Name: fluorescence activated cell sorting of plant protoplasts
Uploaded: 2010-02-18T17:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting of Plant Protoplasts at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant no. DBI 0519984) and the National Institutes of Health (grant no. 5R01GM078279)..

1) Preparation of the plant material
<ol>
 <li>Protoplasts can be derived from many different plant species and tissues provided that the right mix of cell wall digesting enzymes is used1. Before a full-scale experiment is undertaken, a small-scale digestion of the material is advisable in order to evaluate the protoplasting efficiency of the tissue, enzymes, etc. and to estimate the percent positive cells for cell sorting. Here, protoplasts derived from the roots of Arabidopsis thaliana seedli...

<ol>
	<li>Sheen, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Signal+transduction+in+maize+and+Arabidopsis+mesophyll+protoplasts.">Signal transduction in maize and Arabidopsis mesophyll protoplasts.</a> Plant Physiol. 127, 1466-1475 (2001).</li><li>Wysocka-Diller, J. W., Helariutta, Y., Fukaki, H., Malamy, J. E., Benfey, P. N. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Molecular+analysis+of+SCARECROW+function+reveals+a+radial+patterning+mechanism+common+to+root+and+shoot.">Molecular analysis of SCARECROW function reveals a radial patterning mechanism common to root and shoot.</a> Development. 127, 595-603 (2000).</li><li>Blilou, I., Xu, J., Wildwater, M., Willemsen, V., Paponov, I., Friml, J., Heidstra, R., Aida, M., Palme, K., Scheres, B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+PIN+auxin+efflux+facilitator+network+controls+growth+and+patterning+in+Arabidopsis+roots.">The PIN auxin efflux facilitator network controls growth and patterning in Arabidopsis roots.</a> Nature. 433, 39-44 (2005).</li><li>Gifford, M. L., Dean, A., Gutierrez, R. A., Coruzzi, G. M., Birnbaum, K. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cell-specific+nitrogen+responses+mediate+developmental+plasticity.">Cell-specific nitrogen responses mediate developmental plasticity.</a> Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 105, 803-808 (2008).</li><li>Bargmann, B. O. R., Birnbaum, K. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Positive+fluorescent+selection+permits+precise,+rapid,+and+in-depth+overexpression+analysis+in+plant+protoplasts.">Positive fluorescent selection permits precise, rapid, and in-depth overexpression analysis in plant protoplasts.</a> Plant Physiol. 149, 1231-1239 (2009).</li><li>Petersson, S. V., Johansson, A. I., Kowalczyk, M., Makoveychuk, A., Wang, J. Y., Moritz, T., Grebe, M., Benfey, P. N., Sandberg, G., Ljung, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=An+Auxin+Gradient+and+Maximum+in+the+Arabidopsis+Root+Apex+Shown+by+High-Resolution+Cell-Specific+Analysis+of+IAA+Distribution+and+Synthesis.">An Auxin Gradient and Maximum in the Arabidopsis Root Apex Shown by High-Resolution Cell-Specific Analysis of IAA Distribution and Synthesis.</a> Plant Cell. 21, 1659-1668 (2009).</li></ol>

Protoplasts can, in principle, be derived from a variety of plant tissues, optimizing favorable conditions will greatly enhance RNA quality and quantity. Both the protoplasting solution and the elective incubation buffer used will influence this aspect.
Many different fluorescent proteins can be used, depending on the capabilities of the FACS used, e.g. GFP, RFP, YFP, CFP or their many variants and derivatives. The expression of the markers could be driven not just by cell type-speci...

