[Histonet] collecting fresh tissue prior to perfusion

[Caroline Bass]

Hello,

I have what may be a silly question but I thought maybe it is worth a  
try.  I am in a situation where the best way to collect liver tissue  
for my purposes is to perfuse the mouse with PFA.  However, on  
occasion I need a small bit of fresh liver tissue to analyze for  
DNA.  I was wondering if it is possible to collect a portion of a  
liver lobe at some point in the perfusion process before I use  
fixative?  For example, I could start the perfusion with heparinized  
saline, clip a quarter of one lobe of the liver off and then switch  
over to the PFA.  I would then proceed with the perfusion as normal.

The only complication I can think of is that the loss of a  
significant portion of the liver could effect how well the rest of  
the liver perfuses.

Has anyone tried this or is this something I should avoid?  I am  
trying to cut down on the number of mice I am using.

My goal is to obtain a completely fixed liver lobe that I can section  
all the way through.  It is my understanding that the mouse liver is  
too large to fix by immersion in PFA, so it either has to be cut into  
blocks or the mouse perfused.

Thanks,

Caroline