# Core C - Cell Biology Core

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE · 2020 · $468,382

## Abstract

The Cell Biology Core will be a critical resource to this PPG. It will provide the four Projects with access to a
wide array of reagents, procedures, and analyses, including fully characterized cardiac mesenchymal cells
(CMCs) and CMC-derived extracellular vesicles (CMC-EVs, hereafter referred to as EVs) isolated from mice
and pigs, assays of CMC function in vitro, and characterization of EVs (e.g., arrays of EV-related non-coding
RNAs, particle size analysis, protein assays). Specifically, the Core will i) isolate CMCs from mouse and pig
hearts; ii) perform comprehensive CMC characterization, including proliferation, population doubling time,
morphometric analysis (cell length and area), clonogenicity, analysis of marker expression, secretome
analysis, and gene profiling; iii) isolate EVs from mouse and pig CMCs; iv) perform characterization of EVs,
including particle size analysis, validation of markers expression, and RNA and protein profiling; v) isolate cells
utilizing multiple markers; vi) assess cell viability; vii) determine changes in cell signaling; and viii) quantify cells
at each phase of the cell cycle. The individual Projects do not have the facilities or expertise needed to isolate
and characterize CMCs consistently or to perform the extensive EV characterizations. Consolidation of all
CMC/EV work into a Core facility will decrease the costs of supplies and equipment because the Core will
make bulk purchases of supplies (thereby reducing expenses) and because waste and unnecessary
duplication of supplies, reagents, and equipment will be eliminated with the maintenance of centralized stocks
and inventories. Consolidating CMC/EV work into a Core facility is also time-effective because the techniques
involved in this work are very labor intensive and require dedicated, skilled personnel. Core C will make
available to the four Projects the tremendous experience and expertise of the Core personnel in the
preparation and analysis of CMCs and EVs. The Core staff, a strong team of dedicated individuals under the
immediate supervision of the Core Leader, will provide consistency and reproducibility of analysis. This is
crucial, because it will ensure that all four Projects will use CMCs isolated and expanded the same way,
thereby making the results comparable. A single source of CMCs and EVs with rigorous standardization to
ensure consistency will result in transplantation of uniform CMC and EV populations in all four Projects and
thus is extremely important for the integration and comparison of results from each of the Projects. This will
make it possible to compare results of different experiments within the same Project and among different
Projects.
 In summary, the Core will ensure quality control and, by eliminating duplication of effort and maximizing
the use of personnel and supplies, will enable an efficient use of resources.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9980481
- **Project number:** 5P01HL078825-14
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
- **Principal Investigator:** QIANHONG LI
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $468,382
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9980481

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9980481, Core C - Cell Biology Core (5P01HL078825-14). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9980481. Licensed CC0.

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