The Vector Core Production Facility at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM) will provide services to NCI-funded investigators utilizing recombinant E1-deleted adenovirus, adeno-associated virus, retrovirus, and FIV-based lentivirus vectors in their research. The facility's main function will be (1) rescue and produce research grade recombinant viral vectors, (2) perform all quality control testing for research grade viral vectors, and (3) produce clinical grade viral vectors under the appropriate cGMP conditions to support clinical translational research. Construction of the MSSM Vector Core Production Facility was partially funded through a construction grant from the NCRR/NIH and was completed in Spring 2000. The Facility consists of a Class 100,000 area, with three tissue culture rooms for the production of research grade viral vectors and a wet lab for performing the necessary quality control assays, and a Class 10,000 area for production of clinical grade viral vectors. The Class 10,000 area has five individual production suites with separate airlocks and independently controlled air-handling systems allowing for the production of up to five different vectors simultaneously. An advisory committee consisting of MSSM faculty members who are experts in the field of virology and cancer will provide guidance to the Core regarding the development of new vector systems of production techniques for cancer related applications. The Vector Core will provide the appropriate shuttle plasmids to individual investigators for insertion of their transgene of interest. The Core will then rescue recombinant virus using this plasmid and the appropriate complementary plasmids, the rescue virus will then be used as seed virus for large-scale vector production and purification. Each viral vector preparation will be tested for mycoplasma and endotoxin as well as virus particle and infectious unit concentrations, where applicable. The users will be charged only for the cost of supplies used for production and quality control testing of their vector. It is anticipated that the readily available scientific and technical expertise provided by the Core, in combination with the significantly reduced costs, will stimulate and facilitate increased gene transfer research activities by NCI-funded investigators.