Method for the harvest and assay of in vitro clonogenic keratinocytes stem cells from mice.

Primary adult mouse keratinocytes are harvested from the dorsal section of 6- to 8-wk-old mice. Euthanized mice are clipped and sterilized with serial washes in provodine iodine and ethanol solutions. The skin of the mice is removed and treated with trypsin to detach the dermis from the epidermis. Cells harvested from this proven method can be used for molecular biology, biochemistry, or a variety of cell culture techniques, including the clonogenic cell assay presented here.