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In This Article

  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Protocol
  • Representative Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Materials
  • References
  • Reprints and Permissions

Summary

We describe a protocol to establish an air-liquid interface (ALI) culture model utilizing neonatal tracheal airway epithelial cells (nTAEC) and perform physiologically relevant hyperoxia exposure to study the effect of atmospheric-induced oxidative stress on cells derived from the developing neonatal airway surface epithelium.

Abstract

The preterm neonatal airway epithelium is constantly exposed to environmental stressors. One of these stressors in neonates with lung disease includes oxygen (O2) tension higher than the ambient atmosphere - termed hyperoxia (>21% O2). The effect of hyperoxia on the airway depends on various factors, including the developmental stage of the airway, the degree of hyperoxia, and the duration of exposure, with variable exposures potentially leading to unique phenotypes. While there has been extensive research on the effect of hyperoxia on neonatal lung alveolarization and airway hyperreactivity, little is known about the short and long-term underlying effect of hyperoxia on human neonatal airway epithelial cells. A major reason for this is the scarcity of an effective in vitro model to study human neonatal airway epithelial development and function. Here, we describe a method for isolating and expanding human neonatal tracheal airway epithelial cells (nTAECs) utilizing human neonatal tracheal aspirates and culturing these cells in air-liquid interface (ALI) culture. We demonstrate that nTAECs form a mature polarized cell-monolayer in ALI culture and undergo mucociliary differentiation. We also present a method for moderate hyperoxia exposure of the cell monolayer in ALI culture using a specialized incubator. Additionally, we describe an assay to measure cellular oxidative stress following hyperoxia exposure in ALI culture using fluorescent quantification, which confirms that moderate hyperoxia exposure induces cellular oxidative stress but does not cause significant cell membrane damage or apoptosis. This model can potentially be used to simulate clinically relevant hyperoxia exposure encountered by neonatal airways in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and used to study the short and long-lasting effects of O2 on neonatal airway epithelial programming. Studies using this model could be utilized to explore ways to mitigate early-life oxidative injury to developing airways, which is implicated in the development of long-term airway diseases in former premature infants.

Introduction

Therapeutic oxygen (O2) is one of the most used therapies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)1. Consequently, hyperoxia exposure (>21% O2) is a common atmospheric stressor encountered by neonates with and without significant lung disease. Lung responses to hyperoxia can vary depending on the intensity and/or duration of exposure and the anatomical location, cell type, and stage of lung development2,3,4,5,6. The bulk of the research in neonatal hyperox....

Protocol

Neonatal tracheal aspirate samples were collected only after informed consent from parents, and the protocol used for collection, transport, and storage has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (IRB 14377).

1. Preparation for isolation, passaging, and ALI culture of nTAEC

  1. Media preparation
    1. Bronchial epithelial airway medium (BLEAM) with inhibitors (BLEAM-I): Prepare 500 mL (1 bottle, .......

Representative Results

To isolate nTAECs, we collected tracheal aspirates from intubated neonates in the NICU and transported the aspirates on ice to the lab for further processing (Figure 1A). After seeding the tracheal aspirate samples in airway epithelial growth medium (BLEAM-I containing Rho/Smad, GSK3, and mTOR inhibitors), cuboidal cells appeared within 7-10 days. By 14 days, the cells were 50%-60% confluent, and around 21 days post-plating, the cells were densely packed and.......

Discussion

The protocol described here details a method for the collection and processing of neonatal tracheal aspirate samples from intubated neonates in the NICU with subsequent isolation and expansion of live nTAECs from these samples using previously established methods39. Furthermore, we have described a method for culturing nTAECs on ALI and characterizing their differentiation into a polarized mucociliary airway epithelium as a function of time via measurement of TEER, FITC-dextran assay, immunofluore.......

Acknowledgements

This work is supported by funding from Presbyterian Health Foundation (PHF) and Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources (U54GM104938 with an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from NIGMS) to AG. We would like to thank Dr. Paul LeRou and Dr. Xingbin Ai at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, for providing neonatal donor cells used in some of the experiments. Figures were created with Biorender. Statistical analysis was performed with GraphPad Prism.

....

