Using Human Intestinal Organoids to Understand the Small Intestine Epithelium at the Single Cell Transcriptional Level

Summary

The protocol combines human intestinal organoid technology with single cell transcriptomic analysis to provide significant insight into previously unexplored intestinal biology.

Abstract

Single cell transcriptomics has revolutionized our understanding of the cell biology of the human body. State-of-the-art human small intestinal organoid cultures provide ex vivo model systems that bridge the gap between animal models and clinical studies. The application of single cell transcriptomics to human intestinal organoid (HIO) models is revealing previously unrecognized cell biology, biochemistry, and physiology of the GI tract. The advanced single cell transcriptomics platforms use microfluidic partitioning and barcoding to generate cDNA libraries. These barcoded cDNAs can be easily sequenced by next generation sequencing platforms and used by various visualization tools to generate maps. Here, we describe methods to culture and differentiate human small intestinal HIOs in different formats and procedures for isolating viable cells from these formats that are suitable for use in single-cell transcriptional profiling platforms. These protocols and procedures facilitate the use of small intestinal HIOs to obtain an increased understanding of the cellular response of human intestinal epithelium at the transcriptional level in the context of a variety of different environments.

Introduction

The small intestinal epithelium has two distinct zones: the crypt that houses the intestinal stem cell (ISC) and the villus, which is comprised of differentiated cells of the secretory and absorptive lineages. Adding to this complexity is the regional specificity of the epithelium that provides unique functional properties between the regions of the small intestine. Pioneering work established culture conditions in which both the human small intestinal crypt and villus zones can be generated ex vivo from surgical tissues or tissue biopsies¹. These cultures are bridging the gap between animal studies and clinical trials and are revealin....

Protocol

The organoid lines used here were obtained from the Texas Medical Center Digestive Disease Center GEMS Core. Briefly, to initially establish organoid lines, donor tissue samples were washed and enzymatically digested to release the intestinal crypts. Crypts were embedded in a basement membrane and cultured in a medium. The Institutional Review Board at Baylor College of Medicine approved the study protocol to obtain tissue samples from which organoid lines were established, and informed consent was obtained from all dono.......

Discussion

Using single cell genomics platforms, complex biological systems, such as tissue derived HIO cultures that model the intestinal epithelium, can be broken down to yield individual cellular contributions to overall biological response^4,5,6. Cellular heterogeneity and rare cell populations can also be identified and interrogated. Cellular input needs to be optimized to maximize output using single cell transcriptomic-based platform.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
[Leu15]-Gastrin I	Sigma-Aldrich	G9145	10 nM
0.05% Trypsin-EDTA	Invitrogen	25300054
0.4% Trypan blue	Millipore-Sigma	T8154
0.5 M EDTA	Corning	46-034-CI
1x PBS Ca- Mg-	Corning	21-040-CM
24 mm Transwell	Costar	3412
24 well Nunclon delta surface tissue culture dish	Thermo Scientific	142475
40 µm cell strainer	Falcon	352340
40 µm Flowmi tip strainer	SP Bel-Art Labware	H13680-0040
70 µm Flowmi tip strainer	SP Bel-Art Labware	H13680-0070
96 well plate	Corning	3595
A-83-01	Tocris	2939	500 nM
Accutase	StemCell Technologies	7920
Advanced DMEM/F12	Invitrogen	12634-028
B27 supplement	Invitrogen	17504-044	1X
Chromium Next GEM Single Cell 3’ GEM, Library & Gel Bead Kit v3.1	10x Genomics	PN-1000128
Collagen IV	Sigma-Aldrich	C5533-5MG	33 µg/mL
Corning Cell Recovery Solution	VWR	354253
DPBS (Mg2-, Ca2-)	Invitrogen	14190-136	1X
GlutaMAX-I	Invitrogen	35050-061	2 mM
HEPES 1M	Invitrogen	15630-080	10 mM
L-WRN conditioned media	ATCC	CRL-3276
Matrigel, GFR, phenol free	Corning	356231
mouse recombinant EGF	Invitrogen	PMG8043	50 ng/mL
N2 supplement	Invitrogen	17502-048	1X
N-Acetylcysteine	Sigma-Aldrich	A9165-5G	500 µM
Nicotinamide	Sigma-Aldrich	N0636	10 mM
SB202190	Sigma-Aldrich	S7067	10 µM
Transwell	Corning	3413
Y27632	Stem Cell Technologies	72308	10 µM