Name: isolation of adult spinal cord nuclei for massively parallel single-nucleus rna sequencing
Uploaded: 2018-10-12T14:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation of Adult Spinal Cord Nuclei for Massively Parallel Single-nucleus RNA Sequencing at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the intramural program of NINDS (1 ZIA NS003153 02) and NIDCD (1 ZIA DC000059 18). We thank L. Li and C.I. Dobrott for their technical support and helpful discussions, and C. Kathe for reviewing the manuscript.

All animal work was performed in accordance with a protocol approved by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Animal Care and Use Committee. Balanced samples of male and female ICR/CD-1 wild-type mice, between 8 and 12 weeks old, were used for all experiments. Mice should be handled in accordance with local Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee guidelines.
1. Preparation of Materials and Buffers
<ol>
	<li>Prepare all buffers the day of use and pre-chill on ice (se...

<ol>
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The ultimate goal of this protocol is to isolate nuclei containing high-quality RNA for downstream transcriptional analysis. We adapted snRNA-Seq methods in order to profile all of the cell types in the spinal cord. Initially, we found that typical cell dissociation methods were ineffective for single cell RNA sequencing, as spinal cord neurons are particularly vulnerable to cell death. Furthermore, cell dissociation methods induce expression of various activity- and stress-response genes by up to several hundred-fold.<s...

An erratum was issued for: <a href="https://www.jove.com/video/58413/isolation-adult-spinal-cord-nuclei-for-massively-parallel-single">Isolation of Adult Spinal Cord Nuclei for Massively Parallel Single-nucleus RNA Sequencing</a>. The Protocol section was updated.
Step 3.1 was updated from:
Place the lumbar spinal cord in a pre-chilled Dounce homogenizer and add 500 mL pre-chilled detergent lysis buffer.
to:
Place the lumbar spinal cord in a pre-chilled Dounce homogenizer and add 500 &#956;L pre-chilled detergent lysis buffer.
Step 3.6 was updated from:
Pass an additional 1 mL low sucrose buffer over the 40 mm strainer, bringing the final volume to 3 mL of the low sucrose buffer and 500 mL of the lysis buffer.
to:
Pass an additional 1 mL low sucrose buffer over the 40 mm strainer, bringing the final volume to 3 mL of the low sucrose buffer and 500 &#956;L of the lysis buffer.
Step 5.5 was updated from:
Once the centrifugation is complete, immediately decant the supernatant in a flicking motion. 
NOTE: A residual volume (less than 400 mL) of sucrose buffer can be discarded if desired to produce a lower volume and cleaner final sample, but this residual volume does contain nuclei and can be preserved to maximize nuclei yield
to:
Once the centrifugation is complete, immediately decant the supernatant in a flicking motion. 
NOTE: A residual volume (less than 400 &#956;L) of sucrose buffer can be discarded if desired to produce a lower volume and cleaner final sample, but this residual volume does contain nuclei and can be preserved to maximize nuclei yield
Step 5.6 was updated from:
Using 100 mL - 1 mL of resuspension solution, resuspend the nuclei remaining on the wall. Avoid the myelin &#8216;frown&#8217; that remains with the detergent-based preparation.
to:
Using 100 &#956;L - 1 mL of resuspension solution, resuspend the nuclei remaining on the wall. Avoid the myelin &#8216;frown&#8217; that remains with the detergent-based preparation.
Steps 6.1.1 - 6.1.4 were&#160;updated from:
<ol>
	<li>Adjust nuclei to a final concentration of 225 nuclei per mL.</li>
	<li>Prepare barcoded beads at a concentration of 250 beads per mL.</li>
	<li>Prepare the lysis buffer with 0.7% sarkosyl.</li>
	<li>Adjust the flow rates to 35 mL per min for beads, 35 mL per min for nuclei, and 200 mL per min for oil.</li>
</ol>
to:
<ol>
	<li>Adjust nuclei to a final concentration of 225 nuclei per &#956;L.</li>
	<li>Prepare barcoded beads at a concentration of 250 beads per &#956;L.</li>
	<li>Prepare the lysis buffer with 0.7% sarkosyl.</li>
	<li>Adjust the flow rates to 35 &#956;L per min for beads, 35 &#956;L per min for nuclei, and 200 &#956;L per min for oil.</li>
</ol>

An erratum was issued for: <a href="https://www.jove.com/video/58413/isolation-adult-spinal-cord-nuclei-for-massively-parallel-single">Isolation of Adult Spinal Cord Nuclei for Massively Parallel Single-nucleus RNA Sequencing</a>. The Protocol section was updated.

