The Rodent Service is a 1500 sqm facility in Paris dedicated to research on new rodent models of human diseases and their use in preclinical studies. The facility supplies state of the art equipment and specialized staff to academics and industrials. With 7000 ventilated cages, both SOPF and SPF housing areas are provided, including ABSL1 and ABSL2 and 40 equipped procedure rooms. A well-established outsource company is in charge of animal care. PHENO-Institut du Cerveau – ICMice is part of the Institut du Cerveau – ICM core facility network (small animal MRI, sequencing, vectorology, histology, microscopy…) which facilitates translational research.
DEPARTMENT
Three activities are offered to support research projects at any step for all services
• Rodent behavioral department (mice and rat)
• Rodent surgery departement (mice and rat)
• Rodent lines preservation departement (mice)
ACTIVITIES
Service delivery : the team provides advice about design of experimental projects or protocols, adequate selection and use of specific behavioral tests or sugery experiment, data analyses and manuscript writing
Staff training: the team also proposes specialized training sessions for the use of specific equipment and software
Room/Equipment rental: 12 procedure rooms including more than 20 behavioral tests, 10 surgery boxes are available for rent
BEHAVIORAL DEPARTMENT
Basic motor and sensory function: homecage scan, seizure scan, rotarod, locotronic, open field, actimeter, running wheel, Y maze, runway, treadmill, hot/cold plate, SHIRPA
• Learning and memory: Morris water maze, radial arm maze, fearconditioning, empathy chamber, object recognition
• Social behavior: group scan, sociability chamber
• Anxiety and depression-like behaviors: elevated plus maze, dark/lightchamber, tail suspension, forced swim
• Attention: 5-9 holes
• USV : ultravocalization
• Muscular strength: Grip strength meter, grid
SURGERY DEPARTMENT
Stereotactic surgery (brain and spinal cord
• Live imaging (bi-photon)
• Microdialysis (CSF)
• Electroporation (pups)
• Tissue harvest (all or target structure of brain & spinal cord, peripherical organs)
LINES PRESERVATION DEPARTEMENT
• Embryo transfert
• Cryopreservation
EQUIPMENT
• Housing capacity: 3000 cages SPF and 4000 cages SOPF
• Ventilated cages system
• Biosafety level : ABSL 1 & ABSL 2
• Automated cage wash system
• Restricted access
ANIMAL CARE ( OUTSOURCE COMPANY )
• Breeding
• Plugging
• Weaning
• Tissue harvest-genotyping
• Tattooing
• Cleaning-feeding
RODENT WELFARE ORGANIZATION
Actively involved in ethical respect of 3R rules
CONTACT
pheno-icmice@icm-institute.org
