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COVID-19 Resources and Measures

To combat the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic, INFRAFRONTIER is offering several resources, related strains and emergency archiving services to the global research community with the aim to aid COVID-19 research and minimise the loss of valuable mouse strains during the crisis.

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COVID-19 Resources ofeered by INFRAFRONTIER Partners

 

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is not only a serious threat to global public health, it also deeply affects the social and economic life worldwide. INFRAFRONTIER, the European Research Infrastructure for the generation, phenotyping, archiving and distribution of model mammalian genomes, is fully committed to support researchers around the globe to develop a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 and to find treatments for COVID-19.

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Phenomin-ICS, France 

  • Available resource: Mouse/Rat models generation, cryopreservation, Phenotyping and Drug validation.

  • Contact: Mohammed Selloum

  • Email: contact@phenomin.fr

Phenomin-CIPHE, France

  •  Available resource: 

    • Fast-track editing of immune-related genes (PMID: 31591574) and genes related to COVID19 research 

    • High-dimensional immunophenotyping under normal and under Biosafety Level 3 laboratory (BSL3) conditions relevant to COVID19 research (all lymphoid and myeloid populations found in normal and inflamed tissue parenchyma (lung, intestine…), blood, bronchoalveolar fluid and lymphoid organ

    • Humanized mice model in partnership with The Jackson Laboratories

    • Mouse models permitting to track and ablate specific compartment of the immune system and inflammation (kept frozen or maintained under specific pathogen conditions and they are all on B6 background):

      • KI mice specifically deprived of all T cell compartment

      • KI mice specifically deprived of B and T cells.

      • KI mice specifically deprived of granulocytes.

      • KI mice specifically deprived of cDC1 dendritic cells (including those present in the lung)

      • KI mice permitting to conditionally and specifically ablate macrophages (including lung alveolar macrophages)

      • KI mice permitting to conditionally and specifically ablate mast cells. 

      • KI mice permitting to track and ablate epidermal Langherans cells.

      • KI mice permitting to track gamma-delta T cells

  • Contact: Ana Zarubica and Bernard Malissen

  • Email: contact-ciphe@inserm.fr

Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany

  • Available resource: Access to the following COVID-19 relevant EMMA strains as forzen sperm (immediately) and live mice (after consultation):

    • Zdhhc5 (EM:11531)

    • Trmt1 (EM:05697)

  • Contact: Susan Marschall and Daniela Mayr

  • Email: s.marschall@helmholtz-muenchen.de

MRC Harwell Institute, United Kingdom

  • Available resource: Rapid archiving service for the wider scientific community as Covid-19 contingency plans. Sperm freezing (10 to 15 stocks/day at the present). No long term holding of live mice at the moment.

  • Contact: Martin Fray

  • Email: m.fray@har.mrc.ac.uk

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Italy

  • Available resource: Broad services for archiving strains and providing resources to Institutes and research groups (models generation, cryopreservation, and dedicated research studies, etc.).

  • Contact: Marcello Raspa, Ferdinando Scavizzi, Rafaele Matteoni

  • Email: marcello.raspa@cnr.it

Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics ASCR, Czech Republic

  • Available resources, service & support: 

    • Generation of rodent disease models (knockout, humanized, etc.), relevant for COVID-19 research. In particular, the CCP can offer several serine protease mouse mutant lines (Prss35, Prss12, Prss21, Prss33, Prss55, Prss37, Prss47, Prss54, Prss48, Prss44, Prss57, Klk12, Klk15, Klk11, Klk13, Klk10, Klk8, Klk5).