Materials

NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
10% Buffered FormalinFisher Scientific23-426796
1X PBS (Phosphate Buffered Saline) Solution, pH 7.4Gibco10010049
A 83-01Tocris29-391-0
ALI Transwell Inserts, 6.5mmCorning3470
Anti-Acetylated Tubulin antibody, Mouse monoclonalSigmaT7451
Anti-alpha Tubulin antibodyAbcamab7291
Anti-Cytokeratin 5 antibodyAbcamab53121
BronchiaLife Epithelial Airway Medium (BLEAM)LifeLine Cell TechnologyLL-0023
CHIR 99021Tocris44-231-0
Cleaved caspase-3 antibodyCell signaling9664T
SCGB1A1 or Club Cell Protein (CC16) Human, Rabbit Polyclonal AntibodyBioVendor R&DRD181022220-01
CM-H2DCFDA (General Oxidative Stress Indicator)Thermo ScientificC6827
Corning Cell Culture Treated T25 FlasksCorning430639
Corning U-Shaped Cell Culture T75 FlasksCorning430641U
CyQUANT LDH Cytotoxicity AssayThermo ScientificC20300
DAPI Solution (1 mg/mL)Fisher ScientificEN62248
Dimethyl sulfoxide [DMSO] Hybri-MaxSigmaD2650
Distilled waterGibco15230162
EVOM Manual for TEER MeasurementWorld Precision InstrumentEVM-MT-03-01
FBS (Fetal Bovine Serum)Gibco10082147
Fluorescein Isothiocyanate Dextran (average mol wt 10,000)Fisher ScientificF0918100MG
Fluorescein isothiocyanate–dextran (average mol wt 20,00)SigmaFD20-100MG
Goat Anti-Mouse IgG(H+L), Human ads-HRPSouthern Biotech1031-05
Goat anti-Mouse IgG2b Cross-Adsorbed Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 488InvitrogenA-21141
Goat anti-Rabbit IgG (H+L) Highly Cross-Adsorbed Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 546InvitrogenA-11035
Goat Anti-Rabbit IgG(H+L), Mouse/Human ads-HRPSouthern Biotech4050-05
HBTEC Air-Liquid Interface (ALI) Differentiation MediumLifeLine Cell TechnologyLM-0050
HEPESLonzaCC-5024
Heracell VIOS 160i Tri-Gas CO2 Incubator, 165 LThermo Scientific51030411
High-Capacity cDNA Reverse Transcription KitThermo Scientific4368814
HLL supplementLifeLine Cell TechnologyLS-1001
ImageJNIHN/Aimagej.nih.gov/ij/
Invivogen Normocin - Antimicrobial ReagentFisher ScientificNC9273499
L-GlutamineLifeLine Cell TechnologyLS-1013
Normal Goat SerumGibcoPCN5000
NormocinInvivogenant-nr-05
p63 antibodySanta Cruz Biotechnologysc-25268
ProLong Gold Antifade MountantInvitrogenP36930
PureLink RNA Mini KitThermo Scientific12183025
RAPAMYCINThermo ScientificAAJ62473MC
TaqMan Fast Advanced Master MixThermo Scientific4444964
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: 18S rRNAThermo ScientificHs99999901_s1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: CATThermo ScientificHs00156308_m1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: FOXJ1Thermo ScientificHs00230964_m1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: GAPDHThermo ScientificHs02786624_g1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: GPX1Thermo ScientificHs00829989_gH
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: GPX2Thermo ScientificHs01591589_m1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: GPX3Thermo ScientificHs01078668_m1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: KRT5Thermo ScientificHs00361185_m1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: MUC5ACThermo ScientificHs01365616_m1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: SCGB1A1Thermo ScientificHs00171092_m1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: SOD1Thermo ScientificHs00533490_m1
Taqman Gene Exression Assays: SOD2Thermo ScientificHs00167309_m1
Thermo Scientific Nalgene Rapid-Flow Sterile Disposable Filter Units with PES Membrane (0.22 μm pores, 500 ml)Thermo Scientific5660020
TM-1 Combined SupplementLifeLine Cell TechnologyLS-1055
Total caspase-3 antibodyCell signaling14220S
Triton X-100Sigma9036-19-5
Trypsin-EDTA (0.05%), Phenol redGibco25300062
Y-27632 2 HClTocris12-541-0

References

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Translational 3D Cell CultureHyperoxiaNeonatal Airway Epithelial CellsEnvironmental StressorsOxygen TensionDevelopmental StageIn Vitro ModelHuman Neonatal Tracheal AspiratesAir Liquid Interface CultureMucociliary DifferentiationCellular Oxidative StressNICUOxidative InjuryPremature InfantsAirway Diseases

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