Riconosciamo Juliann Jaumotte per l&#39;idea di risparmiare sui volumi di reagenti nel saggio ATP. Siamo profondamente grati per l&#39;eccellente supporto amministrativo di Maria Caruso, Deb Willson, e Jackie Farrer e alla Scuola di Farmacia Mylan per fornire un sostegno finanziario per questi studi. Un ringraziamento anche a causa delle malattie Hunkele temuto Fondazione e il Parkinson e Disordini del Movimento Fondazione per il sostegno finanziario degli studi primarie neuronali.

Nessuno degli autori ha conflitti da dichiarare.

Abbiamo scoperto che la potenza del segnale in tutte e tre saggi di vitalità è lineare e correlazione con la densità di placcatura. Tuttavia, non tutti i saggi sono ugualmente sensibili a 2 volte o cambiamenti di 1,5 volte in densità di placcatura. Per le cellule N2a, i saggi infrarossi sono meno sensibili di dosaggio ATP, particolarmente a basse densità di placcatura. Sebbene i saggi infrarossi sono meno sensibili di ATP, i DRAQ5 + zaffiro saggi e saggi α-tubulina sono in buon accordo in che rivelano l&#39;impatt...

Il saggio vitalità più comune nelle scienze biologiche comporta la conta delle cellule. Ciò è dimostrato da un&#39;analisi delle superiori (più recenti) 200 pubblicazioni apparse in PubMed sia con le parole chiave &quot;in vitro&quot; o &quot;cultura&quot; a 2013/04/29 e 2013/04/30. Di queste pubblicazioni, il 23,5% utilizzati saggi di conta delle cellule, compresi i manuali numero di cellulare conteggi, numero di cellulare automatizzata conta con il software di imaging, e Trypan esclusione blu. Il / dosaggio Morto Live è stato usato in 1% di queste pubblicazioni. Il numero di pubblicazioni che utilizzano il MTT (3 - (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) -2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromuro) test per la vitalità metabolica era l&#39;11%. Questa rassegna della letteratura mostra anche che il numero di pubblicazioni usando saggi come MTT in combinazione con saggi conteggio cellulare era solo 3,5%. Nonostante la tendenza ad utilizzare un dosaggio vitalità di per sé, la valutazione della funzione cellulare in associazione con il numero di cellule sembra la scelta migliore per valutare i cellularintegrity. Conta delle cellule da soli non sono sufficienti perché le cellule rimanenti non possono essere funzionali o sani anche se sono presenti nel pozzo 1,2. Viceversa, misure funzionali quali ATP possono aumentare o diminuire in assenza di variazioni parallele nel numero di cellule. Il disaccoppiamento di letture metaboliche da numero di cellulare suggerisce che ATP e MTT test non dovrebbero mai essere utilizzati come unico saggio di redditività. Nella presente relazione, tre saggi di vitalità che il sondaggio sia le strutture cellulari e funzione metabolica sono descritti, per una visione più completa della integrità cellulare di qualsiasi test di per sé può permettersi. Due dei nostri saggi richiedono un Termovisore che misura la fluorescenza nei canali 700 e 800 nm. Il rumore è basso nelle lunghezze d&#39;onda infrarosse, portando a maggiori rapporti 3 segnale-rumore. L&#39;imager Odissea che usiamo ha una gamma dinamica 4,5 log e un po &#39;profondità di 16, Translating di 2 16 o 65.536 tonalità di infrarossi. Questo può essere contrapposta a immagini a colori a 8 bit, che offre solo 2 8 o 256 tonalità di colore per ogni lunghezza d&#39;onda. Così, a 16 bit di imaging ha una risoluzione più fine. Va notato che le immagini infrarosse originali vengono pseudocolored verde (800 nm) e rosso (700 nm) in rapporti pubblicati per la presentazione. Imager Odyssey sono comunemente utilizzati sia per Western blotting e In-Cell western 4-7. In-Cell western sulle cellule formaldeide-fisso utilizzano anticorpi primari contro qualsiasi proteina di interesse ed etichettarli in giro con anticorpi secondari fluorescenti a raggi infrarossi. Questa tecnica è nota per essere particolarmente utile per gli endpoint fosforilazione 6. Nella nostra In-Cell western, abbiamo macchiare cellule fissate per le proteine ​​del citoscheletro α-tubulina o microtubuli neuronali proteina associata 2 (MAP2) nel canale 800 nm. Queste proteine ​​sono abbastanza abbondanti per produrre elevati rapporti segnale-rumore. Abbiamo anche macchiare i nostri piatti in 700canale nm per nuclei con la macchia DRAQ5 e per il citoplasma con la macchia zaffiro. Entrambe le proteine ​​del citoscheletro e le DRAQ5 + macchie Sapphire riflettono quindi le strutture cellulari. Il terzo saggio di redditività misura la funzione metabolica e si chiama &quot;Cell Titer Glo.&quot; In questo saggio basato luciferasi-, valori di luminescenza sono direttamente proporzionali ai livelli di ATP. Saggi ATP sono comunemente usati per quantificare cellule vitali 8-12. Tuttavia, compresa la parola &quot;titolo&quot; nel nome del saggio è un termine improprio perché ATP uscita per cella può cambiare in funzione di trattamenti tossina e quindi non è sempre proporzionale al numero di cellule 8. Livelli di ATP possono anche essere influenzati da ritmi circadiani 13 e 14 la divisione cellulare e la differenziazione cellulare 15. Tuttavia, il saggio ATP mostrato qui è semplice da eseguire e utile perché ATP è una misura robusta metabolicaredditività 16-21, se non cellulare il numero di per sé. Usando questo test per completare l&#39;infrarosso In-Cell western cede quindi un quadro più completo della integrità cellulare di qualsiasi saggio da solo.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="821">
	<colgroup>
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
	</colgroup>
	<tbody>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Cell Titer Glo</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Promega</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">G7572</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">Buy in 100 ml quantities and aliquot, instead of purchasing the more expensive 10 ml quantity. Reconstituted, unused reagents can be refrozen at -20 &#176;C for at least 21 weeks</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">18% Formalin</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Thermo-Shandon</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">9990244</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">Buying this fixative avoids the weighing out of formaldehyde powders and boiling of the solution; exposure to vapors is thereby minimized</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Sucrose</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">S0389</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">It is not essential to add this to formaldehyde solutions but it improves the appearance of the fixed cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Odyssey Block</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">LI-COR</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">927-40003</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">This fish serum can be bought in bulk and frozen at -20 &#176;C for long term use</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Triton-X 100</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">21568</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">We store a stock solution of 10% Triton-X 100 in sterile water at 4 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Sodium Phosphate Monobasic</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Fisher</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">S468</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">One can also buy PBS tablets or 10x PBS solutions, but they are more expensive</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Sodium Phosphate Dibasic</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Fisher</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">S373</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">See above</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Sodium Azide (250x)</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Ricca Chemical Company</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">7144.8-16</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">Do not buy the powder because sodium azide is very toxic. We store all our used antibodies in 1x sodium azide at 4 &#176;C until they become contaminated with debris</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Mouse anti-&#945;-tubulin</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">T5168</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">This antibody is expensive but can be greatly diluted and is highly specific</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Mouse anti-MAP2</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">M9942</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">This antibody is expensive but is highly specific (a prerequisite for In-Cell Westerns)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">800 nm Goat anti-mouse IgG</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">LI-COR</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">926-32210</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">Other companies also sell infrared secondary antibodies. Be sure to purchase the highly cross-adsorbed antibodies and note that concentrations of IgGs may vary with the source</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">DRAQ5</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">Biostatus</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">DR50200</td>
			<td style="width:507px;">This compound used to be sold by LI-COR at 1 mM</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:109px;">Sapphire</td>
			<td style="width:112px;">LI-COR</td>
			<td style="width:93px;">928-40022</td>
			<td style="width:507px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:196px;">Luminometer</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">PerkinElmer</td>
			<td style="width:189px;">VICTOR3 1420 multilabel counter</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:196px;">Odyssey Imager</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">LI-COR</td>
			<td style="width:189px;">9201-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:43px;width:196px;">Shaker/Mixer</td>
			<td style="width:129px;">Research Products International</td>
			<td style="width:189px;">248555</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

