CORE FACILITIES

COBRE Center for Redox Biology and Cardiovascular Disease Facility
CONTACT INFORMATION: karen.stokes@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024776

This Core occupies over 2,000 sq. ft. of laboratory space on the 3rd floor of the of the Medical School Building B and is divided into two sub-cores:

1. The Histology and Genotyping Sub-Core provides animal genotyping and histological services. The histology equipment includes a Leica TP 1020 Tissue Processor, a Leica EG 1160 Tissue Embedding Station, a Leica RM2245 Rotary Microtome, a Leica CM3050S Cryostat, a Leica SM2000R Sliding Microtome, a Leica VT1000S Vibratome, and a Reichert-Jung Ultracut Ultra-Microtome. Several histological stains used to phenotype cardiovascular and liver tissues are available, including H&E, Masson Trichrome, Picrosirius Red, Oil Red O, etc. The sub-core also allows access to an Olympus BX43 Upright Microscope with a DP72 color camera for imaging histology stains.
2. The Cardiovascular Phenotyping Sub-Core includes various modalities such as the VisualSonics Vevo 3100 Ultra High-Frequency Ultrasound Imaging System, Perimed PeriCam PSI System with PimSoft for data analysis, and TSE Telemetry System.

Animal Models and Histology Core >>

Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Process (CAIPP) Core Facility
CONTACT INFORMATION: rona.scott@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024779

The CAIPP Bioinformatics and Modeling Core is an NIH funded program within The Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes (CAIPP). The Bioinformatics and Modeling Core is a primary resource center at LSUHS supporting all ‘omics data analysis, network modeling, and data science research. The Core operates as a fee for service facility and is available to all researchers at LSUHS. Services outside of LSUHS will require a prior contract agreement. The Bioinformatics and Modeling Core will also provide training and education opportunities.

CAIPP Bioinformatics and Modeling Core >>

Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Process (CAIPP) Core Facility
CONTACT INFORMATION: matthew.woolard@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024781

The Immunophenotyping Core is an NIH funded program within The Center for Applied Immunology and Pathological Processes (CAIPP). The Immunophenotyping Core provides services that allow for isolation of cellular populations from complex tissues, automated quantification of cell numbers, quantification of GFP, DAPI, RFP, Cy5 or Cy7 positive populations, automated quantification of cytokine concentration in supernatants and biological samples, and high-quality flow cytometric and microscopic assay development and execution. The Core operates as a fee for service facility and is available to all researchers at LSUHS. Services outside of LSUHS will require a prior contract agreement. The Immunophenotyping Core will also provide training and education opportunities.

CAIPP Immunophenotyping Core >>

LOCATION: Medical School B-Building, 8th floor, 8-303
CONTACT INFORMATION: jianfeng.liu@lsuhs.edu, Phone 318-675-7323

Laboratory Director: Jianfeng Liu, MD
Faculty Oversight: Kevin McCarthy, PhD

The Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy maintains a state-of-the-art histology core facility for the processing, embedding, and staining of fixed and unfixed tissue sections. The facility is equipped with three Leica rotary microtomes and associated peripheral equipment for tissue sections. In addition, a Sorvall JB-4 microtome is available for cutting thin (0.5µm) sections embedded in methacrylate resin. The facility houses a complete Leica tissue processing/embedding system for high throughput paraffin embedding of tissues.

The facility is capable of performing most routine stains, including Hematoxylin/Eosin, Alcian blue, Toluidine blue, Masson’s trichrome stain, PAS, Oil Red O (frozen sections only), Picrosirius Red.

A Leica Cryostat and Leica horizontal sliding microtome for the sectioning of frozen tissue specimens.

The facility is run on a fee-for-service basis; please contact the Laboratory Director for price schedules.

Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences (CCDS) Core Facility
CONTACT INFORMATION:
RRID:

This core provides a centralized service for performing technically challenging mouse models of cardiovascular disease, such as the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke model, coronary artery ligation model of myocardial ischemia, the femoral artery ligation model of peripheral artery disease, and the partial carotid artery ligation model of disturbed blood flow.

