UIC Metabolic Phenotyping Core gives Chicago researchers gold-standard services

The genome alone rarely gives researchers enough information to develop effective therapies and treatments against disease. To fully understand biological processes, researchers must rely on both genetic variations and the interactions of genes with environmental factors.

Metabolic phenotyping is critical for understanding the complex interplay of the genetic, environmental and physiological factors that underlie diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. At UIC, researchers have access to cutting-edge tools and expertise for their metabolic studies through the Metabolic Phenotyping Core.

"In your experimental model, if you see any differences in body weight, or if you see that some animals are leaner or more obese, we have reliable tools and gold-standard techniques to tell you for sure what is happening," said Marcos David Muñoz, who is part of the Metabolic Phenotyping Core's faculty advisory committee.

"With the tools we are using, we are able to tackle the specific mechanisms behind the pathophysiology and to link with the pharmacology manipulations," said Pingwen Xu, the core's director. "We can find the specific signaling or phenotypes that are affected by pharmacology drugs."

The Metabolic Phenotyping Core maintains several pieces of equipment for UIC and external researchers, including the Promethion Core from Sable Systems International, the LF50 BCA-Analyzer from Bruker and the BioDAQ Food Intake Monitor from Research Diets. Interested researchers can set up a consultation with Metabolic Phenotyping Core staff to discuss research study designs and goals. After the consultation, staff can train new users on each instrument, if needed. Students enrolled in the Graduate Education in bioMedical Sciences program, also known as GEMS, will also see the Metabolic Phenotyping Core.

"The goal of these efforts is to have a standardized protocol for every procedure," Xu said. "This is the first step for researchers to understand what we are doing and what types of protocols they can perform. They will have the opportunity to explore how those experiments can be done."

As the only metabolic phenotyping core in the Chicago area, UIC's provides metabolic research groups with essential services and expertise at affordable prices. The core runs experiments every week and has already supported several publications in major journals.

"If researchers want to increase the impact factor of their publications and do gold-standard techniques and data analysis, they should try our core," Muñoz said.

The core is part of the Research Resources Center, a division of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research that offers research faculty, staff and students an inventory of high-end scientific equipment and a range of services. The Metabolic Phenotyping Core works closely with several other cores, including the Cardiovascular Research and Mass Spectrometry cores and the Biologic Resources Laboratory.

To learn more about the Metabolic Phenotyping Core or to set up a consultation, visit the core website.

- Rebecca Clair, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research