White and Brown Adipose Depot Collection from Mouse Pup: A Surgical Procedure to Harvest the White Adipose Tissue and Brown Adipose Tissue from Mouse Pup

To collect subcutaneous white adipose tissue, cut the skin around the abdomen of a euthanized newborn pup, and gently pull the skin below the legs. Without collecting any skin tissue, carefully harvest the fat depot, which will appear as a clear or white, thin, elongated tissue attached to the inside of the skin or on top of the quadriceps. Rinse the harvested depot in PBS and place the adipose tissue in a 1.5 milliliter tube containing 250 microliters of PBS and 200 microliters of 2X isolation buffer on ice.

To collect interscapular brown adipose tissue, pull the skin from the shoulder blades over the head, and lift the deep red brown adipose tissue located between the shoulder blades. Carefully make incisions all around the adipose to detach it from the body, and check the tissue for consistency and color. After rinsing, place the tissue in a second 1.5 milliliter tube containing 250 microliters of PBS and 200 microliters of 2X isolation buffer on ice.