    • Standard cryopreservation and archiving services (sperms and embryos) are maintained

    • Advanced secondary phenotyping  pipelines relevant to lung inflammation and fibrosis (including state-of-the-art imaging, immunology, lung function)

    • Pre-clinical testing (lung inflammation and fibrosis models - clinical biochemistry and histopathology are conducted under GLP conditions)

    • Metabolomics and MALDI imaging from tissue samples and biopsies depending on capacities

    • Prioritization call in place to support projects investigating the SARS-CoV-2 infection and its treatment

    • General service contact: ccp@phenogenomics.cz

  • Specialized service contacts:

  • Contact: Radislav Sedlacek 

  • Email: radislav.sedlacek@img.cas.cz

University of Oulu, Finland

  • Available resource:

    • Rapid archiving service of mouse lines for researchers in urgent need as part of COVID-19 contingency plans

    • The usual repertoire of services including mouse model generation, cryopreservation and rederivation.

    • Facilities and expertise to perform in vivo lung function measurements (flexiVent, SCIREQ Scientific Respiratory Equipment Inc.) in mice. This is due to one of the University’s profiling themes: Fibrosis. Currently, several ongoing research projects focus on understanding the mechanisms and finding treatments for pulmonary fibrosis.

    • Distribution of mouse lines in EMMA repository relevant to COVID-19 research. 

  • Contact: Reetta Hinttala

  • Email: emma-oulu@oulu.fi

BSRC Fleming, Greece

  • Available resources:

    • Mouse models of inflammatory and tissue degenerative processes relevant to COVID-19 research

    • Facilities and analytical platforms for phenotypic analysis of mouse models relevant to COVID-19 research.

    • Generation of animal models for COVID-19 research

  • Contact: Dimitris Kontoyiannis

  • Email: infrafrontierGR@fleming.gr

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COVID-19 related EMMA strains

 

The following EMMA strains are related to SARS-CoV-2 infection via their human orthologues. The table below contains EMMA strains that could be used for COVID-19 research. 

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Gene

Zdhhc5

EMMA Strain Details

EM:11531 / HMGU, Susan Marschall: s.marschall@helmholtz-muenchen.de / frozen germplasm

EM:05839 / CNR, Marcello Raspa: marcello.raspa@cnr.it / frozen germplasm

Reference A SARS-CoV-2-Human Protein-Protein Interaction Map Reveals Drug Targets and Potential Drug-Repurposing

'the Spike protein (S) interacts with the GOLGA7-ZDHHC5 acyl-transferase complex, which likely mediates palmitoylation on its cytosolic tail'

 

GeneTrmt1

EMMA Strain Details

EM:05697 / HMGU, Susan Marschall: s.marschall@helmholtz-muenchen.de / frozen germplasm 

EM:10456 / ICS, Mohammed Selloum: contact@phenomin.fr / frozen germplasm 

Reference A SARS-CoV-2-Human Protein-Protein Interaction Map Reveals Drug Targets and Potential Drug-Repurposing

 

'We also identified an interaction of Nsp5 (C145A) with tRNA methyltransferase 1 (TRMT1), which is responsible for synthesis of the dimethylguanosine (m2,2G) base modification on both nuclear and mitochondrial tRNAs40. We predict TRMT1 is also cleaved by Nsp5, removing its zinc finger and nuclear localization signal and likely resulting in an exclusively mitochondrial localization'

 

Gene Bsg

EMMA Strain Details EM:04318 / CNRS, Karine Jambou: jambou@cnrs-orleans.fr / frozen germplasm 

Reference

SARS-CoV-2 invades host cells via a novel route: CD147-spike protein

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.14.988345v1

'Here, we reported a research finding that SARS-CoV-2 invaded host cells via a novel route of CD147-spike protein (SP). SP bound to CD147, a receptor on the host cells, thereby mediating the viral invasion.'

