Methods for Preparing Fluorescent and Neutral Red-Stained Whole Mounts of Mouse Mammary Glands (original) (raw)

Abstract

Whole mount preparations of mouse mammary glands are useful for evaluating overall changes in growth and morphology, and are essential for detecting and evaluating focal or regionally-localized phenotypes that would be difficult to detect or analyze using other techniques. We present three newly developed methods for preparing whole mounts of mammary glands from genetically-engineered mice expressing fluorescent proteins, as well as using either neutral red or a variety of fluorescent dyes. Unlike traditional hematoxylin- or carmine-stained preparations, neutral red-stained and some fluorescent preparations can be used for several common downstream analyses.

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Abbreviations

CFSE:

carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester

DAPI:

4’,6-diamidino-2-phenyl-indole

ECFP:

enhanced cyan fluorescent protein

EGFP:

enhanced green fluorescent protein

PBS:

phosphate-buffered saline

PFA:

paraformaldehyde

RFP:

red fluorescent protein

YFP:

yellow fluorescent protein

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, BCM600; Room N1210, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
    John D. Landua, Adriana P. Visbal & Michael T. Lewis

Authors

  1. John D. Landua
  2. Adriana P. Visbal
  3. Michael T. Lewis

Corresponding author

Correspondence toMichael T. Lewis.

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Landua, J.D., Visbal, A.P. & Lewis, M.T. Methods for Preparing Fluorescent and Neutral Red-Stained Whole Mounts of Mouse Mammary Glands.J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia 14, 411–415 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10911-009-9155-3

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