Mouse Histology & Phenotyping Laboratory

Our Mission

The goal of the Mouse Histology & Phenotyping Laboratory (MHPL) at Northwestern University is to assist primary investigators and investigators with standard and customized research-specific histology and phenotyping services for their non-clinical research models. The laboratory provides comprehensive histology services for a wide variety of organs and tissues derived from different species of experimental animals (e.g., mouse, rat, pig, sheep, zebrafish) for routine histology, immunostainings and nucleic acid hybridization analysis. Pathology consultations can also be provided by MHPL to help develop strategies to elucidate phenotypes and gain mechanistic insights regarding the biologic actions of the experimentally targeted genes, proteins or the toxicity of exogenously administered substances. The laboratory serves as an important resource for biomedical scientists on how to integrate histology and phenotyping analysis to help their own projects.

What We Do

Histology Services

  • FFPE specimen Processing, Embedding and Sectioning
  • Frozen Specimen Processing, Embedding and Sectioning
  • Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) Staining of sections
  • Specialized histochemical staining, including Trichrome, Alcian Blue, Cresyl Violet and many more
Offered Techniques

Phenotyping Services

  • Immunohistochemistry (IHC): Using tyramide signal amplification (TSA) and ABC methods (automated), with DAB chromogenic substrate
  • Immunofluorescence (IF): Single and multiple staining
  • Tissue Clearing
  • TUNEL assay
  • RNA Scope
  • Consultation with development of animal pathology protocols
Available Services and Rates

Gallery

Some examples of images generated using various instruments in our core.