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		<th>Material Name</th>
		<th>Type</th>
		<th>Company</th>
		<th>Catalogue Number</th>
		<th>Comment</th>
		</tr>
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<tr>
<td>250 &mu;m nylon mesh</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sefar Filtration</td>
<td>NITEX 03-250/50</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>100 &mu;m nylon mesh</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sefar Filtration</td>
<td>NITEX 03-100/47</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Square petri dishes</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
<td>08-757-10k</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Phytatrays</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>P1552</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Murashige and Skoog Basal Medium (MS)</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>M5519</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>sucrose</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
<td>S5-3</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>MES</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>M2933</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>KOH</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>P1767</td>
<td>10 M stock</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Eclipse 90i microscope</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Nikon</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Cellulase R-10</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Yakult Pharmaceutical</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>Macerozyme R-10</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Yakult Pharmaceutical</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>D-mannitol</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>M9546</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>KCl</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>P8041</td>
<td>1 M stock</td>
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<tr>
<td>BSA</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>A3912</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
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<td>&beta;-mercaptoethanol</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>CALBIOCHEM</td>
<td>444203</td>
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<td>CaCl2</td>
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<td>Sigma</td>
<td>C2536</td>
<td> 1 M stock</td>
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<td>orbital shaker</td>
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<td>LAB-LINE</td>
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<td>40 &mu;m cell strainer</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>BD Falcon</td>
<td>352340</td>
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<tr>
<td>conical 15 ml tubes</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>BD Falcon</td>
<td>352196</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>table centrifuge</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sorvall</td>
<td>Legend RT</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>NaCl</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>S3014</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>FACSAria</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>BD</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>1.5 ml microfuge tubes</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>VWR</td>
<td>20170-38</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>RNeasy micro kit</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>QIAGEN</td>
<td>74004</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>WT-Ovation Pico RNA Amplification System</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>NuGEN</td>
<td>3300_12</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>FL-Ovation cDNA Biotin Module V2</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>NuGEN</td>
<td>4200_12</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>		</tbody>
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fluorescence activated cell sorting of plant protoplasts

High-resolution, cell type-specific analysis of gene expression greatly enhances understanding of developmental regulation and responses to environmental stimuli in any multicellular organism. In situ hybridization and reporter gene visualization can to a limited extent be used to this end but for high resolution quantitative RT-PCR or high-throughput transcriptome-wide analysis the isolation of RNA from particular cell types is requisite. Cellular dissociation of tissue expressing a fluorescent protein marker in a specific cell type and subsequent Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) makes it possible to collect sufficient amounts of material for RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis/amplification and microarray analysis.
An extensive set of cell type-specific fluorescent reporter lines is available to the plant research community. In this case, two marker lines of the Arabidopsis thaliana root are used: PSCR::GFP (endodermis and quiescent center) and PWOX5::GFP (quiescent center). Large numbers (thousands) of seedlings are grown hydroponically or on agar plates and harvested to obtain enough root material for further analysis. Cellular dissociation of plant material is achieved by enzymatic digestion of the cell wall. This procedure makes use of high osmolarity-induced plasmolysis and commercially available cellulases, pectinases and hemicellulases to release protoplasts into solution.
FACS of GFP-positive cells makes use of the visualization of the green versus the red emission spectra of protoplasts excited by a 488 nm laser. GFP-positive protoplasts can be distinguished by their increased ratio of green to red emission. Protoplasts are typically sorted directly into RNA extraction buffer and stored for further processing at a later time.
This technique is revealed to be straightforward and practicable. Furthermore, it is shown that it can be used without difficulty to isolate sufficient numbers of cells for transcriptome analysis, even for very scarce cell types (e.g. quiescent center cells). Lastly, a growth setup for Arabidopsis seedlings is demonstrated that enables uncomplicated treatment of the plants prior to cell sorting (e.g. for the cell type-specific analysis of biotic or abiotic stress responses). Potential supplementary uses for FACS of plant protoplasts are discussed.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting of Plant Protoplasts at JoVE.com

Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting of Plant Protoplasts

A method for isolating specific cell types from plant material is demonstrated. This technique employs transgenic marker lines expressing fluorescent proteins in particular cell types, cellular dissociation and Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting. Additionally, a growth setup is established here that facilitates treatment of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings prior to cell sorting.

