GMC21 project protocol

Tibia length and heart, liver, and spleen weights in 8 inbred founder strains of the Collaborative Cross   (2020)

German Mouse Clinic and Department of Infection Genetics, HZI
With: Hrabě de Angelis M, Fuchs H, Gailus-Durner V, Neff F, Calzada-Wack J, Höfler H, Lengger C, Kollmus H, Schughart K




German Mouse Clinic: Phenotyping Pipeline

Organ weights and tibia length: 20-21 wks of age

 

  • Project protocol - Contents

    Workflow and sampling

    Step
    Procedure
    		 Equipment
    Data collected
    1 Mice euthanized CO2 chamber -
    2 Body weight Balance

    Body weight
    3 Harvest organs Dissection kit Heart, liver, spleen weights
    4 Measure tibia Caliper Tibia length

    Equipment and supplies

    • CO2 chamber
    • Balance
    • Dissection kit
    • Digital caliper
    • Tissues

    Reagents and solutions

    • CO2 gas
    • 80% ethanol
    • 4% neutral-buffered formalin

    Procedure: Organ weights and tibia length

      1. Mice are euthanized in the CO2 chamber.
      2. Body weight is measured.
      3. The abdomen of each mouse is doused with ethanol to avoid hair contamination.
      4. The mouse is pinned down on a cork board ventral-side-up.
      5. The fur is opened above the symphysis with a small incision; a double-Y is cut through the skin without disturbing the underlying abdominal muscles; the Y-incision is extended to the mandibular bone and toward the paws.
      6. Skin flaps are pinned back onto the board, without disturbing abdominal muscles.
      7. The abdominal wall is opened with an incision above the pelvis in a T-manner to the ribcage and sternal bone.
      8. The abdominal cavity is opened by folding the muscles back.
      9. Organs are dissected:
        1. Heart: dissect from aortic root right above the atria; dip the heart onto tissue to remove as much blood from the atria and chambers as possible.
        2. Liver: dissect from the stomach, diaphragm ligaments, and vessels at the hilus.
        3. Spleen: dissect carefully from the pancreas; remove vessels at the hilus.
      10. Organs are weighed.
      11. Tibia length is measured by removing the pin from the left hindpaw, flexing the limb and measuring the length with caliper from the patella to the ankle.

    Data collected by investigator

    • Body weight
    • Heart weight
    • Liver weight
    • Spleen weight
    		•