Name: Dissociation of CNS Tissue for Isolating Cells in EAE Mice
Uploaded: 2023-10-06T13:40:00
Duration: 1 min 35 s
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Dissociation of CNS Tissue for Isolating Cells in EAE Mice at JoVE.com

dissociation of cns tissue for isolating cells in eae mice 

Isolating All CNS Resident Cell Types Simultaneously from Autoimmune Mice

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by demyelination, axonal damage, gliosis, and neurodegeneration. Despite numerous research approaches in this field, the pathophysiology of MS is still not fully understood1,2,3,4. The most common animal model for investigating MS is the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide 35-55 (MOG35-55)-induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) which shares many of its clinical and pathophysiological features5,6,7,8,9. It is based on the response of the immune system against CNS-specific antigens leading to inflammation, demyelination, and neuroaxonal degeneration. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a suitable model for the investigation of neuroinflammatory pathways and signaling cascades found in MS.
Current therapy options for MS are only partially effective and focus primarily on the initial inflammatory phase of the disease. However, the neurodegenerative component of MS seems to be the major challenge for long-term therapeutic approaches. Therefore, reproducible, and precise cell isolation protocols are required to investigate molecular and cellular mechanisms in autoimmune diseases in a comprehensive way. Even if some protocols for the isolation of one single cell type exist10,11,12,13,14,15, there is an unmet need for the simultaneous isolation of several CNS-resident cell populations at once. Previous protocols for the isolation of CNS-resident cells lack in preserving cellular functionality and purity, resulting in co-cultivation with neighboring cells16,17,18 or the unsuitability for complex analyses of intracellular networks ex vivo19,20,21,22.
The aim of this protocol was to establish a reproducible and comprehensive method for the simultaneous isolation of pure viable single-cell suspensions of all principal CNS-resident cell types applicable in adult healthy and EAE mice. The different cell types were isolated using magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS)23. The cell separation can be accomplished either by positive selection, i.e., magnetic labeling of cell-type-specific surface markers, or by negative selection via biotinylation and depletion of all undesired cells. Flow cytometry was applied to ensure a purity of above 90% and a viability of at least 80% of the isolated single-cell suspensions.
In conclusion, the main goal was to establish a protocol for the simultaneous isolation of all main CNS-resident cell types as a versatile tool for the investigation of neuroinflammatory pathways offering a comprehensive and precise analysis of complex cellular networks and biochemical signaling cascades in healthy and EAE mice.

Author Spotlight: Studying Neuroinflammatory Pathways Through Simultaneous Isolation of All Main CNS-Resident Cell Types 

Simultaneous Isolation of Principal Central Nervous System-Resident Cell Types from Adult Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Mice

To investigate molecular and cellular mechanisms in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, the generation of reproducible and sophisticated cell isolation protocols is an unmet need. Most of the current technologies to isolate and analyze CNS-resident cells show serious shortcomings, such as focusing on only one cell type or only postnatal mice. The current protocol for the simultaneous isolation of all main CNS-resident cell types from one CNS replicate offers the possibility to analyze complex neuronal networks and new inflammatory pathways, ex vivo from one single cell suspension, applicable to healthy mice and those with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.Additionally, mice numbers are decreased Our protocol for the simultaneous isolation of all four major CNS-resident cell types in healthy and EAE mice could be used as a helpful tool for research groups studying new inflammatory pathways, allowing a much more accurate analysis of complex biomolecular mechanisms and cellular networks ex vivo. New scientific questions that could be answered with the help of our protocol are dynamic investigations in EAE during different stages of disease course, like neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and remission. Also, cell-cell interactions and biochemical pathways could be studied on an individual level.Likewise, functional assays could be performed with cultivated cells. We intend to focus on dynamic studies of the EAE course for multi-omic analysis from one individual CNS homogenate per EAE time point.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Dissociation of CNS Tissue for Isolating Cells in EAE Mice at JoVE.com

Dissociation of CNS Tissue for Isolating Cells in EAE Mice   

To begin, dissect the brain and spinal cord tissue and store the cell suspension on ice. Then prepare an appropriate volume of enzyme mix-1 and 2. Transfer 1, 950 microliters of enzyme mix-1 into the C tube, and add the tissue pieces of the CNS cell suspension.Then add 30 microliters of enzyme mix-2 to the C-tube. Close the C-tubes tightly and attach them upside down onto the sleeve of the cell dissociator with heaters. Run the appropriate program and observe for at least five minutes to ensure all tubes turn at the same velocity.In the meantime, place a 70-micron strainer on a 50-milliliter tube and pre-moisten the strainer with two milliliters of DPBS. After termination of the program, detach the C tubes from the dissociator and centrifuge the samples at 300 g for one minute at four degrees Celsius. Resuspend the sample and apply it to the pre-moistened strainer.Add 10 milliliters of cold DPBS to the empty C-tube. Mix and add the suspension onto the corresponding strainer. After discarding the strainers, centrifuge the cell suspension again for 10 minutes, and then carefully aspirate the supernatant to obtain a cell pellet.

Research

JoVE Journal

Neuroscience

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the most common murine model for multiple sclerosis (MS) and is frequently used to further elucidate ...