viability assays for cells in culture

Conta delle cellule manuali su un microscopio sono un mezzo sensibile per valutare la vitalità cellulare, ma sono in termini di tempo e quindi costoso. Test di vitalità computerizzati sono costose in termini di attrezzature, ma può essere più veloce e più obiettivo di conta delle cellule manuali. La presente relazione descrive l&#39;uso di tre di questi test di vitalità. Due di questi saggi sono infrarossi e uno è luminescente. Entrambi i saggi infrarossi si basano su un Imager Odyssey 16 bit. Un saggio infrarossi utilizza la macchia DRAQ5 per nuclei combinati con la macchia zaffiro per citosol e viene visualizzato nel canale 700 nm. L&#39;altra analisi a raggi infrarossi, un In-Cell occidentale, utilizza anticorpi contro le proteine ​​del citoscheletro (α-tubulina o microtubuli proteina associata 2) e le etichette nel canale 800 nm. Il terzo saggio vitalità è un saggio luminescente comunemente usato per ATP, ma usiamo un quarto del volume consigliato di risparmiare sui costi. Queste misurazioni sono affatto lineare e correlazione con il numero di ceLLS placcato, ma variano in sensibilità. Tutti e tre saggi eludere microscopio che richiede tempo e assaggiare l&#39;intero bene, riducendo errore di campionamento. Infine, tutti i saggi possono facilmente essere completata entro un giorno della fine dell&#39;esperimento, consentendo un maggior numero di esperimenti da eseguire entro brevi tempi. Tuttavia, tutti si basano sul presupposto che il numero di cellule rimangono in proporzione alla potenza del segnale dopo il trattamento, un presupposto che a volte non viene soddisfatta, soprattutto per ATP cellulare. Inoltre, se le cellule aumentano o diminuiscono in dimensioni dopo il trattamento, questo potrebbe influenzare la potenza del segnale senza compromettere numero di cellulare. Concludiamo che tutti i saggi di redditività, inclusi i conteggi manuali, risentono di una serie di avvertimenti, ma che i test di vitalità informatici sono ben merita l&#39;investimento iniziale. Utilizzando tutti e tre saggi insieme produce una visione completa della struttura e della funzione cellulare.

