Animal research

SERVICES OFFERED:

• Technical assistance to use the equipment and software available in the service.
• Assistance in the analysis and processing of the data acquired.
• Advice on choosing and/or designing the appropriate behavioral test for the user research and aim.
• Equipment maintenance.
• User guides preparation and assistance in writing materials and methods for publications.
• Organization of specialization courses and workshops.
• Assess and guide in the acquisition of new equipment.
• Participation in outreach activities.

PEC communications will be made through the distribution list: in.pec@listas.umh.es

Please make your inquiry preferably by email to: in.pec@umh.es

ACCESS REQUIREMENTS

1.- To access the animal facility, you must receive specific biosafety training. The RMG animal facility staff will teach this training upon request to: g.moreno@umh.es.

2.- It is essential to have the function C accreditation (ECC/566/2015) to carry out experiments in the PEC facilities.

3.- The user must be registered at: in.pec@listas.umh.es, through the website https://listas.umh.es/sympa/info/in.pec because the communications regarding the PEC will be made to this list.

4.- The working hours at the PEC facilities are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Prior notification by email to g.moreno@umh.es and in.pec@umh.es is required to access outside this time or on weekends, as well as register at the concierge desk.

5.- To access and work in the experimental zone, inside the RMG animal facility, it is mandatory to undress and to wear the specific work cloth available at the animal facility changing rooms, as well as a mask, hat, and gloves.

6.- Wear gloves, disposable overshoes and cap, and the lab coat is mandatory to work in room 8 and the second-floor facilities.

7.- It is forbidden to introduce foreign elements into the experimental zone (rooms 1 to 7), including papers/notebooks, pens, mobile phones, headphones, animals, etc.

8.- The platform to study rodent behavior (PEC) has three working areas with different biological safety degrees. Therefore, the workflow must comply with the following restrictions:

9.- It is not allowed to work simultaneously in the PEC and another animal facility (Alberto Sols building) or animal housing room (2nd floor IN). If you have any questions or specific needs concerning this requirement, contact g.moreno@umh.es and in.pec@umh.es.

10.- Hide information from staff may result in restricted access to the PEC facilities, so if you have specific needs, first contact in.pec@umh.es.

RULES

To work at PEC facilities, you must fill out the booking form and make the room booking through the IN website. Only the procedures authorized by the proper authority can be carried out. 

The booking holder is responsible for the room and must ensure that everything is tidy and clean after use. Furthermore, in the second-floor rooms, it is not allowed to leave personal equipment or tools without prior authorization from the technical staff in.pec@umh.es).

Noise can affect the results of behavioral tests; therefore, users should carry out the procedures with the doors closed and avoid talking in the corridors. 

During your working hours in the PEC room, you have to turn the sign available on the door that indicates “experiment in progress” and turn it again once you leave the room.

It is not allowed to house animals in the workrooms without prior authorization from the technical staff. To request this authorization, you must fill out the available form: temporary housing.

The habituation of the animals to the handling and the room must be done during the booked time and in the same room where the test will be done. 

Specific rules for rooms located within the RMG:

• The equipment in rooms 1, 4, 5, and 6 is non-transferable and non-movable. Additional equipment and tools are available in the storeroom and room 2 for use in rooms 2, 3, and 7. 
• Equipment cannot be removed or brought into PEC facilities without prior authorization (request to in.pec@umh.es).
• The configuration of the electrical connections in each room is fixed and cannot be modified. If the user needs to connect any other equipment, each room has at least one free plug and power strip. If you need to change the established configuration, please request prior authorization to in.pec@umh.es. 
• Each room has non-transferable common-use stuff (paper, ETOH 70%, light, pens, etc.). If any of these components are close to running out or have disappeared, please inform in.pec@umh.es.
• If the behavior test does not allow cages and littermates to be kept in the room (excess noise or odor, etc.), adjoining rooms cannot be booked for animal handling and habituation. In these cases, animals will be transferred directly from the stabling room to the work room using the hood to house each animal individually.
• Files produced during the experiments must be transferred electronically to external computers (by email, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.). After verifying the reception of the files on the external computer, users must delete the files from the PEC computers. 
• Remote connections to PEC computers are permitted unless the room is currently booked.

PEC users are responsible for checking the correct labeling of the animal cages housed in the experimental zone or resonance, updating the procedural code written on the card if necessary, or adding it if it is unwritten. 

Any incident must be notified by email to in.pec@umh.es.

BOOKINGS

Only users registered on the PEC distribution list (in.pec@listas.umh.es) will be able to book. Each booking belongs to a single owner and is non-transferable.

PEC rooms can be booked for 2, 3, or 6 hours for up to 4 consecutive weeks through the INTRANET. However, please note that the maximum duration for bookings that block the entire working hours of the rooms inside RMG is two successive weeks, while it is three consecutive days for the rest of the rooms. Contact the technical staff to make bookings that do not fulfill the indicated duration/requirements at: in.pec@umh.es.

It is mandatory to fill out the form available on this website after booking the room on the IN website. Multiple time slots for the same room can be grouped in a single form as long as the same procedure code and cohort are going to be used. Failure to complete this form will render the booking ineffective, and the user will not be able to use the facilities and equipment of the PEC. 

