In vitro colony assays to detect self-renewal and differentiation of progenitor cells isolated from adult murine pancreas are devised. In these assays, pancreatic progenitors give rise to cell colonies in 3-dimensional space in methylcellulose-containing semi-solid medium. Protocols for handling single cells and characterization of individual colonies are described.
Tremblay, J. R., LeBon, J. M., Luo, A., Quijano, J. C., Wedeken, L., Jou, K., Riggs, A. D., Tirrell, D. A., Ku, H. T. In Vitro Colony Assays for Characterizing Tri-potent Progenitor Cells Isolated from the Adult Murine Pancreas. J. Vis. Exp. (112), e54016, doi:10.3791/54016 (2016).