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. Protocol Mouse Bladder Wall InjectionChoice of mouse strain, age, and sex is dictated by experimental needs. We use mice between 8 and 12 weeks of age, since this is a window of immunological maturity prior to senescence. As a general guideline, mice should arrive at least one week prior to experimental manipulation in order to avoid stress-induced confounding factors. Representative Results:A well-localized bleb that does not leak fluid and stays stable in size is an indication of successful injection of the cells into the bladder wall (Figure 1). Histological analysis can be performed to confirm the presence of the injected cells in the bladder wall.

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. Protocol Mouse Bladder Wall InjectionChoice of mouse strain, age, and sex is dictated by experimental needs. We use mice between 8 and 12 weeks of age, since this is a window of immunological maturity prior to senescence. As a general guideline, mice should arrive at least one week prior to experimental manipulation in order to avoid stress-induced confounding factors. Representative Results:A well-localized bleb that does not leak fluid and stays stable in size is an indication of successful injection of the cells into the bladder wall (Figure 1). Histological analysis can be performed to confirm the presence of the injected cells in the bladder wall.