Erratum: Isolation of Adult Spinal Cord Nuclei for Massively Parallel Single-nucleus RNA Sequencing

The nervous system is comprised of heterogenous groups of cells that display a diverse array of morphological, biochemical, and electrophysiological properties. While the bulk RNA sequencing has been useful for determining tissue-wide changes in the gene expression under different conditions, it precludes the detection of transcriptional changes at the single-cell level. Recent advances in the single-cell transcriptional analysis have enabled the classification of heterogenous cells into functional groups based on their molecular repertoire and can even be leveraged to detect sets of neurons that had been recently active.1,2,3,4 Over the last ten years, the development of single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) has enabled the study of gene expression in individual cells, providing a view into cell-type diversity.5
The emergence of scalable approaches such as massively parallel scRNA-Seq, has provided platforms to sequence heterogeneous tissues, including many regions of the central nervous system.6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 However, single cell dissociation methods can lead to the cell death as well as experimental changes in gene expression.16 Recent work has adapted single cell sequencing methods to enable preservation of endogenous transcriptional profiles.1,3,4,17,18,19 These strategies have been particularly suitable for detecting immediate early gene (IEG) expression following sensory stimulus or behavior.3,4 In the future, this strategy could also be used to study dynamic changes in tissues in disease states or in response to stress. Of these methods, single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-Seq) is a promising approach that does not involve stress-inducing cell dissociation and can be used on difficult to dissociate tissue (such as the spinal cord), as well as frozen tissue.4,17,18,19 Adapted from previous nuclei isolation methods,20,21,22,23,25&#160;snRNA-Seq typically utilizes rapid tissue disruption and cell lysis under cold conditions, centrifugation, and separation of nuclei from cellular debris.4 Nuclei can be isolated for the downstream next-generation sequencing on multiple microfluidic droplet encapsulation platforms.4,7,24,25 This method allows for a snapshot of the transcriptional activity of thousands of cells at a moment in time.
There are multiple strategies for releasing nuclei from cells before isolation and sequencing, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Here, we describe and compare two protocols to enable isolation of nuclei from the adult spinal cord for the downstream massively parallel snRNA-Seq: detergent-mechanical lysis and hypotonic-mechanical lysis. Detergent-mechanical lysis provides complete tissue disruption and a higher final yield of nuclei. Hypotonic mechanical-lysis includes a controllable degree of tissue disruption, providing an opportunity for selecting a balance between the quantity and purity of the final nuclear yield. These approaches provide comparable RNA yield, detected numbers of genes per nucleus, and cell-type profiling and also can both be used successfully for snRNA-Seq.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Sucrose</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>15503-022</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1 M HEPES (pH = 8.0)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>15630-080</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CaCl2</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>C1016-100G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MgAc</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>M1028-10X1ML</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.5 M EDTA (pH = 8.0)</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>MT-46034CI</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dithiothreitol (DTT)</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>10197777001</td>
			<td>Add DTT just prior to use</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Triton-X</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>T8787</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nuclease-free water</td>
			<td>Crystalgen</td>
			<td>221-238-10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1 M Tris-HCl (pH = 7.4)</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>T2194</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5 M NaCl</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>59222C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1 M MgCl2</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>M1028</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nonidet P40</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>74385</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hibernate-A</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>A12475-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glutamax (100X)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>35050-061</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>B27 (50X)</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>17504-044</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1X PBS</td>
			<td>Crystalgen</td>
			<td>221-133-10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.04% BSA</td>
			<td>New England Biolabs</td>
			<td>B9000S</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.2 U/&#956;L RNAse Inhibitor</td>
			<td>Lucigen</td>
			<td>30281-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Oak Ridge Centrifuge Tube</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>3118-0050</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Disposable Cotton-Plugged Borosilicate-Glass Pasteur Pipets</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-678-8B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass Tissue Dounce (2 ml)</td>
			<td>Kimble</td>
			<td>885303-002</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass large clearance pestle</td>
			<td>Kimble</td>
			<td>885301-0002</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass small clearance pestle</td>
			<td>Kimble</td>
			<td>885302-002</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>T 10 Basic Ultra Turrax Homogenizer</td>
			<td>IKA</td>
			<td>3737001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dispersing tool (S 10 N &#8211; 5G)</td>
			<td>IKA</td>
			<td>3304000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Trypan Blue Stain (0.4%)</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>T10282</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>40 &#956;m cell strainer</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>352340</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MACS SmartStrainers, 30 &#956;m</td>
			<td>Miltenyi Biotec</td>
			<td>130-098-458</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Conical tubes</td>
			<td>Denville Scientific</td>
			<td>1000799</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sorvall Legend XTR Centrifuge</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>75004505</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fiberlite F15-6 x 100y Fixed-Angle Rotor</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>75003698</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterological Pipettes: 5 ml, 10 ml</td>
			<td>Denville Scientific</td>
			<td>P7127</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hemocytometer</td>
			<td>Daigger Scientific</td>
			<td>EF16034F</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chemgenes Barcoding Beads</td>
			<td>Chemgenes</td>
			<td>Macosko-2011-10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RNaseZap RNase Decontamination Solution</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>AM9780</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Falcon Test Tube with Cell Strainer Cap (35 &#956;m)</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>352235</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MoFlo Astrios Cell Sorter</td>
			<td>Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td>B25982</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chromium i7 Multiplex Kit, 96 rxns</td>
			<td>10X Genomics</td>
			<td>120262</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chromium Single Cell 3&#8217; Library and Gel Bead Kit v2, 4 rxns</td>
			<td>10X Genomics</td>
			<td>120267</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chromium Single Cell A Chip Kit, 16 rxns</td>
			<td>10X Genomics</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tissue Culture Dish (60 x 15 mm)</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>353002</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