High-resolution, cell type-specific analysis of gene expression greatly enhances understanding of developmental regulation and responses to environmental ...

fluorescence-activated-cell-sorting-of-plant-protoplasts

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Lipid Vesicle-mediated Affinity Chromatography using Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting (LIMACS): a Novel Method to Analyze Protein-lipid Interaction

The analysis of lipid protein interaction is difficult because lipids are embedded in cell membranes and therefore, inaccessible to most purification procedures. As an alternative, lipids can be coated on flat surfaces as used for lipid ELISA and Plasmon resonance spectroscopy. However, surface coating lipids do not form microdomain structures, which may be important for the lipid binding properties. Further, these methods do not allow for the purification of larger amounts of proteins binding to their target lipids.
 To overcome these limitations of testing lipid protein interaction and to purify lipid binding proteins we developed a novel method termed lipid vesicle-mediated affinity chromatography using magnetic-activated cell sorting (LIMACS). In this method, lipid vesicles are prepared with the target lipid and phosphatidylserine as the anchor lipid for Annexin V MACS. Phosphatidylserine is a ubiquitous cell membrane phospholipid that shows high affinity to the protein Annexin V. Using magnetic beads conjugated to Annexin V the phosphatidylserine-containing lipid vesicles will bind to the magnetic beads. When the lipid vesicles are incubated with a cell lysate the protein binding to the target lipid will also be bound to the beads and can be co-purified using MACS. This method can also be used to test if recombinant proteins reconstitute a protein complex binding to the target lipid. 
 We have used this method to show the interaction of atypical PKC (aPKC) with the sphingolipid ceramide and to co-purify prostate apoptosis response 4 (PAR-4), a protein binding to ceramide-associated aPKC. We have also used this method for the reconstitution of a ceramide-associated complex of recombinant aPKC with the cell polarity-related proteins Par6 and Cdc42. Since lipid vesicles can be prepared with a variety of sphingo- or phospholipids, LIMACS offers a versatile test for lipid-protein interaction in a lipid environment that resembles closely that of the cell membrane. Additional lipid protein complexes can be identified using proteomics analysis of lipid binding protein co-purified with the lipid vesicles.

Lipid Vesicle-mediated Affinity Chromatography using Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting LIMACS: a Novel Method to Analyze Protein-lipid Interaction

To test the interaction of a protein with its target lipid we used MACS and Annexin V-conjugated magnetic beads and lipid vesicles synthesized from the target lipid and Annexin V-binding phosphatidylserine. Proteins bound to the target lipid are co-purified and analyzed after elution from the beads.

The analysis of lipid protein interaction is difficult because lipids are embedded in cell membranes and therefore, inaccessible to most purification ...

Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) Labeling and Subsequent Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting for Culture-independent Identification of Dissolved Organic Carbon-degrading Bacterioplankton

Microbes are major agents mediating the degradation of numerous dissolved organic carbon (DOC) substrates in aquatic environments. However, identification of bacterial taxa that transform specific pools of DOC in nature poses a technical challenge. 
Here we describe an approach that couples bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation, fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), and 16S rRNA gene-based molecular analysis that allows culture-independent identification of bacterioplankton capable of degrading a specific DOC compound in aquatic environments. Triplicate bacterioplankton microcosms are set up to receive both BrdU and a model DOC compound (DOC amendments), or only BrdU (no-addition control). BrdU substitutes the positions of thymidine in newly synthesized bacterial DNA and BrdU-labeled DNA can be readily immunodetected 1,2. Through a 24-hr incubation, bacterioplankton that are able to use the added DOC compound are expected to be selectively activated, and therefore have higher levels of BrdU incorporation (HI cells) than non-responsive cells in the DOC amendments and cells in no-addition controls (low BrdU incorporation cells, LI cells). After fluorescence immunodetection, HI cells are distinguished and physically separated from the LI cells by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) 3. Sorted DOC-responsive cells (HI cells) are extracted for DNA and taxonomically identified through subsequent 16S rRNA gene-based analyses including PCR, clone library construction and sequencing.

