Core Services

Cardiovascular Research Theme Small Animal Physiology Core

The Cardiovascular Research Theme offers rodent models of cardiovascular disease as research resources to all researchers in the Cardiovascular Research Theme. The goal of this core is to provide Cardiovascular Theme researchers expertise and ready access to cardiac injury models for pre-clinical studies or mechanistic investigation of injury induced abnormalities affecting repair, scarring, or electrical propagation. The surgical core services will be housed in the Center for Health Sciences building to enable easy access to the vivarium. Investigators will need to link their ARC protocol to the small animal surgical protocol maintained by the Cardiovascular Research Theme.

The following services are being currently offered:

  1. Mouse model of myocardial infarction induced by permanent ligation of the LAD
  2. Ischemia-reperfusion model of cardiac injury with 30-45 minutes of ischemic followed by reperfusion
  3. Transverse aortic constriction of the aorta
  4. Implantation of subcutaneous pumps for continuous infusion of drugs/reagents
  5. Cryo induced injury of the heart
  6. Blood pressure measurements (by cuff method)
  7. Electrocardiography (limb leads)
  8. Models of ectopic calcification
  9. Intra cardiac injection 
  10. Vascular Injury (coming soon)
  11. Echocardiography (coming soon)

The Cardiovascular Research Theme Core is committed to work with faculty, students, trainees and staff in the CV Theme to generate new models of cardiac pathology. For inquiries or scheduling, please contact Arjun Deb, MD, Director Cardiovascular Research Theme at adeb@mednet.ucla.edu. 

Cardiovascular Research Theme Cardiac Muscle Cell Core

The UCLA Cardiovascular Research Theme will provide cardiac muscle cells as a core service at a highly subsidized rate. The goal of this service is to provide a readily available resource of cardiac muscle cells for investigators performing ex vivo experiments on cardiac muscle cells.

Two types of cardiac muscle cells will be provided.

  1. Neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes (NRVM). These cells beat in the dish for 3-7 days and provide a platform for determining effects of toxins, drugs or other genetic manipulation of the cardiac muscle cell.
  2. Human embryonic stem cell or human iPSC derived cardiomyocytes. H9 or other NIH-approved lines and UCLA-approved lines are used as a source for the differentiation of cardiac muscle cells. Human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac muscle cells will be handed to investigators at their preferred time point of differentiation. To maintain consistency, standard differentiation programs are used. CRISPR/Cas edited hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes will be introduced as a core service in the recent future.

To place orders for NRVM or hPSC derived cardiac muscle, please write to Arjun Deb, MD, Director, UCLA Cardiovascular Research Theme at adeb@mednet.ucla.edu. 

Other Services