Rodent Metabolic Phenotyping System

ABSTRACT
Funds are requested to acquire a new state-of-the-art metabolic phenotyping system to support the metabolic
phenotyping capabilities of East Carolina University’s (ECU) Diabetes & Obesity Institute (ECDOI). Alterations
in systemic energy metabolism are primary drivers or hallmarks of disease etiologies and pathologies,
including but not limited to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and toxicology,
cancer, neurological disorders, brain and spinal cord injury, and immunological disorders. Addressing
biological questions regarding the consequences of environmental, genetic or pharmacological manipulations
on metabolic and behavioral parameters in rodent model systems requires the use of highly sensitive and well-
engineered systems. ECDOI’s current TSE Metabolic cage system has averaged >4,500 hours of use per year
by ~14 different faculty and their labs from different Schools/Colleges (Brody School of Medicine, School of
Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Human Performance) across the ECU campus since its
purchase in 2009. The system however is aging, is far less sensitive than newer state-of-the art technology,
and is becoming increasingly costly to maintain. Funding is requested to purchase a new Promethion Core
System (from Sable Systems) with high resolution metabolic, food/water, and activity measurement capabilities
for 16 mice or rats. The Promethion Core System offers several unique design and engineering features that
improve the accuracy and sensitivity (up to 10-fold) as well as the ability to synchronize across different output
measures. The proposal also includes removeable running wheels and temperature-controlled cabinets to
maintain thermoneutral housing (~30oC) during testing, or to allow testing under precisely controlled acute
(hours) or chronic (days) changes in ambient temperature (5-50°C). The metabolic cage system is a critical
part of the ECDOI Metabolic Phenotyping core that also includes instrumentation for determining body
composition (Echo MRI), 4 rodent treadmills, and cage-based food/water intake behavior.
Impact: The low sensitivity and resolution of our older metabolic cage system has become rate limiting to
accurately assessing systemic energy expenditure, compromising current NIH funded projects. A new state-of-
the-art Promethion system will enhance the sensitivity, accuracy, and capability of ECDOI’s Metabolic
Phenotyping core and is critical to enable the integration of bioenergetics data at the systems level in free living
rodents with bioenergetics data at the mitochondrial and/or cellular levels generated in ECDOI’s companion
Mitochondrial and Cellular Bioenergetics core (11 O2K high resolution respirometers, 7 fluorometers, and 2
Agilent Extracellular Flux Analyzers). There is not a Promethion Metabolic Phenotyping system at any other
university within the UNC System or in the state of North Carolina. Successful acquisition of a new system will
therefore foster new collaborations, facilitate competitiveness in recruiting and retaining research productive
faculty, and contribute to the growth of research funding at ECU.