This theoretical and practical course will present techniques for the dissection and dissociation of different subpopulations of both mouse and human mammary, including stem/progenitor, cells. It will also include flow cytometry to separate single cell populations for the consequent in vitro (mammosphere and 3D cultures) and in vivo (mouse mammary fat-pad clearing and cell transplantation) analysis to assess stem cell activity and gene function.
Topics: mammary epithelium, cellular homeostasis, branching morphogenesis, stem cell biology, breast cancer, dissection and dissociation, flow cytometry, cell imaging