Isolation, culture, and differentiation potential of mouse marrow stromal cells.

This unit describes how to isolate and expand mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from mouse bone marrow. For reasons that are not clear, it has been difficult to isolate these cells (also known as mesenchymal stem cells). Furthermore, different mouse strains seem to have specific requirements for successful extraction and culture of these cells. A general and easy protocol is presented here for isolating stromal cells from different inbred and transgenic mice commonly used in the stem cell biology field.