Whole-Mount X-Gal Staining of Mouse Tissues
- 1Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129;
- 2Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Abstract
Although the development of improved mouse models, including conditional deletions, marks an exciting time in mouse genetics, it is important to characterize and validate these models. Cre reporter strains allow researchers to assess the recombinase expression profile and function in individual Cre mouse lines. These strains are engineered to express a reporter gene (usually LacZ) following the removal of a floxed STOP cassette, thus marking cell lineages that can be targeted with a given Cre line. This protocol provides a detailed method for the histochemical detection of β-galactosidase activity in Cre mouse strains.
Footnotes
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↵3 Correspondence: khaigis{at}partners.org
- © 2014 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
