isoleucine in the muscle compared with the stressed fish. Muscle of fish fed elevated leucine had lower mRNA expression of murf1 (p = 0.037) and higher expression of ppara (p = 0.012). Muscle of stressed fish had higher expression of the oxydative genes mnsod (p = 0.049) and catalase (p = 0.037) compared with the fish left unstressed, while in liver, there were no differences of expression of any of the genes tested. In conclusion, diets enriched in leucine had minor effects and neither protein accretion nor growth was affected in either stressed or unstressed fish.publishedVersio

The role of preclinical SPECT in oncological and neurological research in combination with either CT or MRI

Preclinical imaging with SPECT combined with CT or MRI is used more and more frequently and has proven to be very useful in translational research. In this article, an overview of current preclinical research applications and trends of SPECT combined with CT or MRI, mainly in tumour imaging and neuroscience imaging, is given and the advan- tages and disadvantages of the different approaches are de- scribed. Today SPECT and CT systems are often integrated into a single device (commonly called a SPECT/CT system), whereas at present combined SPECT and MRI is almost always carried out with separate systems and fiducial markers to combine the separately acquired images. While preclinical SPECT/CT is most widely applied in oncology research, SPECT combined with MRI (SPECT/MRI when integrated in one system) offers the potential for both neuroscience applications and oncological applications. Today CT and MRI are still mainly used to localize radiotracer binding and to improve SPECT quantification, although both CT and MRI have additional potential. Future technology developments may include fast sequential or simultaneous acquisition of (dynamic) multimodality data, spectroscopy, fMRI along with high-resolution anatomic MRI, advanced CT procedures, and combinations of more than two modalities such as combina- tions of SPECT, PET, MRI and CT all together. This will all strongly depend on new technologies. With further advances in biology and chemistry for imaging molecular targets and (patho)physiological processes in vivo, the introduction of new imaging procedures and promising new radiopharmaceu- ticals in clinical practice may be accelerated

Patient-reported outcome measures after hip fracture in patients with chronic cognitive impairment: results from 34.675 patients in the Norwegian Hip Fracture Register

Aims: Hip fracture patients have high morbidity and mortality. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) assess the quality of care of patients with hip fracture, including those with chronic cognitive impairment (CCI). Our aim was to compare PROMs from hip fracture patients with and without CCI, using the Norwegian Hip Fracture Register (NHFR). Methods: PROM questionnaires at four months (n = 34,675) and 12 months (n = 24,510) after a hip fracture reported from 2005 to 2018 were analyzed. Pre-injury score was reported in the four-month questionnaire. The questionnaires included the EuroQol five-dimension three-level (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire, and information about who completed the questionnaire. Results: Of the 34,675 included patients, 5,643 (16%) had CCI. Patients with CCI were older (85 years vs 81 years) (p < 0.001), and had a higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification compared to patients without CCI. CCI was unrelated to fracture type and treatment method. EQ-5D index scores were lower in patients with CCI after four months (0.37 vs 0.60; p < 0.001) and 12 months (0.39 vs 0.64; p < 0.001). Patients with CCI had lower scores for all dimensions of the EQ-5D-3L pre-fracture and at four and 12 months. Conclusion: Patients with CCI reported lower health-related quality of life pre-fracture, at four and 12 months after the hip fracture. PROM data from hip fracture patients with CCI are valuable in the assessment of treatment. Patients with CCI should be included in future studies.publishedVersio

Comparative regulomics supports pervasive selection on gene dosage following whole genome duplication

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