Bromodeoxyuridine BrdU Labeling and Subsequent Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting for Culture-independent Identification of Dissolved Organic Carbon-degrading Bacterioplankton

Environmental bacterioplankton are incubated with a model dissolved organic carbon (DOC) compound and a DNA labeling reagent, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). Afterward, DOC-degrading cells are separated from the bulk community based on their elevated BrdU incorporation using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). These cells are then identified by subsequent molecular analyses.

Microbes are major agents mediating the degradation of numerous dissolved organic carbon (DOC) substrates in aquatic environments. However, identification ...

Cell Specific Analysis of Arabidopsis Leaves Using Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting

After initiation of the leaf primordium, biomass accumulation is controlled mainly by cell proliferation and expansion in the leaves1. However, the Arabidopsis leaf is a complex organ made up of many different cell types and several structures. At the same time, the growing leaf contains cells at different stages of development, with the cells furthest from the petiole being the first to stop expanding and undergo senescence1. Different cells within the leaf are therefore dividing, elongating or differentiating; active, stressed or dead; and/or responding to stimuli in sub-sets of their cellular type at any one time. This makes genomic study of the leaf challenging: for example when analyzing expression data from whole leaves, signals from genetic networks operating in distinct cellular response zones or cell types will be confounded, resulting in an inaccurate profile being generated.
To address this, several methods have been described which enable studies of cell specific gene expression. These include laser-capture microdissection (LCM)2 or GFP expressing plants used for protoplast generation and subsequent fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS)3,4, the recently described INTACT system for nuclear precipitation5 and immunoprecipitation of polysomes6.
FACS has been successfully used for a number of studies, including showing that the cell identity and distance from the root tip had a significant effect on the expression profiles of a large number of genes3,7. FACS of GFP lines have also been used to demonstrate cell-specific transcriptional regulation during root nitrogen responses and lateral root development8, salt stress9 auxin distribution in the root10 and to create a gene expression map of the Arabidopsis shoot apical meristem11. Although FACS has previously been used to sort Arabidopsis leaf derived protoplasts based on autofluorescence12,13, so far the use of FACS on Arabidopsis lines expressing GFP in the leaves has been very limited4. In the following protocol we describe a method for obtaining Arabidopsis leaf protoplasts that are compatible with FACS while minimizing the impact of the protoplast generation regime. We demonstrate the method using the KC464 Arabidopsis line, which express GFP in the adaxial epidermis14, the KC274 line, which express GFP in the vascular tissue14 and the TP382 Arabidopsis line, which express a double GFP construct linked to a nuclear localization signal in the guard cells (data not shown; Figure 2). We are currently using this method to study both cell-type specific expression during development and stress, as well as heterogeneous cell populations at various stages of senescence.

Cell Specific Analysis of Arabidopsis Leaves Using Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting

A method for producing Arabidopsis leaf protoplasts that are compatible with fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), allowing for studies of specific cell populations. This method is compatible with any Arabidopsis line that expresses GFP in a subset of cells.

After initiation of the leaf primordium, biomass accumulation is controlled mainly by cell proliferation and expansion in the leaves1. However, the ...

Optimized Staining and Proliferation Modeling Methods for Cell Division Monitoring using Cell Tracking Dyes