The PEC facilities can be accessed Monday to Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. However, if you need to use the facilities during the weekend or after 8:00 p.m., you will need to provide prior notification to g.moreno@umh.es and in.pec@umh.es, and register with the concierge.

For any change or booking cancellation, you must write to in.pec@listas.umh.es.

LOCATION

The platform to study rodent behavior (PEC) is located at the Instituto de Neurociencias (Santiago Ramón y Cajal building) and has a spacious work area inside the RMG animal facility with the following equipment: 

• Room 1. Erasmus Ladder + qOMR
• Room 2. Videotracking
• Room 3. Videotracking
• Room 4. Morris water maze
• Room 5. Fear conditioning and startle reflex boxes
• Room 6. Phenotype
• Room 7. Video tracking

On the second floor, three other rooms are available for booking, and where it is also possible to work under dim red light. In this area, rooms 1 and 2 can be interconnected to provide more workspace to the users. 

Finally, a spacious room is also available in the basement next to the molecular imaging facility (room 8).

STAFF / CONTACT

For specific inquiries, doubts about bookings or incidents, please email: in.pec@umh.es.

PEC announcements will be made through the UMH distribution list: in.pec@listas.umh.es.

Contact:

Plataforma para el estudio de la conducta 
Instituto de Neurociencias
Universidad Miguel Hernández – CSIC
Av. Santiago Ramón y Cajal s/n
03550 Sant Joan d’Alacant (Spain)
E-mail: in.pec@umh.es

Cryopreservation offers the opportunity of archiving valuable laboratory mice strains such as inbred or genetically modified mice, slowing down the onset of genetic drift and insuring them against any natural or sanitary disaster, mismanagement, reproductive problem, or transgene silencing expression.

The use of cryopreservation in this area also represents a good opportunity to apply the 3Rs policies, since on the one hand is an indirect method of reduction by avoiding the loss of these lines and therefore avoiding a new investment of animals in its creation, but on the other hand offers the possibility of directly reducing the number of animals used in research by archiving and eliminating strains that are kept alive but nevertheless are not being used. In this sense, cryopreservation is also a mechanism that makes possible the good management of the animal facilities since the elimination of obsolete lines is cost-effective (Table 1) and not only reduces the total maintenance costs of animals, but releases space that is being wasted and could be used by other developing research lines.

In short, cryopreservation prevents us from losing our model, ensures its quality, is an opportunity to apply the 3Rs and reduce the number of animals used in research, and is also advisable from an economic and management point of view.

Table 1. Ratio of Laboratory mice strains maintenance costs depending on whether they are kept alive or cryopreserved.

The Transgenic Service of the Institute of Neurosciences CSIC-UMH provides support to researchers for the generation and establishment of genetically modified mouse models. Our team offers technical advice on the best strategy to achieve the desired model through additive transgenesis or targeted mutagenesis.

The laboratory is located inside an SPF barrier and the work is performed under aseptic conditions, ensuring the best health status for the new strains generated.

Technical responsible: Gonzalo Moreno Del Val
email: g.moreno@umh.es »

 More information

Technical: Patricia Muñoz Robledano
email: pmunoz@umh.es »

 More information

Transgenic and Cryopreservation
Instituto de Neurociencias
Universidad Miguel Hernández – CSIC
Campus de San Juan
Sant Joan d’Alacant
Alicante | España

Tel. + 34 965 23 37 00
(ext. service 9371 / 9408)
Fax + 34 965 91 95 61

• It is mandatory for new users to receive the corresponding training by the Facility’s personnel before using any of these equipments.
• Working area should be always kept clean, particularly after finalizing the session.

This facility is located on the basement floor of the IN and organized as follows:

• Operating room 1
• Operating room 2

This facility is located in room 105 (First floor).

• Working in silence is strictly required in this area.
• It is forbidden to talk on the phone inside this area, especially in the housing rooms.
• Animals are housed in reversed cycle, thus extreme attention should be paid with the use of white lights in this area, in order not to interfere with the rat’s normal cycles.
• It is mandatory for new users to receive an introduction to the code of behavior and organization rules of this experimental area by the Facility’s personnel.
• Once you have received this training, your secured access (card) will be activated, and you will be invited to the main communication channel for users (Slack) and google calendar.

BOOKINGS

• Organization of spaces is performed through Slack and users’ google calendar. Access will be provided after introductory training (see rules).

The surgery room provides the following services:

• Room equipped with surgical table, stereoscope, and animal recovery chamber with adjustable temperature
• Stereotaxic frame adaptable for mice and rats (Kopf) and accessories
• Isoflurane vaporizer
• Oxygen concentrator

The room and the equipment can be booked independently, since most of equipment can be taken out to perform procedures at individual laboratories.

Room and equipment booking must be done via intranet at: user access.
Please keep in mind that you should do independent bookings for the room (Cirugía) and the required equipment. The options are listed below:

• Cirugía
• Cirugía-concentrador de oxígeno
• Cirugía-Estereotáxico
• Cirugía-Isoflurano

New users should contact Dr. Sandra Jurado: sjurado@umh.es to receive a brief training and get familiar with the user guidelines. This first contact is mandatory to gain access to the surgery room.

For any inquiries or incidences with the facility, contact Dr. Sandra Jurado: sjurado@umh.es