Il fattore limitante in questi esperimenti è la colorazione infrarossi, come il saggio ATP è relativamente breve durata. Per i saggi infrarossi, anticipiamo che otto piastre da 96 pozzetti possono essere colorati e scansione entro un giorno incredibile cifra di due lotti di quattro piastre ciascuno (vedi Figura 1). Questa stima assume 20 min di fissazione, 30 min di lavaggio, 30 min di blocco, 2 ore di incubazione anticorpo primario seguita da 30 minuti di lavaggi, 1 ora di incubazione anticorpo secon...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Viability Assays for Cells in Culture at JoVE.com

Viability Assays for Cells in Culture

Composti terapeutici sono spesso prima esaminate in vitro con saggi di vitalità. Conta delle cellule cieche da un osservatore umano può essere molto sensibile alle piccole variazioni di numero di cellulare, ma non valutare la funzione. Test di vitalità computerizzati, come qui descritto, in grado di valutare sia la struttura e la funzione in modo obiettivo.

I saggi di redditività per le cellule in coltura

Manual cell counts on a microscope are a sensitive means of assessing cellular viability but are time-consuming and therefore expensive. Computerized ...

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

45.9K Views.  Duquesne University.  Composti terapeutici sono spesso prima esaminate in vitro con saggi di vitalità. Conta delle cellule cieche da un osservatore umano può essere molto sensibile alle piccole variazioni di numero di cellulare, ma non valutare la funzione. Test di vitalità computerizzati, come qui descritto, in grado di valutare sia la struttura e la funzione in modo obiettivo. 

Video: Viability Assays for Cells in Culture

Counting and Determining the Viability of Cultured Cells

Determining the number of cells in culture is important in standardization of culture conditions and in performing accurate quantitation experiments. A hemacytometer is a thick glass slide with a central area designed as a counting chamber. Cell suspension is applied to a defined area and counted so cell density can be calculated. 

Determining the number of cells in culture is important in standardization of culture conditions and in performing accurate quantitation experiments. In this video, we demonstrate how cells are counted using a hemacytometer.

Conteggio e determinazione della vitalità delle cellule in coltura

Determining the number of cells in culture is important in standardization of culture conditions and in performing accurate quantitation experiments. A ...

Ricerca

Biologia

Neurocircuit Assays for Seizures in Epilepsy Mutants of Drosophila

Drosophila melanogaster is a useful tool for studying seizure like activity. A variety of mutants in which seizures can be induced through either physical shock or electrical stimulation is available for study of various aspects of seizure activity and behavior. All flies, including wild-type, will undergo seizure-like activity if stimulated at a high enough voltage. Seizure like activity is an all-or-nothing response and each genotype has a specific seizure threshold. The seizure threshold of a specific genotype of fly can be altered either by treatment with a drug or by genetic suppression or enhancement. The threshold is easily measured by electrophysiology. Seizure-like activity can be induced via high frequency electrical stimulation delivered directly to the brain and recorded through the dorsal longitudinal muscles (DLMs) in the thorax. The DLMs are innervated by part of the giant fiber system. Starting with low voltage, high frequency stimulation, and subsequently raising the voltage in small increments, the seizure threshold for a single fly can be measured.

Neurocircuit Assays for Seizures in Epilepsy Mutants of Drosophila

Using high frequency electrical stimulation, seizure-like activity can be induced in Drosophila. This activity is easily recorded from the giant fiber system.

Saggi Neurocircuit per Sequestri in mutanti di Epilessia Drosophila</em

Drosophila melanogaster is a useful tool for studying seizure like activity. A variety of mutants in which seizures can be induced through either physical ...

