In Vivo Model for Isolating Epithelial Cells of the Anorectal Transition Zone

Different epithelia line the body and organs and form a continuous lining of cells. The junction of two different types of epithelia represents a special region called transition zone (TZ). TZ are small areas found in numerous places in the body such as between the esophagus and the stomach, in the cervix, in the eye, and between the anal canal and the rectum. These zones are associated with diverse pathologies such as cancers; however, the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in tumor progression are poorly investigated. We recently characterized the role of anorectal TZ cells during homeostasis and after injury using an in vivo (lineage tracing) approach. To follow TZ cells, we previously developed a mouse model of lineage tracing using cytokeratin 17 (Krt17) as a promoter and GFP as a reporter. Krt17 is expressed by TZ but also by anal glands located below the TZ in the stroma that can interfere with TZ cell population isolation and analysis afterward. In this chapter, we provide a new dissection method to remove specifically anal glands without affecting anorectal TZ cells. This protocol allows the specific dissection and isolation of anal canal, TZ, and rectum epithelia.