Description

About the Marmota Monax Woodchuck

Woodchucks used for research purposes are mostly caught out in the wild and outbred, which can be infected with woodchuck herpes virus (WHV). In contrast, some commercial laboratories have established in-house woodchuck colonies in order to maintain a consistent supply of woodchuck. While convenient, this method can be time and resource consuming.

WHV is an ideal model to study the pathogenesis and therapy of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis D virus (HDV), which makes woodchuck the most commonly used animal model for the study of these viruses. Research on HBV using the WHV model focuses on disease and viral pathogenesis, in addition to prevention and treatment of HBV infection.

Similarly, toxicity studies for therapeutics against HBV and HDV are performed in woodchucks.
Additionally, since HBV can drive the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, woodchucks are a commonly used model to study this type of cancer.

Application Summary for Woodchuck Bone Marrow Cells

Woodchuck bone marrow cells can be used for a wide variety of safety assessment and functional studies. They are commonly employed in pre-clinical settings to ensure biologics are not eliciting unwanted effects or functions on the different cell populations of the bone marrow. These bone marrow cells are also utilized to test the toxicity of compounds on this particular set of cells. Additionally, woodchuck bone marrow can be used in ex-vivo applications for cell population characterization using methods such as flow cytometry or western blot analysis.

Woodchuck bone marrow cells can also be used to generate mature monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells from progenitor cells of the marrow. These cells are then typically used in co-culture assays with other immune cells to assess their function. In particular, generated dendritic cells are often employed in studies to study antigen presentation in response to WPV.

Isolation of Bone Marrow Cells

Woodchuck bone marrow is responsibly collected at third party facilities, who are vetted to ensure they operate according to local regulations and laws. More importantly, the bone marrow is processed within 24 hours of isolation at iQ’s facility.

At our facility, the bone marrow is carefully examined and a single cell suspension is obtained under sterile conditions. The suspension is carefully passed through a filter to remove any aggregates and subsequently depleted of red blood cells. The bone marrow is then frozen based on iQ Biosciences’ quality-controlled cryopreservation protocol to promote recoverability and viability once in the end user’s hands.

Cryopreservation and Storage

Our woodchuck bone marrow cells are cryopreserved carefully using iQ Biosciences’ cryopreservation protocol that ensures high viability (> 70%) after thawing.

Cells should be stored at < -120°C once they are received, such as within a liquid nitrogen tank (vapor phase).