isolation of adult spinal cord nuclei for massively parallel single-nucleus rna sequencing

Probing an individual cell&#39;s gene expression enables the identification of cell type and cell state. Single-cell RNA sequencing has emerged as a powerful tool for studying transcriptional profiles of cells, particularly in heterogeneous tissues such as the central nervous system. However, dissociation methods required for single cell sequencing can lead to experimental changes in the gene expression and cell death. Furthermore, these methods are generally restricted to fresh tissue, thus limiting studies on archival and bio-bank material. Single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-Seq) is an appealing alternative for transcriptional studies, given that it accurately identifies cell types, permits the study of tissue that is frozen or difficult to dissociate, and reduces dissociation-induced transcription. Here, we present a high-throughput protocol for rapid isolation of nuclei for downstream snRNA-Seq. This method enables isolation of nuclei from fresh or frozen spinal cord samples and can be combined with two massively parallel droplet encapsulation platforms.

Here, we performed isolation of nuclei from the adult mouse lumbar spinal cord for downstream massively parallel RNA sequencing. The protocol involved three main components: tissue disruption and cellular lysis, homogenization, and sucrose density centrifugation (Figure 1). Within seconds, the detergent-mechanical lysis yielded a crude nuclei preparation with a large number of nuclei as well as cellular and tissue debris (Figure 2A</stron...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation of Adult Spinal Cord Nuclei for Massively Parallel Single-nucleus RNA Sequencing at JoVE.com

Isolation of Adult Spinal Cord Nuclei for Massively Parallel Single-nucleus RNA Sequencing

Here, we present a protocol to rapidly isolate high-quality nuclei from the fresh or frozen tissue for downstream massively parallel RNA sequencing. We include detergent-mechanical and hypotonic-mechanical tissue disruption and cell lysis options, both of which can be used for isolation of nuclei.

Probing an individual cell&#39;s gene expression enables the identification of cell type and cell state. Single-cell RNA sequencing has emerged as a ...

