We thank the following people who assisted with husbandry and data collection: D. Tegtmeier, C. De Jong, J. Hawkes, K. Fossen, S. Percival, M. McWilliams, L. Bertola, M. Stewart, N. Harney, and T. Knavel; and M. Merces for assistance with dissections. We would also like to thank M. McFadden, P. Harlow and Taronga Zoo for raising the L. v. alpina, and G. Marantelli for raising the P. corroboree. We thank F. Pasmans, A. Martel for advice on apoptosis assays, C. Constantine, A. Kladnik and R. Webb for assistance with TUNEL assay, and T. Emeto and W. We&#223;els for help with protocol and kit for caspase 3/7 assay. This manuscript and protocol is adapted from Brannelly et al 2017 Peer J22.

James Cook University approved animal ethics in applications A1875 for P. corroboree and A1897 and A2171 for L. v. alpina.
1. Animal Husbandry and Monitoring
<ol>
	<li>House animals individually, in an environment appropriate for the species, with an appropriate water, feeding and cleaning schedule. Check animals daily.
	<ol>
		<li>Use adult individuals of the critically endangered Pseudophryne corroboree (for the TUNEL Assay, Section 4) and the threatened Lito...

<ol>
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S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+invasive+chytrid+fungus+of+amphibians+paralyzes+lymphocyte+responses.">The invasive chytrid fungus of amphibians paralyzes lymphocyte responses.</a> Science. 342 (6156), 366-369 (2013).</li><li>Galluzzi, L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Guidelines+for+the+use+and+interpretation+of+assays+for+monitoring+cell+death+in+higher+eukaryotes.">Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring cell death in higher eukaryotes.</a> Cell Death and Differentiation. 16 (8), 1093-1107 (2009).</li><li>Kelly, K. J., Sandoval, R. M., Dunn, K. W., Molitoris, B. A., Dagher, P. 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We explored epidermal apoptosis and cell death as a potential mechanism of pathology of the deadly disease chytridiomycosis or a mechanism of disease resistance in Bd susceptible species. We used two methods of assessing cell death in the epidermis, TUNEL assay for in situ epidermal cell death analysis, and caspase 3/7 assay for monitoring epidermal cell death throughout the progress of infection. We found that cell death and apoptosis are correlated with infection load and cell death is significantly h...

