Infrafrontier

Ensuring the quality and reproducibility of biological resources is essential for advancing biomedical research and upholding animal welfare standards. The European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA), part of the INFRAFRONTIER research infrastructure, plays a key role in this effort by cryopreserving scientifically validated mutant mouse and rat strains and making them accessible to the global scientific community. To further enhance its processes and promote transparency, INFRAFRONTIER/EMMA has developed a set of ten Quality Principles specifically tailored to the unique requirements of cryopreserved rodent mutant strains. These principles guide EMMA’s workflows by providing a structured yet flexible quality framework across its distributed nodes. They encompass both general standards—such as adherence to the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine), staff competence, and continuous improvement—and more specific areas including scientific evaluation, data curation, and intellectual property rights. Each principle is presented with contextual background, defined requirements, practical recommendations, and key references. This initiative aims to strengthen the reliability, ethical integrity, and reproducibility of preclinical research resources.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00335-025-10174-4.

Abstract Over the past few decades, the North Slope of Alaska has yielded several major hydrocarbon discoveries in the deltaic topsets of the Brookian Nanushuk Formation. Together, the Nanushuk topsets and genetically related foreset and bottomset beds of the Torok Formation comprise part of a giant clinothem system that prograded across the Colville Foreland Basin during the lower Cretaceous (the Aptian through the Cenomanian). The Nanushuk Topset Play contains stratigraphically trapped hydrocarbons within multiple fairways trending roughly north to south along the basin’s extent. Inside the Pikka Unit, the Nanushuk Formation represents a shelf-edge delta and attached shoreface system, defined primarily from sedimentological interpretations of conventional cores integrated with 3D seismic reflection data and well-log motifs. In this study, we build a structural and stratigraphic framework for the Nanushuk reservoir across the Pikka Unit through integrated observations of the borehole image logs, seismic data, and core. In the described workflow, the boundaries delimiting dip zones interpreted in the wells are correlated to higher order stratigraphic cycles within the Nanushuk clinothem zone. These boundaries are observed in seismic profiles and provide the basis of the structural framework. In addition, core facies interpretations are calibrated to CT-scan data to establish each facies character and vertical distribution within the wells. In the absence of core data, core-calibrated borehole images are instrumental in guiding sedimentological and structural interpretations. This extrapolation is dependent on the image log quality and resolution. The calibrated facies interpretations are applied to wells without core data and guided by seismic amplitude interpretation to extrapolate reservoir presence and distribution across the area.

The Cyana adelina (Staudinger, 1887) species-group is established and reviewed. Three new species and one new subspecies are described: Cyana yunnanensis regia ssp. n. (Northern Thailand and northern Laos), Cyana dubernardi sp. n. (China: Yunnan), Cyana khami sp. n. (central Laos), and Cyana karsticola sp. n. (northern Laos). Two new synonyms are established: Cyana yunnanensis yunnanensis (Hampson, 1903) (Chionaema) = Chionaema hoenei Daniel, 1952, syn. n., and Cyana griseilinea de Joannis, 1930 = Cyana succincta ern, 2016, syn. n. Lectotypes are designated for Bizone adelina Staudinger, 1887 and Bizone pratti Elwes, 1890. Adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated.

Abstract In the recent decade, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has revolutionized strategies for cancer treatments due to its highly effective clinical efficacy and response for B cell malignancies. Currently, there are six CAR-T cell products available in the market including Kymriah, Yescarta, Tecartus, Breyanzi, Abecma, and Carvykt. The success of CAR-T cell therapy has stimulated the increase in the research and development of various CAR constructs to target different tumor types. Therefore, a robust and efficient in vitro potency assay is needed to quickly identify potential CAR gene design from a library of construct candidates. Traditionally, in vitro CAR-T cell-mediated cytotoxicity is assessed using release assays such as 51Cr (radioactivity), calcein (fluorescence), and LDH (enzymatic). Image cytometry methodologies have been utilized for various CAR-T cell-mediated cytotoxicity assay using different fluorescent labeling methods, mainly due to their ease-of-use, ability to capture cell images for verification, and higher throughput performance. In this work, we employed the Celigo high-throughput plate-based Image Cytometer to evaluate and compare two CAR-T cell-mediated cytotoxicity assays using GFP-expressing or fluorescent dye-labeled myeloma and plasmacytoma cells. Performing time- and E:T ratio-dependent CAR-T cell-mediated cytotoxicity assays, the GFP-based method demonstrated higher sensitivity in detecting the level of cytotoxicity when compared to the CMFDA/DAPI viability method. We have established the criteria and considerations for the selection of cytotoxicity assays that are fit-for-purpose to ensure the results produced are meaningful for the specific testing conditions. None

This deliverable is the updated blueprint of the Life Science AAI (LS AAI), a common authentication and authorisation service for the European life science research infrastructures. The Life Science AAI provides a way to coordinate how user identity and access is managed in research services in the (community-specific) federated Infrastructure. The Life Science AAI was launched on 11 April 2022 and the users of ELIXIR AAI were migrated to it. The Life Science AAI service is managed by the life sciences community and operated by the einfrastructures, including GEANT and EGI. This deliverable is the second update to the deliverable D5.1 “Access and User Management System for Life Science – the blueprint” [LIND19] that laid the ground for the production deployment with einfrastructures. D5.1 was updated for the first time in March 2021 by deliverable D5.3 “Access and User Management System for Life Science – the blueprint update” [LIND21]. In this deliverable and its appendices, only those sections of D5.3 are updated where the requirements have changed or become clearer, while the rest of the document remains unchanged. This deliverable can be read as an independent document, without reading D5.1 or D5.3 first. This deliverable and its appendices first introduce the technical and non-technical requirements for the AAI service, including the components operated by the e-infrastructures, and further clarify how that relates to and integrates to the AAI service components operated by the life sciences research infrastructures. Relevant external work, including the EOSC AAI, is then introduced. Finally, the deliverable provides an overview of Life Science AAI’s potential relying services within the EOSC-Life project and beyond.

