Species-specific genomic DNA PCR analysis allows to assess the graft development in mouse xenotransplanted mammary gland

The mouse transplantation model remains the most relevant methodology to assess the functional capacities of mammary cells and is particularly appropriate for investigations on mammary stem cells, whatever the species studied. Following xenotransplantation in mice mammary fat pad, the development of the xenograft is classically evaluated by immunohistology. Here, we present a simple and rapid method to control the species-specificity of the xenograft based on genomic DNA PCR amplification. DNA is extracted from fixed samples previously used in histology, thus allowing the reuse of precious samples. Standard and digital droplet PCR (requiring low DNA quantities) methods has been used to make the present method suitable for the analysis of valuable samples obtained by the xenograft approach.