The University of Alabama at Birmingham

4 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Biology

A Method for Islet Transplantation to the Omentum in Mouse

Ying Lu^*1, Shangyou Zou^*1, Suzanne Bertera^*2, Rita Bottino², David K.C. Cooper³, Zhengzhao Liu¹, Yi Huang¹, Chengjun Wang¹, Chungu Hong¹, Tian He¹, Hancheng Zhang¹, Qin Huo⁴, Hongxing Fu⁵, Zhiming Cai¹, Lisha Mou¹

¹Shenzhen Xenotransplantation Medical Engineering Research and Development Center, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, ²Institute for Cellular Therapeutics, Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, ³Xenotransplantation Program/Department of Surgery, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, ⁴College of Life Science and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, ⁵School of Pharmcy, Wenzhou Medical College

A method for the omental transplantation of islets in a mouse is introduced. The isolated islets are mixed with hydrogel and the mixture is placed into the omental pouch of a diabetic mouse. Then, the blood glucose is monitored, and immuno-histochemical analysis is performed.

Biochemistry

Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification (TRAP) for RNA Isolation from Endothelial Cells In Vivo

Patrick Moran^1,2, Yichen Guo^3,4, Rong Yuan^1,3, Nicholas Barnekow¹, Jordan Palmer², Adam Beck³, Bin Ren^3,4,5

¹Blood Research Institute, Blood Center of Wisconsin, ²Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, ³Department of Surgery, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, ⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, ⁵GBS Program, Graduate School, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

We present an approach to purify ribosome-bound mRNA from vascular endothelial cells (ECs) directly in mouse brain, lung and heart tissues via EC-specific genetic tag of enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP)in ribosomes in combination with RNA purification.

Biology

Isolation and Culture of Primary Aortic Endothelial Cells from Miniature Pigs

Yanli Zhao^1,2,3, Chengjiang Zhao⁴, David K.C. Cooper⁵, Ying Lu², Kewang Luo⁶, Huiyun Wang³, Pengfei Chen³, Changchun Zeng³, Shaodong Luan¹, Lisha Mou², Hanchao Gao^1,2,3

¹Department of Nephrology, Shenzhen Longhua District Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital of Shenzhen Longhua District, Guangdong Medical University, ²Shenzhen Xenotransplantation Medical Engineering Research and Development Center, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen University School of Medicine, ³Department of Medical Laboratory, Shenzhen Longhua District Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital of Shenzhen Longhua District, Guangdong Medical University, ⁴Department of Endocrinology, Shenzhen Longhua District Central Hospital, Affiliated Central Hospital of Shenzhen Longhua District, Guangdong Medical University, ⁵Xenotransplantation Program, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, ⁶People's Hospital of Longhua

An effective enzymatic method for isolation of primary porcine aortic endothelial cells (pAECs) from miniature pigs is described. The isolated primary pAECs can be used to investigate the immune and coagulation response in xenotransplantation.

Medicine

Micro-Computed Tomography Analysis of the Knee in Aged Dunkin-Hartley Guinea Pigs after Intra Articular Injection

Jen X. Xu¹, Frank Z. Xu², Amelia Furbish¹, Yuri K. Peterson¹, Patrick M. Woster¹, Alicia M. Braxton³

¹Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, ²Department of Biomedical Science, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, ³Department of Comparative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina

Dunkin-Hartley guinea pigs are an established animal model for osteoarthritis research. Such studies may benefit from intra-articular injections for various reasons, including investigating novel agents or treating disease. We describe a methodology for intra-articular knee injections in Guinea pigs and subsequent micro-computed tomography analysis assessing arthritis-associated knee changes.