Isolating glomeruli from mice: A practical approach for beginners

A modified procedure for Dynabead perfusion was developed to provide a practical methodology for obtaining large quantities of glomeruli from mice with a high purity. The glomeruli may be useful in exploring the mechanism behind glomerular diseases in conjunction with proteomics. The aim of the study was to save on costs and help researchers, particularly beginners, in the practical application of this method in their studies. Kidneys of C57BL/6 mice were perfused via two different techniques with Dynabeads. The purity and structures of the isolated glomeruli were investigated. The amounts of glomerular protein were measured and the costs of kidney and heart perfusions were compared. There was a 100% success rate at all stages involved in separating the glomeruli of mice via kidney perfusion. The isolated glomeruli remained intact and the purity was 96.7±1.2%. The average amounts of protein in the isolated glomeruli of 8- and 20-week-old mice were 45.6±13.4 and 55.8±17.0 μg, respectively. The cost of glomerular isolation via kidney perfusion was one-fortieth of the cost of isolation via heart perfusion. The described procedure is practical and has a high success rate. The isolated glomeruli of mice were intact and pure and a large quantity was obtained at a lower cost.