Fluorescent cell tracking dyes, in combination with flow and image cytometry, are powerful tools with which to study the interactions and fates of different cell types in vitro and in vivo.1-5 Although there are literally thousands of publications using such dyes, some of the most commonly encountered cell tracking applications include monitoring of:
<ol>
	<li>stem and progenitor cell quiescence, proliferation and/or differentiation6-8</li>
	<li>antigen-driven membrane transfer9 and/or precursor cell proliferation3,4,10-18 and</li>
	<li>immune regulatory and effector cell function1,18-21.</li>
</ol>
Commercially available cell tracking dyes vary widely in their chemistries and fluorescence properties but the great majority fall into one of two classes based on their mechanism of cell labeling. "Membrane dyes", typified by PKH26, are highly lipophilic dyes that partition stably but non-covalently into cell membranes1,2,11. "Protein dyes", typified by CFSE, are amino-reactive dyes that form stable covalent bonds with cell proteins4,16,18. Each class has its own advantages and limitations. The key to their successful use, particularly in multicolor studies where multiple dyes are used to track different cell types, is therefore to understand the critical issues enabling optimal use of each class2-4,16,18,24.
The protocols included here highlight three common causes of poor or variable results when using cell-tracking dyes. These are:
<ol>
	<li>Failure to achieve bright, uniform, reproducible labeling. This is a necessary starting point for any cell tracking study but requires attention to different variables when using membrane dyes than when using protein dyes or equilibrium binding reagents such as antibodies.</li>
	<li>Suboptimal fluorochrome combinations and/or failure to include critical compensation controls. Tracking dye fluorescence is typically 102 - 103 times brighter than antibody fluorescence. It is therefore essential to verify that the presence of tracking dye does not compromise the ability to detect other probes being used.</li>
	<li>Failure to obtain a good fit with peak modeling software. Such software allows quantitative comparison of proliferative responses across different populations or stimuli based on precursor frequency or other metrics. Obtaining a good fit, however, requires exclusion of dead/dying cells that can distort dye dilution profiles and matching of the assumptions underlying the model with characteristics of the observed dye dilution profile.</li>
</ol>
Examples given here illustrate how these variables can affect results when using membrane and/or protein dyes to monitor cell proliferation.

Successful use of cell tracking dyes to monitor immune cell function and proliferation involves several critical steps. We describe methods for: 1) obtaining bright, uniform, reproducible label-ing with membrane dyes; 2) selecting fluorochromes and data acquisition conditions; and 3) choosing a model to quantify cell proliferation based on dye dilution.

Fluorescent cell tracking dyes, in combination with flow and image cytometry, are powerful tools with which to study the interactions and fates of ...

Isolation of Normal and Cancer-associated Fibroblasts from Fresh Tissues by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS)

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the most prominent cell type within the tumor stroma of many cancers, in particular breast carcinoma, and their prominent presence is often associated with poor prognosis1,2. CAFs are an activated subpopulation of stromal fibroblasts, many of which express the myofibroblast marker &alpha;-SMA3. CAFs originate from local tissue fibroblasts as well as from bone marrow-derived cells recruited into the developing tumor and adopt a CAF phenotype under the influence of the tumor microenvironment4. CAFs were shown to facilitate tumor initiation, growth and progression through signaling that promotes tumor cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and invasion5-8. We demonstrated that CAFs enhance tumor growth by mediating tumor-promoting inflammation, starting at the earliest pre-neoplastic stages9. Despite increasing evidence of the key role CAFs play in facilitating tumor growth, studying CAFs has been an on-going challenge due to the lack of CAF-specific markers and the vast heterogeneity of these cells, with many subtypes co-existing in the tumor microenvironment10. Moreover, studying fibroblasts in vitro is hindered by the fact that their gene expression profile is often altered in tissue culture11,12 . To address this problem and to allow unbiased gene expression profiling of fibroblasts from fresh mouse and human tissues, we developed a method based on previous protocols for Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS)13,14. Our approach relies on utilizing PDGFR&alpha; as a surface marker to isolate fibroblasts from fresh mouse and human tissue. PDGFR&alpha; is abundantly expressed by both normal fibroblasts and CAFs9,15 . This method allows isolation of pure populations of normal fibroblasts and CAFs, including, but not restricted to &alpha;-SMA+ activated myofibroblasts. Isolated fibroblasts can then be used for characterization and comparison of the evolution of gene expression that occurs in CAFs during tumorigenesis. Indeed, we and others reported expression profiling of fibroblasts isolated by cell sorting16. This protocol was successfully performed to isolate and profile highly enriched populations of fibroblasts from skin, mammary, pancreas and lung tissues. Moreover, our method also allows culturing of sorted cells, in order to perform functional experiments and to avoid contamination by tumor cells, which is often a big obstacle when trying to culture CAFs.

