Mouse bladder wall injection is a useful approach to orthotopically study bladder stem cell and cancer biology. This delicate microsurgical method can be mastered with careful technique and practice.
Mouse bladder wall injection is a useful technique to orthotopically study bladder phenomena, including stem cell, smooth muscle, and cancer biology. Before starting injections, the surgical area must be cleaned with soap and water and antiseptic solution. Surgical equipment must be sterilized before use and between each animal. Each mouse is placed under inhaled isoflurane anesthesia (2-5% for induction, 1-3% for maintenance) and its bladder exposed by making a midline abdominal incision with scissors. If the bladder is full, it is partially decompressed by gentle squeezing between two fingers. The cell suspension of interest is intramurally injected into the wall of the bladder dome using a 29 or 30 gauge needle and 1 cc or smaller syringe. The wound is then closed using wound clips and the mouse allowed to recover on a warming pad. Bladder wall injection is a delicate microsurgical technique that can be mastered with practice.
Mouse bladder wall injection allows for the implantation of specific cells into defined areas of the bladder wall. This technique has wide applications for mouse models of bladder cancer, smooth muscle, and stem cell biology. By definition, mouse bladder wall injection facilitates introduction of bladder cancer or stem cells into an orthotopic location so that their growth and differentiation can be studied in a physiologically relevant anatomic context. In fact, Dinney et al. first described this technique in order to s…
The authors have nothing to disclose.
We gratefully acknowledge the support of a Pilot grant from the Stanford Pediatric Research Fund and K08DK087895-01 from the NIDDK.
Name of the reagent | Company | Catalogue number |
Isoflurane (Aerrane) | Baxter | NDC 10019-773-60 |
29 or 30 gauge needles | Hamilton | 7803-06 or 7803-07 |
100 microliter syringe | Hamilton | 7656-01 |