Amphibians are currently experiencing one the greatest losses of global biodiversity of any vertebrate taxa1. A major cause of these declines is the fatal skin disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Bd2. The pathogen superficially infects the epidermis, which can lead to the disruption of skin function resulting in severe electrolyte loss, cardiac arrest, and death3. Various potential host immune mechanisms against Bd are currently being studied, such as antimicrobial peptides4,5, cutaneous bacterial flora6, immune cell receptors7,8, and lymphocyte activity9,10. However, few studies explore whether epidermal apoptosis and cell death is an immune mechanism against this deadly pathogen.
Cell death, either through apoptosis (programmed cell death) or necrosis (unprogrammed death), in the epidermis may be a pathology of Bd infection. Previous research suggests that Bd infection may induce apoptosis because disruption of intracellular junctions is observed when skin explants are exposed to zoospore supernatants in vitro11. Additionally, degenerative epidermal changes in Bd-infected frogs are observed using electron microscopy12,13. Transcriptomic analyses indicate that apoptosis pathways are upregulated in infected skin14, and amphibian splenocytes undergo apoptosis when they are exposed to Bd supernatants in vitro15. Despite the growing volume of evidence suggesting that Bd can induce apoptosis and host cell death in vitro, in vivo studies that explore or quantify apoptosis mechanisms through the progression of infection are lacking. Further, it is unknown if the host uses apoptosis as a defensive immune strategy to combat Bd infection, or if apoptosis is a pathology of disease.
In this study, we aimed to detect epidermal cell death and apoptosis in infected animals in vivo using two methods: caspase 3/7 protein assay, and terminal transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling (TUNEL) in situ assay. As each assay detects different aspects of cell death16, together these methods provide a full understanding of the mechanisms involved in cell death, and ensure an accurate measure of the effect. The caspase 3/7 assay quantifies the activity of effector caspases 3 and 7, which enables quantification of both the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptosis pathways. In contrast, the TUNEL assay detects DNA fragmentation, which is caused by cell death mechanisms including apoptosis, necrosis and pyroptosis17. We use the TUNEL assay to investigate the location of cell death within the epidermis of both clinically infected and uninfected animals using three different skin sections: the dorsum, the venter and the thigh of Pseudophryne corroboree. This method identifies the anatomical site of cell death, as well as distinguishing its location within specific epidermal layers. We then use the caspase 3/7 assay to conduct a time series quantification of apoptosis throughout an 8-week infection in Litoria verreauxii alpina. We take toe tip samples fortnightly from the same animals and are able to correlate pathogen infection load with caspase 3/7 activity.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>POLARstar Omega</td>
			<td>BMG Labtech</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Luminescent plate reader</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>384 well flat clear bottom plate</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>3707</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>384 well low flange white flat bottom plate</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>3570</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Agar Bacteriological (Oxoid)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>OXLP0011B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Formal-Fixx 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>6764254</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lactose Broth (Oxoid)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>OXCM0137B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium Bicarbonate</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>BP328-500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tricane-S (MS-222)</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>NC0872873</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tryptone</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>BP1421-500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine Serum Albumin</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>15561020</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile rayon swab</td>
			<td>Medical Wire &#38; Equipment</td>
			<td>MW-113</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ApopTag Red In Situ Apoptosis Detection Kit</td>
			<td>Merck Millipore</td>
			<td>S7165</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Coomassie Bradford reagent</td>
			<td>Pierce</td>
			<td>23200</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Caspase Glo&#160; 3/7</td>
			<td>Promega</td>
			<td>G8090</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEPES buffer</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>H0887-20ML</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Magnesium chloride</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>1374248-1G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Gelatin hydrolysate Enzymatic</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>G0262</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS (Phosphate Buffered Saline), pH 7.2 (1X)</td>
			<td>Thermo/Life</td>
			<td>20-012-043</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Prepman</td>
			<td>Thermo/Life</td>
			<td>4318930</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TaqMan Fast Advanced Master Mix</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher</td>
			<td>4444556</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Parafilm</td>
			<td>Bemis</td>
			<td>PM996</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clorox bleach</td>
			<td>Clorox</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethanol, 200 Proof, Molecular Grade</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>BP2818500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ZEISS Axio Scan florescent miscroscope</td>
			<td>Carl Zeiss</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Florescent microscope</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3.2mm stainless steel beads</td>
			<td>BioSpec</td>
			<td>11079132SS</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Primer ITSI-3 Chytr (5&#8242;-CCTTGATATAATACAGTGTGCCATATGTC-3&#8242;)</td>
			<td>Taqman</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Individual design for primers and probe</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Primer 5.8S Chytr (5&#8242;-TCGGTTCTCTAGGCAACAGTTT-3&#8242;)</td>
			<td>Taqman</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Individual design for primers and probe</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Minor groove binder probe Chytr MGB2(5&#8242;-CGAGTCGAAC-3&#8242;)</td>
			<td>Taqman</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Individual design for primers and probe</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Rotor-Gene qPCR Instruments</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>qPCR machine</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microcentrifuge tubes 1.5ml</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>02-681-372</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell culture petri plates</td>
			<td>Nunc</td>
			<td>263991</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mini-beadBeater Zircornia-Silicate Beads, 0.5mm</td>
			<td>BioSpec</td>
			<td>11079105Z</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

using terminal transferase-mediated dutp nick end-labelling (tunel) and caspase 3/7 assays to measure epidermal cell death in frogs with chytridiomycosis

