Tail-degloving and cold storage facilitate primary cell culture from wild-caught rodents.

Abstract

The use of wild rodents as biological resources is hindered by the difficulties of live transport and primary culture contamination caused by skin bacteria. To address this, we developed a "tail-degloving" method to physically remove the contaminated external integument. Using the large Japanese field mouse (Apodemus speciosus), this method suppressed contamination compared to conventional biopsies, yielding cells within 5-7 days that were capable of subculturing and cryopreservation. The protocol withstood 4°C storage for up to 7 days and enabled contamination-free cell establishment from a large rodent. This tail-degloving protocol eliminates live transport risks and effectively establishes primary cells after a multi-day transport delay.