CCDS Surgical Models Core >>

Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences (CCDS) Core Facility
CONTACT INFORMATION: wayne.orr@lsuhs.edu
RRID:

This core provides a centralized service for generating AAV particles for cardiovascular and metabolic studies. The CCDS Virus Production Core operates on the 3rd floor of the Medical School building B and offers the production of custom AAVs for the use in CCDS laboratories on a fee-for-service basis. This Core Facility is overseen by Dr. Wayne Orr, Director of the CCDS.

CCDS Virus Production Core >>

Feist-Weiller Cancer Center
CONTACT INFORMATION: jimi.murph@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_026020

The biorepository, a Feist-Weiller Cancer Center (FWCC) supported resource, provides a gateway through which institutionally supported investigators involved in IRB-approved research projects or clinical trials can acquire the human tissue samples or hematological samples required to support their research. The overall objective of FWCC Biorepository is to support translational research by functioning as the primary fresh-frozen tissue acquisition and processing facility for human solid tissue and hematopoietic specimens. To support future research studies, the FWCC Biorepository utilizes an IRB-approved protocol and consent form to prospectively collect and process high-quality specimens. The FWCC Biorepository works in collaboration with medical and surgical teams at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport, the Department of Pathology to procure remnant tissue for research purposes, and investigators in need of biospecimens for their research. Additionally, FWCC Biorepository provides customized services and equipment to assist investigators in the procurement, analyses, and clinicopathologic correlation of human tissue specimens.

FWCC Biorepository >>

Feist-Weiller Cancer Center 
CONTACT INFORMATION: ellen.friday@lsuhs.edu

The Feist-Weiller Cancer Center's Center for Precision Medicine Genomics Laboratory is a CLIA/CAP accredited laboratory established in 2017 to offer clinical Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to north and central Louisiana. The current test menu includes a large pan cancer DNA and RNA fusion panel for solid tumor testing. Reports to physicians include tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), FDA approved therapies and clinical trial recommendations. Although this is a clinical diagnostics lab, data can be mined for research purposes.

FWCC Precision Medicine Genomics Laboratory >>

CONTACT INFORMATION: ana.dragoi@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024990

The Feist-Weiller Cancer Center’s (FWCC) Innovative North Louisiana Experimental Therapeutics program (INLET) is a high-throughput, high-content screening (HTS) facility focused on the discovery and development of a wide range of drugs and genetic targets that affect human diseases including cancer, fungal, bacterial and viral infection, neurological disorders and cardiovascular disorders. The primary mission of INLET is to assist investigators throughout LSU Health-Shreveport and the state of Louisiana in generating preliminary data to help in grant applications and paper submissions.

INLET houses two live-microscopy systems, the newer Incucyte® S3 system, and the older Incucyte ZOOM instrument. The two Live-Cell analysis instruments, the Incucyte® ZOOM and Incucyte® S3, can monitor cells in real-time for days, or even weeks, directly from a cell incubator. The image acquisition can be done in HD phase, green fluorescence, and red fluorescence at multiple time points, thus enabling non-invasive multiplex analysis. Incucyte Systems can acquire six plates at the same time, therefore accommodating multiple users and cell applications. The kinetic image-based applications can profile cell-specific time-dependent biological processes such as cell proliferation and viability, cell migration and invasion, and tumor spheroid analysis. Incucyte System is used in diverse areas of research, such as cancer biology, immunology, microbiology, cardiology, and COVID-19-related research. The Cellomics ArrayScan VTI high-content analysis system complements the high-throughput Incucyte System. This platform allows high-throughput drug screening and cellular compartmental analyses with over 30 application-based cell phenotypic assays. A significant advantage of the Cellomics VTI system is the 40X objective that enables visualization of cellular organelles and precise analysis of subcellular compartments.

INLET services based on the Incucyte ZOOM, Incucyte S3, and Cellomics VTI imaging platforms include screening assay creation, high-throughput and high-content compound screening, basic research support, data management and analysis, and hit-to-lead development. INLET personnel assist new users with the necessary access and training if required and help develop the appropriate protocols and analyses.

INLET also has the Biotek Synergy H1 and Synergy 4 plate readers. The new H1 reader has unique capabilities such as the ability to perform absorbance, fluorescence, and luminescence reads for endpoint and kinetic assays under temperature control up to 70C; tunable wavelength adjustment along with filter-based fluorescence, which allows for increased flexibility and sensitivity for many standard fluorescent assays; dual reagent injectors and shaking capability for timely addition of reagents during plate reads without the need to remove plates during time & light sensitive assay; software that allows for advanced reader control, including robust data analysis and flexible exporting capability to Excel table formats. Furthermore, five additional installation licenses are included in the purchase, negating the need to repurchase new software packages as the instrument ages.

