# The Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center at the University of Missouri

> **NIH NIH U42** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA · 2020 · $385,120

## Abstract

An overarching goal of the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center at the University of Missouri (MUMMRRC) is to provide refined mouse models to its users so that the broad range of disciplines in biomedical
research can advance efficiently and with optimal translatability. To do so requires constant assessment of
factors that can modulate model phenotypes and development of means to control and even exploit such
modulating factors. In the past decade, there has been an explosion of research on the role of one such
factor, the gut microbiota (GM), in modulating murine models of disease. We and others have shown that
multiple factors can influence the composition of GM and more importantly, that changes in the GM can alter
model phenotypes. With this in mind, the MU MMRRC seeks to develop means to provide models on differing
complex GM that have optimal translatability. To this end, we have created colonies of mice that harbor
differing stable and well-characterized complex GM that represent the spectrum of GM seen in contemporary
rodent colonies. However, additional research is necessary to refine complex GM-associated experimental
design strategies. Most notably, there is need to incorporate other components of the GM such as viral
infections so that the GM of our laboratory mice better replicate the human condition. In this proposal, we will
apply this concept to refinement and optimization of a major model for the study of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the
B6.Cg-Tg(K18-ACE2)2Prlmn/J mouse. We will assess how increasing antigen exposure of mice through
supplementation of standardized complex GMs with selected viral and bacterial agents will modulate the
phenotype of this model. Results generated will be invaluable and immediately applicable and to ongoing
studies of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and mice developed will be immediately available to the
biomedical research community. Moreover, this strategy can be readily applied to any additional models for
SARS-CoV-2 infection that arise in the near future.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10214835
- **Project number:** 3U42OD010918-21S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** James Amos-Landgraf
- **Activity code:** U42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $385,120
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2000-05-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10214835

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10214835, The Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center at the University of Missouri (3U42OD010918-21S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10214835. Licensed CC0.

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