FRAXA's primary mission is to speed up progress towards effective treatments and a cure for Fragile X.
As "bottlenecks" are indentified we will try to facilitate solutions, so please contact us for additional resource requests.
- Where to get FMR1 Knockout Mice
- Antibodies to the Fragile X Protein, FMRP
- MPEP -- mGluR5 antagonist
- Human Fragile X Cortical Neural Stem Cells
- Family Visits
1. Acquiring FMR1 Knockout Mice
Knockout Mice are available from
Jackson Laboratory. JAX has FMR1 knockout mice
on an FVB background available, along with controls. To order:
Visit http://jaxmice.jax.org/jaxmice-sci/jaxmicedb.cgi
Enter Stock Number 4624
Click on "Search Database"
FRAXA has awarded a
grant to William Greenough at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,
to cover costs of distributing breeding pairs of FMR1 KO mice on a C57 background.
Contact
Dr. Greenough
directly
to request mice.
2. Antibodies to the Fragile X Protein, FMRP
Several antibodies to
the FMRP are available at nominal cost from the DHSB at the University
of Iowa. Several antibodies to mouse and drosophila fmrp
are available. For details, visit
http://www.uiowa.edu/~dshbwww/
3. Reagents: MPEP Available for Pre-Clinical Studies
FRAXA has available a supply of the selective mGluR5 antagonist,
MPEP, for donation to investigators
who wish to test its effects in the FMR1 mouse or
other models of Fragile X. The MPEP was synthesized
by Technically, Inc. of Woburn, MA, and
has been validated by several labs.
Contact Michael Tranfaglia, MD, Medical Director
4. Human Fragile X cortical neural stem cells available
Human cortical neural stem cells that carry the Fragile X mutation are available for distribution to interested researchers.
These cells are grown as neurospheres and are mainly neural progenitor cells. They can be differentiated into neurons
and astrocytes that lack FMRP with long-term culturing. For more information about these cells please refer to Svendsen
et al., J Neuroscience Methods 85:141-163 (1998), and contact Dr. Anita Bhattacharyya
at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, Waisman Center (bhattacharyy@waisman.wisc.edu; www.waisman.wisc.edu/faculty/bhattacharyya.html)
5. Family Visits
Parents in many parts
of the country would be eager to bring their children, who have
fragile X, to visit a lab. This is an invaluable opportunity
to see what fragile X is really like ... something that is not
truly conveyed in the literature. Contact Katie
Clapp to arrange a visit.