 

Gene  Os9

EMMA Strain Details EM:08172 / University of Oulu, Reetta Hinttala: emma-oulu@oulu.fi / frozen germplasm 

Reference

 A SARS-CoV-2-Human Protein-Protein Interaction Map Reveals Drug Targets and Potential Drug-Repurposing

 

 Gene  Ptges2

EMMA Strain DetailsEM:05527 / University of Oulu, Reetta Hinttala: emma-oulu@oulu.fi / frozen germplasm 

Reference A SARS-CoV-2-Human Protein-Protein Interaction Map Reveals Drug Targets and Potential Drug-Repurposing

 

Gene Rab5c 

EMMA Strain Details EM:07127 / University of Oulu, Reetta Hinttala: emma-oulu@oulu.fi / frozen germplasm 

Reference A SARS-CoV-2-Human Protein-Protein Interaction Map Reveals Drug Targets and Potential Drug-Repurposing

 

Gene  Retreg3

EMMA Strain Details EM:05438 / University of Oulu, Reetta Hinttala: emma-oulu@oulu.fi / frozen germplasm 

Reference

 A SARS-CoV-2-Human Protein-Protein Interaction Map Reveals Drug Targets and Potential Drug-Repurposing 

 

GeneFurin

EMMA Strain DetailsEM:04412 / CNR, Marcello Raspa: marcello.raspa@cnr.it / frozen germplasm 

Reference

The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2

'the highly variable spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 has a polybasic (furin) cleavage site at the S1 and S2 boundary via the insertion of twelve nucleotides'

 

Gene

Il6

EMMA Strain Details

EM:05332 / CNB-CSIC, Lluis Montoliu: criocnb@cnb.csic.es / Registration of interest is possible. Rederivation and shipments will be processed as soon as the cryopreservation unit at CNB-CSIC becomes operative again after the coronavirus crisis

Reference

Detectable serum SARS-CoV-2 viral load (RNAaemia) is closely associated with drastically elevated interleukin 6 (IL-6) level in critically ill COVID-19 patients

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus-Induced Lung Epithelial Cytokines Exacerbate SARS Pathogenesis by Modulating Intrinsic Functions of Monocyte-Derived Macrophages and Dendritic Cells

Medical Authorities and Companies launch novel clinical trials of interleukin 6 inhibitors, as the IL-6  pathway could play a role in the overactive inflammatory response observed in lungs of severely and critically ill COVID-19 patients 
http://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojen.aspx?proj=49409
https://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/sanofi,_regeneron_launch_trials_of_arthritis_drug_kevzara_for_covid-19_1329326

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Emergency Archiving During COVID-19 Crisis

 

Due to the current coronavirus  (COVID-19) situation, there is need to archive various valuable mouse models. Traffic restrictions and other severe measures to slow the spread of the pandemic are in force, but some EMMA nodes are still active and may archive valuable strains.

Please directly contact your closest EMMA node from the list below for archiving possibilities. In contrast to the standard EMMA archiving service, which includes evaluation by an external scientific committee and is free of charge for depositors, the emergency service may come with service charges. Details will be provided by the EMMA nodes.

As the situation in the different countries is changing constantly, we can not give any guarantees. Whether mice can be imported also strongly depends on whether carrier companies are still servicing the respective route from the depositor institute to the EMMA node.  

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CNRS Orléans, France

Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany

MRC Harwell, UK

  • Rapid archiving service for the wider scientific community. This available to both academic and for-profit organisations. Can accept live mice or refrigerated epididymides in Lifor.

  • Contact person: Martin Fray (m.fray@har.mrc.ac.uk)

Karolinska Institute (KI), Stockholm, Sweden

CNR Monterotondo, Italy

University of Oulu, Finland

  • Able to receive refrigerated epididymides (at least from Finland, France, Denmark and Belgium)

  • Contact person: Reetta Hinttala (reetta.hinttala@oulu.fi)

Institute of Molecular Genetics ASCR (IMG), Prague, Czech Republic

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These EMMA nodes are currently forced to close due to regional or national lockdowns and are therefore unable to accept external work at this time:

- BSRC Alexander Fleming, Vari - Athens, Greece

- CERBM-GIE, Strasbourg, France

- National Centre for Biotechnology, CSIC, Madrid, Spain

- EMBL-EBI, Hinxton, UK

- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal

- Netherlands Cancer Insitute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

- Sanger Institute, Hinxton, United Kingdom

- Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

- University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria

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