Isolation of Normal and Cancer-associated Fibroblasts from Fresh Tissues by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting FACS

Cancer Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs) facilitate tumor initiation, growth and progression through signaling that promotes proliferation, angiogenesis, and inflammation. Here we describe a method to isolate pure populations of normal fibroblasts and CAFs from fresh mouse and human tissues by cell sorting, using PDGFR&#x03B1; as a surface marker.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the most prominent cell type within the tumor stroma of many cancers, in particular breast carcinoma, and their ...

Protein-protein Interactions Visualized by Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation in Tobacco Protoplasts and Leaves

Many proteins interact transiently with other proteins or are integrated into multi-protein complexes to perform their biological function. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) is an in vivo method to monitor such interactions in plant cells. In the presented protocol the investigated candidate proteins are fused to complementary halves of fluorescent proteins and the respective constructs are introduced into plant cells via agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Subsequently, the proteins are transiently expressed in tobacco leaves and the restored fluorescent signals can be detected with a confocal laser scanning microscope in the intact cells. This allows not only visualization of the interaction itself, but also the subcellular localization of the protein complexes can be determined. For this purpose, marker genes containing a fluorescent tag can be coexpressed along with the BiFC constructs, thus visualizing cellular structures such as the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, the Golgi apparatus or the plasma membrane. The fluorescent signal can be monitored either directly in epidermal leaf cells or in single protoplasts, which can be easily isolated from the transformed tobacco leaves. BiFC is ideally suited to study protein-protein interactions in their natural surroundings within the living cell. However, it has to be considered that the expression has to be driven by strong promoters and that the interaction partners are modified due to fusion of the relatively large fluorescence tags, which might interfere with the interaction mechanism. Nevertheless, BiFC is an excellent complementary approach to other commonly applied methods investigating protein-protein interactions, such as coimmunoprecipitation, in vitro pull-down assays or yeast-two-hybrid experiments.

Formation of protein complexes in vivo can be visualized by bimolecular fluorescence complementation. Interaction partners are fused to complementary parts of fluorescent tags and transiently expressed in tobacco leaves, resulting in a reconstituted fluorescent signal upon close proximity of the two proteins.

Many proteins interact transiently with other proteins or are integrated into multi-protein complexes to perform their biological function. Bimolecular ...

Measuring the Osmotic Water Permeability Coefficient (Pf) of Spherical Cells: Isolated Plant Protoplasts as an Example

Studying AQP regulation mechanisms is crucial for the understanding of water relations at both the cellular and the whole plant levels. Presented here is a simple and very efficient method for the determination of the osmotic water permeability coefficient (Pf) in plant protoplasts, applicable in principle also to other spherical cells such as frog oocytes. The first step of the assay is the isolation of protoplasts from the plant tissue of interest by enzymatic digestion into a chamber with an appropriate isotonic solution. The second step consists of an osmotic challenge assay: protoplasts immobilized on the bottom of the chamber are submitted to a constant perfusion starting with an isotonic solution and followed by a hypotonic solution. The cell swelling is video recorded. In the third step, the images are processed offline to yield volume changes, and the time course of the volume changes is correlated with the time course of the change in osmolarity of the chamber perfusion medium, using a curve fitting procedure written in Matlab (the &#8216;PfFit&#8217;), to yield Pf.

Measuring the Osmotic Water Permeability Coefficient Pf of Spherical Cells: Isolated Plant Protoplasts as an Example

Measuring the osmotic water permeability coefficient (Pf) of cells can help understand the regulatory mechanisms of aquaporins (AQPs). Pf determination in spherical plant cell protoplasts presented here involves protoplasts isolation and numerical analysis of their initial rate of volume change as a result of an osmotic challenge during constant bath perfusion.

Studying AQP regulation mechanisms is crucial for the understanding of water relations at both the cellular and the whole plant levels. Presented here is ...

