Description

About the BALB/c Mouse

The BALB/c mouse is a commonly-used inbred mouse strain for the study of autoimmune diseases and pathogen-driven immune response. They carry the H-2^d haplotype and their immune cells are routinely used in immune-based assays. Based on early studies, the BALB/c mouse is biased towards a Th2 antibody-mediated immune response when challenged appropriately. Thus, the BALB/c mouse is well-studied in the field of immunology and their cells (like BALB/c mouse bone marrow cells) may offer experimental advantages depending on the parameters of your experiments.

Application Summary for BALB/c Mouse Bone Marrow Cells

The bone marrow contains various types of cells with many beginning there as stem cells. Thus, mouse bone marrow cells are an excellent source for phenotyping and characterizing stem cells. Applications such as multi-parameter flow cytometry are routinely used to characterize and distinguish stem cells from other types or to discover new ones. In addition, these populations, if purified, can potentially be used to differentiate into specific cell types, depending on the culture conditions. Similarly, progenitor cells are also found in the bone marrow and are routinely used to differentiate into monocytes and macrophages. Together, mouse bone marrow cells can be used to identify and study specific cell populations, as well as differentiate into cell types for functional assays.

Isolation of Bone Marrow Cells

Bone Marrow Collection and Isolation of Cells

Bone marrow is isolated responsibly from BALB/c mice at third party facilities. These facilities are vetted to ensure they operate according to local regulations and laws. Since the facility is local, the marrow is quickly transported to iQ’s facility for processing.

At our facility, bone marrow is carefully removed from the tissue and mechanically dissociated to obtain a single cell suspension under sterile conditions. The suspension is carefully passed through a filter to remove any aggregates, and subsequently depleted of red blood cells. The bone marrow is then frozen based on iQ Biosciences’ quality-controlled cryopreservation protocol to promote recoverability and viability once in the end user’s hands.

Cryopreservation and Storage

Our BALB/c mice bone marrow cells are cryopreserved carefully using iQ Biosciences’ cryopreservation protocol that ensures high viability (typically > 70%) after thawing.

Cells should be stored at < -120°C once they are received, such as within a liquid nitrogen tank (vapor phase).