Mouse Phenotyping Services at the University of California, San Diego offers guidelines and some services, in order to proceed with a comprehensive investigation of genetically altered mice.

Click on "Histopathology" above, to view additional helpful links, and to review hints on questions like "How do I proceed to get histopathological evaluation done on these harvested mouse organs?".

Click on this link to view slides of histological sections from some normal mouse organs here.

Check out the website url: www.functionalglycomics.org/glycomics/publicdata/phenotyping.jsp to view panels and panels of mouse histology photos.

The Protocols section is being updated constantly, and provides helpful protocols for commonly used histological methods.

A phenotypic evaluation of animal models of human disease is critical in the understanding of the pathogenesis and the processes involved. A careful examination (always with the organs and tissues from littermate controls) of completely back-crossed genetically altered mice, at different ages, is required . A comprehensive histopathologic review, hematology analyses, chemistry panels and a variety of behavioral tests will help to accomplish some of these goals.

A comprehensive study should plan to first look for systemic changes by doing basic screens with hematology and chemistry assays in serum. The Hematology/Chemistry section of the Mouse phenotyping core will get that organized. Then, if there are changes seen, we would plan a terminal experiment, with drawing more blood for coagulation assays and the organs would be fixed for histologic analysis. The usual ones that are screened by histology for this purpose, would include about 30 tissues. The mouse phenotyping core does offer all those services, on a Recharge basis, but you would have to do a large number of animals—we recommend that we should plan to examine serum from about 32 animals and tissues from 24 animals. This would include 6 male and 6 female littermate controls, and then 6 male and 6 female test animals, as a minimal first run screen. The whole evaluation usually takes about 6-12 weeks, with reports, photographs etc. Our experience with mouse pathology, looking at littermate controls and gene altered mice models of human disease, over the last 15 years has allowed to recommend that protocol.

To familiarize students and postdoctoral fellows with the procedures and protocols, classes are offered annually in the Fall Quarter MED 234, that outline practical methods that are used in phenotyping genetically altered mice. Correct processing of tissues, is critical such that the histopathologic changes within mutant animals, are interpreted accurately. Anatomy, Histology, Histopathology, Histochemistry and Immunohistochemistry methods are introduced, and also the methods used in Hematology and Chemistry assays, during these classes. A second series of elective lectures occur in the Spring quarter, where specific animal models are discussed PATH 225.

Undergraduate students may also train (two years) towards obtaining American Society of Clinical Pathology board certification in histotechnology.

Now, click on "Histopathology" on the panel above, to get introduced to procedures and protocols you need to use to get the best histologic sections for evaluation and photography

Then click on"Education" to get more info on the Elective course