Amphibians are experiencing a great loss in biodiversity globally and one of the major causes is the infectious disease chytridiomycosis. This disease is caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which infects and disrupts frog epidermis; however, pathological changes have not been explicitly characterized. Apoptosis (programmed cell death) can be used by pathogens to damage host tissue, but can also be a host mechanism of disease resistance for pathogen removal. In this study, we quantify epidermal cell death of infected and uninfected animals using two different assays: terminal transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling (TUNEL), and caspase 3/7. Using ventral, dorsal, and thigh skin tissue in the TUNEL assay, we observe cell death in the epidermal cells in situ of clinically infected animals and compare cell death with uninfected animals using fluorescent microscopy. In order to determine how apoptosis levels in the epidermis change over the course of infection we remove toe-tip samples fortnightly over an 8-week period, and use a caspase 3/7 assay with extracted proteins to quantify activity within the samples. We then correlate caspase 3/7 activity with infection load. The TUNEL assay is useful for localization of cell death in situ, but is expensive and time intensive per sample. The caspase 3/7 assay is efficient for large sample sizes and time course experiments. However, because frog toe tip biopsies are small there is limited extract available for sample standardization via protein quantification methods, such as the Bradford assay. Therefore, we suggest estimating skin surface area through photographic analysis of toe biopsies to avoid consuming extracts during sample standardization.

TUNEL Assay
There were more TUNEL positive cells in the infected animals than in the uninfected control animals. The in situ location of TUNEL positive cells differed in infected and control animals. In control animals, there was an even distribution of TUNEL positive cells throughout the dermal and epidermal skin layers at low levels (See Figure 1A), but in the infected animals, t...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Using Terminal Transferase-mediated dUTP Nick End-labelling TUNEL and Caspase 3/7 Assays to Measure Epidermal Cell Death in Frogs with Chytridiomycosis at JoV

Using Terminal Transferase-mediated dUTP Nick End-labelling TUNEL and Caspase 3/7 Assays to Measure Epidermal Cell Death in Frogs with Chytridiomycosis

We quantify epidermal cell death in frogs with chytridiomycosis using two methods. First, we use terminal transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling (TUNEL) in situ histology to determine differences between clinically infected and uninfected animals. Second, we conduct a time series analysis of apoptosis over infection using a caspase 3/7 protein analysis.

Using Terminal Transferase-mediated dUTP Nick End-labelling (TUNEL) and Caspase 3/7 Assays to Measure Epidermal Cell Death in Frogs with Chytridiomycosis

Amphibians are experiencing a great loss in biodiversity globally and one of the major causes is the infectious disease chytridiomycosis. This disease is ...

