A Protocol to Prepare and Stain Dorsal Skin Whole Mounts from Mice

Tissue whole mounts have long been used to assess morphological changes following genetic perturbation in mice. Traditional methods for preparing dorsal skin whole mounts, however, often lead to breakage of hair follicle structures, such as sebaceous glands, making it difficult to perform unbiased quantitation. Here, we describe a modified technique for preparing whole mounts harvested from mouse dorsal skin. This protocol incorporates adhesives to stiffen the tissue and facilitate the separation of intact epidermis from the dermis. Critically, this method is compatible with downstream applications such as lipid staining of sebaceous glands and immunofluorescence, and we provide protocols for both approaches. Overall, the use of this modified "glue technique" for preparing skin whole mounts will help preserve tissue integrity for morphological analysis.