INLET >>

COBRE Center for Redox Biology and Cardiovascular Disease Facility
CONTACT INFORMATION: wayne.orr@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024778

This core occupies 3,375 sq. ft. of laboratory space on the 3rd floor of the Medical School building B and on the 6th floor of the BRI and is divided into two sub-cores:

1. The Analytic Redox Biology Sub-Core provides high quality, accurate measurements of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), and reactive sulfide species in cell culture and tissue samples. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems coupled with UV-vis and fluorescence detectors are used to specifically quantify cellular and mitochondrial superoxide production, hydrogen sulfide pools, and thiols (glutathione, GSH/GSSG, cysteine, cystine, homocysteine, persulfides, and glutathionylation). In 

   addition, this core facility employs a versatile and highly sensitive Sievers NO Analyzer (NOA 280i, GE) capable of measuring nitric oxide, nitrite, nitrate, nitrosoheme, and nitrosothiols in a variety of biological samples.

2. The Molecular Signaling Sub-Core offers services for isolation of primary cells, molecular cloning, site-directed mutagenesis, design and production of vectors for CRISPR/Cas9 modification, and for adenovirus and lentivirus production for transient or stable modification of cells. The core also provides access to equipment and expertise for exposing vascular cells to hemodynamic forces using parallel plate flow chambers, equipment for the study of cellular effects of hypoxia/reoxygenation injury (Coy Hypoxic Chamber). The CLARIOstar Plus High-Performance Multimode Microplate Reader is available with luminescence, fluorescence, and colorimetric capabilities.

The Oroboros Oxygraph-2k modular system for High-Resolution Respirometry is available for measurement of mitochondrial function. It offers the flexibility of testing multiple substrates/inhibitors additions during the same measurement, including for isolated mitochondria. It is highly sensitive, and modules allow for parallel recording of transmembrane potential changes and ROS production in parallel to the OCR.

Redox Molecular Signaling Core >>

CONTACT INFORMATION: david.custis@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024775

The Agilent Seahorse XFe24 Analyzer measures the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) of live cells in a 24-well plate format. OCR and ECAR rates are key indicators of mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis, as well as ATP production rate, and together these measurements provide a detailed view of mitochondria metabolic function in cultured cells and ex-vivo samples.

Cellular Metabolism Sub-Core >>

CONTACT INFORMATION: david.custis@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024775

The Flow Cytometry Core provides high standard cell sorting and analysis services. The ACEA NovoCyte Quanteon cell analyzer, a 4-laser (405 nm, 488 nm, 561 nm, & 637 nm) flow cytometer is capable of detecting up to 27 parameters (forward scatter, side scatter, and 25 fluorescence detectors). The silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) provide a stable 7.2 log dynamic range. Multiple input sources (5mL tubes, 96 and 384 well plates) make sample acquisition extremely flexible. Data can be directly transferred into an Excel spreadsheet, ensuring ease of data analysis. NovoExpress software is used for acquisition and analysis.

The Invitrogen Bigfoot Spectral cell sorter is a high-throughput sorter with 5 spatially separated lasers (349 nm, 405 nm, 488 nm, 561 nm, and 640 nm) and 55 detectors, including a dedicated small particle detector. The Bigfoot utilizes the newest technology of spectral flow cytometry, capturing the entire emission spectrum of each fluorophore rather than just the peak emission band. Sorting rates exceed 100,000 events per second, and sorting is configurable: from six-way sorting into tubes to multi-way sorting into 96-well or 384-well plates. The sorter is housed in an integrated BSL-2 biosafety enclosure for optimal safety. It uses Sasquatch Software (SQS) for setup, acquisition, and analysis.

Flow Cytometry Sub-Core >>

CONTACT INFORMATION: camille.cannon@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024775

The Genomics Core offers state-of-the-art genomics services and support. The facility offers next generation sequencing, DNA/RNA shearing, sample QC, and qPCR services.

