Broncheolar Lavages
Use a silicone tubing that can be plugged to a 5ml syringe. Insert it in the trachea of a sacrifice mouse.
Puch the tube down to the bifurcation just above the lung. To prevent the buffer to get back out tied the tube around the trachea very hard with suture string. This way allows pressure to be used during the lavage.
Use 2ml PBS or RPMI at Room Temperature! Preferably Ca2+ free. Try to massage the lungs when it is filled up. And let it to rest for 1 or 2 min. Syringe up and down the buffer very slowly.
Repeat point N3 about 5 times (total 10ml). Usually get 5×106 cells back from one mouse.
NOTE: Sometime it helps to use enzyme such as Trypsine, Amylase. The older the mice the better, as the recovery is better because the lungs are bigger.
Broncheolar Lavages —> PDF