Rapid Analysis of Circadian Phenotypes in Arabidopsis Protoplasts Transfected with a Luminescent Clock Reporter

The plant circadian clock allows the anticipation of daily changes to the environment. This anticipation aids the responses to temporally predictable biotic and abiotic stress. Conversely, disruption of circadian timekeeping severely compromises plant health and reduces agricultural crop yields. It is therefore imperative that we understand the intricate regulation of circadian rhythms in plants, including the factors that affect motion of the transcriptional clockwork itself.
Testing circadian defects in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) traditionally involves crossing specific mutant lines to a line rhythmically expressing firefly luciferase from a circadian clock gene promoter. This approach is laborious, time-consuming, and could be fruitless if a mutant has no circadian phenotype. The methodology presented here allows a rapid initial assessment of circadian phenotypes. Protoplasts derived from mutant and wild-type Arabidopsis are isolated, transfected with a rhythmically expressed luminescent reporter, and imaged under constant light conditions for 5 days. Luminescent traces will directly reveal whether the free-running period of mutant plants is different from wild-type plants. The advantage of the method is that any Arabidopsis line can efficiently be screened, without the need for generating a stably transgenic luminescent clock marker line in that mutant background.

The circadian clock regulates about a third of the Arabidopsis transcriptome, but the percentage of genes that feed back into timekeeping remains unknown. Here we visualize a method to rapidly assess circadian phenotypes in any mutant line of Arabidopsis using luminescent imaging of a circadian reporter transiently expressed in protoplasts.

The plant circadian clock allows the anticipation of daily changes to the environment. This anticipation aids the responses to temporally predictable ...

Visualizing Stromule Frequency with Fluorescence Microscopy

Stromules, or "stroma-filled tubules", are narrow, tubular extensions from the surface of the chloroplast that are universally observed in plant cells but whose functions remain mysterious. Alongside growing attention on the role of chloroplasts in coordinating plant responses to stress, interest in stromules and their relationship to chloroplast signaling dynamics has increased in recent years, aided by advances in fluorescence microscopy and protein fluorophores that allow for rapid, accurate visualization of stromule dynamics. Here, we provide detailed protocols to assay stromule frequency in the epidermal chloroplasts of Nicotiana benthamiana, an excellent model system for investigating chloroplast stromule biology. We also provide methods for visualizing chloroplast stromules in vitro by extracting chloroplasts from leaves. Finally, we outline sampling strategies and statistical approaches to analyze differences in stromule frequencies in response to stimuli, such as environmental stress, chemical treatments, or gene silencing. Researchers can use these protocols as a starting point to develop new methods for innovative experiments to explore how and why chloroplasts make stromules.

Protocols to investigate the dynamics of chloroplast stromules, the stroma-filled tubules that extend from the surface of chloroplasts, are described.

Stromules, or "stroma-filled tubules", are narrow, tubular extensions from the surface of the chloroplast that are universally observed in plant cells but ...

Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy of Plant Roots Growing on the Surface of a Gel

One of the key questions in understanding plant development is how single cells behave in a larger context of the tissue. Therefore, it requires the observation of the whole organ with a high spatial- as well as temporal resolution over prolonged periods of time, which may cause photo-toxic effects. This protocol shows a plant sample preparation method for light-sheet microscopy, which is characterized by mounting the plant vertically on the surface of a gel. The plant is mounted in such a way that the roots are submerged in a liquid medium while the leaves remain in the air. In order to ensure photosynthetic activity of the plant, a custom-made lighting system illuminates the leaves. To keep the roots in darkness the water surface is covered with sheets of black plastic foil. This method allows long-term imaging of plant organ development in standardized conditions.

This protocol shows a plant sample preparation method for light-sheet microscopy. The setup is characterized by mounting the plant vertically on the surface of a gel and letting it grow in controlled bright conditions. This allows long-term observation of plant organ development in standardized conditions.

One of the key questions in understanding plant development is how single cells behave in a larger context of the tissue. Therefore, it requires the ...