Genomics Sub-Core >>

CONTACT INFORMATION: finn.arcure@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024775

The MS Core equipment is located in the Research Core Facility, Pharmacology Core Lab, and CTX building. Using orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry, the MS Core offer both targeted and untargeted metabolomics for the metabolomics approach. For protein analysis, our principal approach is bottom-up proteomics, which is a common method to identify proteins and characterize their amino acid sequences and post-translational modifications by proteolytic digest prior to analysis by mass spectrometry. In addition to the standard operating procedures that we have developed for many of our MS services, we also strive to continue to bring state-of-the-art mass spectrometry-based analyses through input and requests from our users. This core has four LC-MS/MS systems, two GC-MS, and two HPLC-UV systems on campus, including a Thermo Orbitrap Exploris 120 LC-MS/MS system, a Waters XEVO-TQ (Triple quadrupole) UPLC-MS/MS system, a Thermo ISQ7610 GC-MS system, and a Thermo Vanquish HPLC system.

Mass Spectroscopy Sub-Core >>

CONTACT INFORMATION
Co-Director: Oren.Rom@lsuhs.edu
Co-Director: Arif.Yurdagul@lsuhs.edu
Research Associate: Devin.Forestier@lsuhs.edu / 318-675-5847
RRID:SCR_024775

The upcoming state-of-the-art mouse metabolic phenotyping core initiated by the LSUHS Metabolic and Liver Disease Research Program represents a first of its kind facility that is equipped with the most advanced and sophisticated technologies available in the field. Central to this advanced facility are the Bruker Minispec series and the Sable Systems Promethion platform. These systems leverage Time Domain Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (TD-NMR) technology, providing unparalleled precision in measuring lean tissue, body fat, and body fluid volumes in live mice. This non-invasive method facilitates longitudinal studies without the use of anesthetics, crucial for ongoing metabolic monitoring and interventions.

Metabolic Phenotyping Core >>

CONTACT INFORMATION: malgorzata.bienkowskahaba@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024775

The Microscopy Imaging Core is a shared user facility that provides access to advanced microscopes as well as the expertise of dedicated imaging specialists. The microscopes are open to all members at LSU Health Shreveport and outside users. We are happy to assist you with instrument training, experimental design, image acquisition, and image analysis.  We encourage you to contact us prior to beginning a new project. 

Microscopy Sub-Core >>

CONTACT INFORMATION: hugh.price@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024777

The Small Animal Imaging Facility (SAIF) provides state-of-the-art noninvasive imaging support to investigators who use small animal models in their research. Located on the 9th floor of the Medical School, the SAIF currently provides a spectrum of imaging modalities including optical imaging (bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging), X-ray imaging, computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET). SAIF staff provide imaging support with experimental design, conducting animal studies including anesthetization and imaging acquisition, and processing and interpreting imaging data.

Small Animal Imaging Facility >>

CONTACT INFORMATION: jarrod.sawyer@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024775

CONTACT INFORMATION: debbie.mccarthy@lsuhs.edu
RRID:SCR_024775

The Transmission Electron Microscopy Sub-Core is fully equipped for the preparation, sectioning, staining, and imaging of TEM specimens. A highly trained TEM technologist, with over 40 years experience, is available to provide expert guidance.

The heart of the facility is a JEOL 1400 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) equipped for digital image capture. The JEOL 1400 is capable of 0.38nm point image resolution and 0.2nm lattice resolution when operated at 120kv. The microscope is equipped with single place or four place specimen holders. The routine magnification range for this scope is 200x to 1,200,000x.

Image acquisition is accomplished using a mid-mounted AMT Nanosprint 12 CMOS camera (4096 x3008 square pixels, 6.8 x 6.8 μm pixel size) with real time drift correction. In normal operation, the frame rate (55fps) Nanosprint camera gives real time images during observation with minimal lag time.

The tissue preparation area is equipped with everything necessary for processing and embedding tissues in TEM grade epoxy resins. A Leica EM UC7 Ultramicrotome and two Reichert Ultracut E ultramicrotomes are used for tissue sectioning. A Leica KMR3 Glass Knifemaker is used to make glass knives for rough trimming; the facility uses Diatome™ diamond knives for final sectioning at 80-100nm.

Transmission Electron Microscopy Sub-Core >>