Single-cell RNA sequencing is a powerful tool for studying transcriptional profiles of cells, particularly in heterogeneous tissue, such as the central nervous system. This protocol provides a method for isolating nuclei for single-nucleus RNA sequencing. By using nuclei instead of cells, this method can be applied to difficult-to-dissociate tissues, as well as frozen tissue.Furthermore, this method can be applied to study cell type-specific changes in cells following disease or injury. Begin this procedure with mouse euthanasia, as described in the text protocol. Next, make an incision along the length of the body to expose the inner organs.Eviscerate the mouse by pulling the inner organs from the body cavity using forceps. Do not use paper towels to clean the area or to remove organs, as this may introduce contaminants. Using scissors, cut the vertebral column between the L2 and L3 spinal vertebrae.To eject the spinal cord, fit a three milliliter syringe containing ice-cold PBS with a 25 gauge 1/4 inch needle. Place the tip of the needle into the sacral end of the vertebral column. Use two fingers to pinch the vertebrae to create a tight seal around the tip of the needle, and press down on the plunger to eject the spinal cord rostrally.Place the spinal cord in a Petri dish with ice-cold PBS. If only the lumbar portion of the cord is required, trim away the sacral and thoracic portions of the spinal cord. At this point, freeze the tissue and store at minus 80 degrees Celsius, or use immediately for either detergent mechanical cell lysis as described here, or hypotonic mechanical lysis as described in the text protocol.To determine detergent mechanical cell lysis, place the lumbar spinal cord in a pre-chilled Dounce homogenizer and add 500 microliters of pre-chilled detergent lysis buffer. Dounce with five strokes of the loose pestle, A, and then five to 10 strokes of the tight pestle, B.Avoid lifting the homogenizer outside of the lysis solution in between strokes, and avoid introducing bubbles. Now, place a 40 micron strainer over a pre-chilled 50 milliliter conical tube and pre-wet with one milliliter of low sucrose buffer.Add one milliliter of low sucrose buffer to the Dounce homogenizer containing the crude nuclei in the lysis buffer, and mix gently by pipetting two to three times. Pass the crude nuclei prep over the 40-micron strainer, into the pre-chilled 50 milliliter conical tube. Pass an additional one milliliter low sucrose buffer over the 40 micron strainer, bringing the final volume to three milliliters of the low sucrose buffer and 500 microliters of the lysis buffer.Repeat these steps if combining multiple cords, cooling in the same conical tube. Then, centrifuge the sample at 3200 times G for 10 minutes at four degrees Celsius. Once the centrifugation is complete, decant the supernatant.We suspend the palette using three milliliters of low sucrose buffer. Gently swirl to remove the pellet from the wall to facilitate the resuspension. After letting the sample sit on ice for two minutes, transfer the suspension to an Oak Ridge tube.Using the homogenizer at setting one, homogenize the nuclei in low sucrose buffer for 15 to 30 seconds, keeping the sample on ice. Then, use a serological pipette to layer 12.5 milliliters of density sucrose buffer, underneath the low sucrose buffer homogenate, taking care not to create a bubble that disrupts the density layers. Centrifuge the tubes at 3200 times G, for 20 minutes at four degrees Celsius.Once the centrifugation is complete, immediately decant the supernatant in a flicking motion. While attempting this procedure, it's important to remember to immediately remove the Oak Ridge tube from the centrifuge, and quickly decant the supernatant. Using 100 microliters to one milliliter of resuspension solution, we suspend the nuclei remaining on the wall.Avoid the myelin frown that remains with the detergent-based preparation. Failure to do these steps quickly can result in a nuclei preparation with excess cellular debris, or myelin, which can impede downstream single-nucleus RNA sequencing. Filter the nuclei through a 30 to 35 micron pore size strainer and collect in a pre-chilled tube.Determine the nuclei yield, using a hemocytometer to count nuclei under a 10 x objective, before proceeding to single-nucleus RNA sequencing, as described in the text protocol. Bright field and epifluorescent images of nuclei, isolated using the detergent mechanical lysis protocol, are shown at 10 x. These nuclei are isolated in an unbiased manner, allowing for the study of endogenous gene expression profiles at the level of a single cell.Shown here, is a representative tSNE plot of single-nucleus RNA sequencing, from a mouse lumbar spinal cord, using a massively parallel droplet encapsulation platform. Nuclei isolated from fresh or frozen tissue can be used for sequencing on both commercial and academic platforms. This technique enables researchers to explore transcriptional profiles at the single-cell level, using difficult-to-dissociate tissues, such as the spinal cord, or even frozen tissue, such as biobank material.While attempting this procedure, it's important to reduce the amount of time between euthanasia and cellular lysis. Furthermore, it is important to minimize bubbles introduced into solutions from cellular lysis to resuspension, and to buy pet nuclei with care. Following this procedure, nuclei can be used for alternative applications, such as facs sorting, in order to isolate specific cell types.

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