ABSTRACTBackgroundCD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor therapies (CAR19) have driven a paradigm shift in the treatment of relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies. However, >50% of CAR19-treated patients experienced progressive disease mainly due to antigen escape and low persistence. Clinical prognosis is heavily influenced by CAR-T cell function and systemic cytokine toxicities. Furthermore, it remains a challenge to efficiently, cost-effectively, and consistently manufacture clinically relevant number of virally engineered CAR-T cells.MethodsUsing a highly efficientpiggyBactransposon-based vector,Quantum pBac, we developed a virus-free cell engineering system,Quantum CART (qCART™), for development and production of multiplex CAR-T therapies.ResultsHere, we demonstratedin vitro and in vivothat consistent, robust, and functional CD20/CD19 dual-targeted CAR-T stem cell memory (TSCM) cells can be efficiently manufactured using theqCART™ system for clinical application.qCART™-manufactured CAR-T cells from cancer patients expanded efficiently, rapidly eradicated tumors, and can be safely controlled via an iCasp9 suicide gene-inducing drug.ConclusionsTheqCART™ system is an elegant system for the manufacturing of CAR-T products having all the desired CAR-T therapy attributes. We believe that the simplicity of manufacturing multiplex CAR-T cells using theqCART™ system will not only significantly enhance the accessibility of CAR-T therapy but also unlock the full potential of armored CAR-T therapy for the treatment of solid tumors in the future.What is already known on this topicDespite the considerable success which has been achieved with CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor therapies (CAR19), >50% of CAR19-treated patients still experienced progressive disease. Therefore, there is a need to further improve CAR19 therapies. Current CAR19 therapies commonly utilize virus-based cell engineering methods. CAR-T production using these methods face multiple hurdles, including difficulties to efficiently, cost-effectively, and consistently manufacture clinically relevant number of CAR-T cells. We have previously used a highly efficientpiggyBactransposon-based vector,Quantum pBac, to establishQuantum CART(qCART™) which is a virus-free cell engineering system for development and production of multiplex CAR-T therapies.What this study addsIn this report, we further demonstratein vitroandin vivothat consistent, robust, and functional iCasp9-regulatable, CD20/CD19 dual-targeted CAR-T stem cell memory (TSCM) cells can be efficiently manufactured using theqCART™ system for clinical application. These cells possess all the desired attributes for ensuring therapeutic efficacy in CAR-T therapy, including high CAR-TSCM, balanced CD8/CD4 ratio, low exhaustion and senescence marker expressions, and highex vivoandin vivoexpansion capacity. Importantly, we show thatqCART™-manufactured CAR-T cells from hematological cancer patients expanded efficiently, effectively eradicated tumors, and can be safely controlled via an iCasp9 suicide gene-inducing drug. We believe that the simplicity of manufacturing multiplex CAR-T cells using theqCART™ system will not only significantly enhance the accessibility of CAR-T therapy but also unlock the full potential of armored CAR-T therapy for the treatment of solid tumors in the future.How this study might affect research, practice or policyOur findings demonstrate thatqCART™ is a virus-free CAR-T engineering system for manufacturing CAR-TSCMcells from either healthy donors or hematological cancer patients, that possess all the desired attributes for a successful CAR-T therapy. These cells expanded efficiently, rapidly eradicated tumors, and can be safely controlled via activation of iCasp9. We expect that this simple yet robust system for manufacturing multiplex CAR-T cells will advance the CAR-T field.

RI-VIS organised a consortium-internal call for proposals for so-called Kick-Start Projects, focused projects realisable within a six-month time-frame with an overall purpose of increasing the visibility and improving usage of research infrastructures in different world regions and ultimately to promote and facilitate cooperation. A total of four applications were received from the RI-VIS partners EATRIS, EMBRC, EU-OPENSCREEN and INFRAFRONTIER. Since all of the applications met the eligibility criteria, i.e. they suggested activities that where within the scope of the call, they teamed up European RIs and their non-European counterparts and the expected impacts were clearly laid out, the RI-VIS Steering Group decided, upon suggestion from WP5, to award all four projects. This report describes the activities, resources used and main impacts of the four Kick-Start projects. Their outcomes clearly and successfully demonstrate that wide impact can be achieved also within quite focused and relatively short-term activities, particularly if they can build on already established links between European and international research infrastructures.

This deliverable is a publication on globally available and shared resources available from INFRAFRONTIER and IMPC. This deliverable was submitted to AMRC Open Research for publication as a ‘document’ article on 18 August 2020. At the time of submission of this deliverable, the article was not published.