Therassay core facility

Therassay is a core facility of functional exploration in small animals that provides academic and industrial teams a wide range of technological resources and scientific expertise.

This open core facility offers a unique service, from the generation of animal models to highly specialised functional analyses of cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, digestive and motor functions. Therassay involves multidisciplinary teams from Inserm UMR 1087, UMR 1235 and UMR 1089 (Nantes, France).

©Stéphane Bellanger

Therassay is integrated into Biogenouest (network of life and environmental sciences research centres in Western France) and is supported by the Pays de la Loire Regional Council.

Know how

Therassay proposes an integrated offer from phenotyping of animal models to the characterization of physiological mechanisms using in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro tests to:

setting up animal models of human pathologies
validating at a pre-clinical level new targets of therapeutic interest
evaluating the therapeutic or protective effects of food molecules or compounds
characterizing the functional effects of a product: identify and understand its action, find the organ(s) targets, define active doses

Types of services

R&D and functional exploration project on small animals
Access to equipment (online booking, technical support and training)
Valorisation, training and events

Equipments

The core facility is characterized by specific equipment for each explored function such as:

FPLC, HPLC for lipoprotein profiles, Metabolic chambers
Telemetry, Tail-Cuff, Hypoxic chambers, Arteriograph, Mulvany© Myograph, Isolated organs bath
Echocardiography Vevo 3100, ECG, Intracardiac recording, Pression-volume loops, Isolated working heart, Patch clamp, CellOptic© (fluorimetry-based action potential recording), Multi Electrode Arrays (MEA)
Plethysmography, Flexivent©
xCELLigence©, Ibidi© Pump System, CellScale©, MechanoCulture FX
Actimeter, Grip Test, Rotarod, Wire test, Wire Hang, Treadmill, Gait analysis, Open field 3D, Elevated plus Maze, Light-Dark Box, Myograph
Ussing chamber, confocal endomicroscopy
Luminex©, Haematology and biochemistry automats