Colony-Forming Unit Assays with Mouse Cells
STEMCELL Technologies offers a variety of MethoCult methylcellulose-based semi-solid media products to be used with mouse cells for colony forming unit (CFU) assays
STEMCELL Technologies offers a variety of MethoCult semi-solid media products to be used with mouse cells for CFU assays. Mouse cells require very specific media in order to grow specific colony types. The cytokines in these media formulations determine which colony types can grow in each, and thus the media formulation you choose is extremely important.
In general, we recommend using the following MethoCult formulations for your studies:
| Desired Colony Type | Optimal MethoCult Formulation | Day to Count |
| CFU-GEMM (mixed) | GF M3434 | 12 |
| CFU-GM AND CFU-GEMM | GF M3434 | 12 |
| For only CFU-GM | GF M3534 | 12 |
| BFU-E | SF M3436 | 10 and 14 |
| CFU-E | M3334 | 2 |
| CFU pre-B | M3630 | 7 |
Additional tips for mouse colony-forming unit assays:
- Plate multiple cell concentrations - you want to see 75-150 colonies per dish.
- You may want to plate multiple cell sources (i.e. your progenitors may be found in the spleen or bone marrow, depending on the mouse)
- Count the colonies on the recommended day for the colony type.
- Morphology of colonies may vary depending on a number of factors including the mouse strain and age.
We have additional information and tips on colony identification available on our new Mouse Hematopoietic Progenitors Wallchart.
Remember, focus on using the correct cell source, media formulation and counting on the correct day and colony identification can be simplified!
For further assistance and information, please contact techsupport@stemcell.com.
Related Resources
On-Demand Mouse Hematopoietic CFU Assay Course
Learn the basics of mouse hematopoiesis, how to set up the CFU assay in your own lab, and confidently classify and count the resulting colonies. Progress at your own pace with virtual lectures and step-by-step lab videos in this free course.
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