A simplified method for bronchoalveolar lavage in mice by orotracheal intubation avoiding tracheotomy
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Abstract
We describe a novel simple method to collect immune cells and soluble substances from the lungs of mice by washing the lungs several times with fluid. The procedure is called bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Performing BAL in mice is difficult due to their small size and the currently used BAL method requires a partial cut of the windpipe and the insertion and fixation of a suitable cannula to perform the washes. We describe a simple alternative procedure. A rigid cannula with an olive tip connected to a syringe with a suitable lavage fluid is directly inserted from the mouth into the trachea and several washes of the lungs are performed. The novel method requires minimal training, is simple, fast, inexpensive and should be useful for researchers studying mouse models of lung disease.
