Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University

The goal of the present protocol was to develop a method that will allow functional genomic analyses of mast cell secretion. The protocol is based on quantitative assessment of the release of a fluorescent reporter gene cotrasfected with the gene of interest and real time analyses of the secretory granule's morphology.

Here, we describe a method for the isolation of cells in the pancreas microenvironment from embryonic, neonatal and adult mouse tissue, focusing on the isolation of mesenchymal cells. This method allows profiling of cell gene expression and protein secretion in order to elucidate the extrinsic signals that regulate pancreas development, function, and tumorigenesis.

Here we detail a method for live cell imaging of regulated exocytosis. This method utilizes FITC-dextran, which accumulates in lysosome-related organelles, as a reporter. This simple method also allows distinguishing between different modes of regulated exocytosis in cells that are difficult to manipulate genetically.