Fetal Brain Development in Inbred Mice

The inbred mice strains C57BL/6J (strain # 000664), AKR/J (strain # 00064), and B6.Cg-Cav1^tm1Mls/J (strain # 007083) used in this study were purchased from the Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME, USA). Approximately 8-week-old mice of these strains were used to establish timed pregnancies separately, as described previously [6 (link)]. The vaginal plug was observed to keep a record of the start of pregnancy (day 1). On days (d) 12, 15, and 17, the pregnant mice were euthanized, the fetuses were collected [15 (link)] and washed in sterile PBS, and the whole brain was dissected from each fetus [27 (link)].