# Core B: Mouse Core

> **NIH NIH P01** · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2022 · $128,874

## Abstract

Summary/Abstract – Animal Experiment and Statistics Core
The long-term objectives of this Program Project are to elucidate host and viral
mechanisms that tilt the interaction of herpes simplex virus (HSV) and neurons either
towards lytic infection or towards latency. HSV latency is the most fascinating biological
property of the virus and its most important clinical feature, and understanding HSV
latency may lead to new therapies or even a cure for this widespread pathogen. All
three projects use mice to study latency. The first aim of the animal experiment and
statistics core is to provide animals to the investigators in these projects. A second aim
is to ensure uniform practices in the inoculation, treatment, and handling of mice and
mouse tissues for Projects 1, 2, and 3, so that results from one project can be directly
compared to those from the other projects. Standard protocols have been created that
include initial experiments using a single wild type strain of virus and mutants derived
from it, and a common mouse strain for studies that do not require inbred strains.
Subsequent studies use other virus and mouse strains to ensure broader applicability.
Specific methods for minimizing pain and discomfort, including anesthesia and
euthanasia also ensure uniformity. Importantly, the third aim of the core is to provide
assistance and guidance in planning of mouse experiments so that they are
appropriately powered, and to help with statistical analyses of data generated by the
experiments. Thus, the core is a high-quality cost-effective means of rigorously testing
HSV-1 wild type and mutant viruses in vivo for parameters of latency and reactivation
and of providing trigeminal ganglia tissue for analyses and for cultured neurons for in
vitro latency studies. By having centralized oversight, the Program avoids duplication of
experiments and unnecessary use of animals, and ensures rigor and reproducibility.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10460508
- **Project number:** 5P01AI098681-09
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** JEAN M PESOLA
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $128,874
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-07-02 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10460508

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10460508, Core B: Mouse Core (5P01AI098681-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10460508. Licensed CC0.

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