The overall goal of this experiment is to observe the affect of amphibian fungal pathogen batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on apoptosis and cell death in the epidermal tissue of frogs. This method can help us understand wildlife disease such as if infection causes cell death or, conversely, if there are immune mechanisms against infection. The main advantage of this technique is that it can be performed on small tissue biopsy samples so that small individuals can be repeatedly sampled throughout the course of infection.To begin this procedure, prepare hydrophilic glass slides with sample tissue as outlined in the text protocol. To deparaffinize the tissue sections, wash the slides three times with xylene for five minutes each in a coplin jar. Next, wash the slides with 100%ethanol two times for five minutes each.After this, wash the slides with 95%ethanol and 70%ethanol for three minutes each. Then, wash the slides once with PBS for five minutes. To prepare experimental and negative control slides, pretreat the tissue by adding freshly diluted proteinase K directly to the slides.Incubate the slides for 10 minutes at room temperature. Then, wash the slides in PBS two times for two minutes each. To prepare positive control slides, pretreat the tissue with DN buffer then incubate the slides at room temperature for five minutes.After this, dissolve DNase one in DN buffer to a final concentration of 0.1 micrograms per milliliter. Add the prepared DNase solution to the slides. Incubate the slides for 15 minutes at room temperature.Then, wash the slides with distilled water in a coplin jar five times for three minutes each. Quench the reaction in 3%hydrogen peroxide in PBS for five minutes at room temperature. Next, wash the slides in PBS two times for two minutes each.Then, add equilibrium buffer to the tissue on the slides. Incubate for 10 seconds at room temperature. Then, tap off the excess liquid around the tissue section.Dilute terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase enzyme in reaction buffer. Then, add it to the tissue on the experimental and positive control slides. Incubate in a humidified chamber for one hour at 37 degrees Celsius.After this, place the slides in a coplin jar containing the working concentration of stop buffer. Agitate for 15 seconds and then incubate the slides at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then, wash the slides with PBS three times for one minute each and tap off the excess liquid.Next, add the anti-digoxigenin conjugate, prewarmed to room temperature, directly onto the tissue. Incubate the slides for 30 minutes at room temperature in a humidified dark chamber. After the incubation is complete, wash the slides with PBS four times for two minutes each.Tap off any excess liquid. Then, add mounting medium to the slides. Add 15 microliters of DAPI solution to the mounting medium on the slides.Cover each slide with a cover slip and seal with nail polish. Allow the slides to dry in the dark. Using a fluorescent microscope, observe the slides immediately upon completion of the standing process.Take photos at 400 times at random intervals along each skin section. Count DAPI-stained blue cells to ensure at least 100 cells per skin section per animal are visible. Next, count the number of TUNEL-positive cells which appear as red single cells with clear cell edges.To begin, use an inverted light microscope at 40 times to take a photo of each of the frog's toes. Draw lines around the edge of the toe clip and use imaging software to estimate the area within the shape. To evaluate the surface area of the three-dimensional skin sample, multiply the estimated area by pi.To extract proteins from a frozen frog toe sample, place the sample in a 1.5 milliliter screw cap microcentrifuge tube containing 100 microliters of sample buffer and two stainless steel beads. Use a bead beater at maximum speed to lyse the cells. After this, place the tube on ice for three minutes.Then, centrifuge the tube to collect the supernatant. To perform the caspase 3/7 assay in a 384-well plate, add 10 microliters of sample buffer as blank and 10 microliters of protein extract in triplicate. Then, pipette 10 microliters of commercially available caspase 3/7 reagent to the protein extract and blank wells.Then, shake the plate gently for 15 seconds to mix the two reagents. Incubate at room temperature in dark for 30 minutes. Finally, use a luminescent plate reader to measure the luminescence of the sample.In this study, the infected animals depict significantly more TUNEL-positive cells in comparison to control animals as illustrated by red or pink-stained cells. In control animals, there are few TUNEL-positive cells, and they are not concentrated in the epidermis. In infected animals, the TUNEL-positive cells are more frequent in the epidermis.TUNEL-positive cells are more concentrated at and directly adjacent to the sights of infected cells. Also, there are more widespread TUNEL-positive cells over the epidermis and in epidermal layers that are deeper than where the fungal pathogen resided. In infected animals, there are more TUNEL-positive cells in all three skin types with a particularly high level in the thigh and venter skin.In the caspase assay, the infection intensity is positively correlated with caspase 3/7 activity. Additionally, caspase 3/7 activity in infected and uninfected animals differed over time. Caspase 3/7 activity decreased within the first few weeks after inoculation and then increased toward the end of week seven in infected animals.Caspase 3/7 activity remained constant in uninfected individuals. While attempting the procedure for the TUNEL assay, it's important to read the slides on the same day as the assay to avoid loss of sensitivity and to keep the slides in a cool dark place to protect the dyes. After watching this video, you should have a good understanding of how to detect apoptosis and cell death using two different detection methods in small tissue samples like amphibian skin.

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Research

JoVE Journal

Immunology and Infection

10.3K vistas.  James Cook University. The overall goal of this experiment is to observe the affect of amphibian fungal pathogen batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on apoptosis and cell death in the epidermal tissue of frogs. This method can help us understand wildlife disease such as if infection causes cell death or, conversely, if there are immune mechanisms against infection. The main advantage of this technique is that it can be performed on small tissue biopsy samples so that small individuals can be repeatedly sampled throughou...

Video: Using Terminal Transferase-mediated dUTP Nick End-labelling TUNEL and Caspase 3/7 Assays to Measure Epidermal Cell Death in Frogs with Chytridiomycosis