Analysis of Schwann-astrocyte Interactions Using In Vitro Assays

Schwann cells are one of the commonly used cells in repair strategies following spinal cord injuries. Schwann cells are capable of supporting axonal regeneration and sprouting by secreting growth factors 1,2 and providing growth promoting adhesion molecules 3 and extracellular matrix molecules 4. In addition they myelinate the demyelinated axons at the site of injury 5.
However following transplantation, Schwann cells do not migrate from the site of implant and do not intermingle with the host astrocytes 6,7. This results in formation of a sharp boundary between the Schwann cells and astrocytes, creating an obstacle for growing axons trying to exit the graft back into the host tissue proximally and distally. Astrocytes in contact with Schwann cells also undergo hypertrophy and up-regulate the inhibitory molecules 8-13.
In vitro assays have been used to model Schwann cell-astrocyte interactions and have been important in understanding the mechanism underlying the cellular behaviour.
These in vitro assays include boundary assay, where a co-culture is made using two different cells with each cell type occupying different territories with only a small gap separating the two cell fronts. As the cells divide and migrate, the two cellular fronts get closer to each other and finally collide. This allows the behaviour of the two cellular populations to be analyzed at the boundary. Another variation of the same technique is to mix the two cellular populations in culture and over time the two cell types segregate with Schwann cells clumped together as islands in between astrocytes together creating multiple Schwann-astrocyte boundaries.
The second assay used in studying the interaction of two cell types is the migration assay where cellular movement can be tracked on the surface of the other cell type monolayer 14,15. This assay is commonly known as inverted coverslip assay. Schwann cells are cultured on small glass fragments and they are inverted face down onto the surface of astrocyte monolayers and migration is assessed from the edge of coverslip.
Both assays have been instrumental in studying the underlying mechanisms involved in the cellular exclusion and boundary formation. Some of the molecules identified using these techniques include N-Cadherins 15, Chondroitin Sulphate proteoglycans(CSPGs) 16,17, FGF/Heparin 18, Eph/Ephrins19.
This article intends to describe boundary assay and migration assay in stepwise fashion and elucidate the possible technical problems that might occur.

Analysis of Schwann-astrocyte Interactions Using In Vitro Assays

This article intends to describe in stepwise fashion the commonly used in vitro assays used in studying Schwann cell-asrtocyte interactions.

Analisi di Schwann-astrociti Interazioni utilizzo In Vitro Saggi

Schwann cells are one of the commonly used cells in repair strategies following spinal cord injuries. Schwann cells are capable of supporting axonal ...

Isolation and Primary Culture of Rat Hepatic Cells

Primary hepatocyte culture is a valuable tool that has been extensively used in basic research of liver function, disease, pathophysiology, pharmacology and other related subjects. The method based on two-step collagenase perfusion for isolation of intact hepatocytes was first introduced by Berry and Friend in 1969 1 and, since then, has undergone many modifications. The most commonly used technique was described by Seglenin 1976 2. Essentially, hepatocytes are dissociated from anesthetized adult rats by a non-recirculating collagenase perfusion through the portal vein. The isolated cells are then filtered through a 100 &mu;m pore size mesh nylon filter, and cultured onto plates. After 4-hour culture, the medium is replaced with serum-containing or serum-free medium, e.g. HepatoZYME-SFM, for additional time to culture. These procedures require surgical and sterile culture steps that can be better demonstrated by video than by text. Here, we document the detailed steps for these procedures by both video and written protocol, which allow consistently in the generation of viable hepatocytes in large numbers.

Primary hepatocytes provide a valuable tool to evaluate biochemical, molecular, and metabolic functions in a physiologically relevant experimental system. We describe a reliable protocol for rat in situ liver perfusion, which consistently generates viable hepatocytes up to 1.0 &times; 108 cells per preparation with cell viability between 88 ~ 96%.

Isolamento e la coltura primaria di cellule epatiche di ratto

Primary hepatocyte culture is a valuable tool that has been extensively used in basic research of liver function, disease, pathophysiology, pharmacology ...

Assessment of Mitochondrial Functions and Cell Viability in Renal Cells Overexpressing Protein Kinase C Isozymes

The protein kinase C (PKC) family of isozymes is involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Our recent data demonstrate that PKC regulates mitochondrial function and cellular energy status. Numerous reports demonstrated that the activation of PKC-a and PKC-&epsilon; improves mitochondrial function in the ischemic heart and mediates cardioprotection. In contrast, we have demonstrated that PKC-&alpha; and PKC-&epsilon; are involved in nephrotoxicant-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death in kidney cells. Therefore, the goal of this study was to develop an in vitro model of renal cells maintaining active mitochondrial functions in which PKC isozymes could be selectively activated or inhibited to determine their role in regulation of oxidative phosphorylation and cell survival. Primary cultures of renal proximal tubular cells (RPTC) were cultured in improved conditions resulting in mitochondrial respiration and activity of mitochondrial enzymes similar to those in RPTC in vivo. Because traditional transfection techniques (Lipofectamine, electroporation) are inefficient in primary cultures and have adverse effects on mitochondrial function, PKC-&epsilon; mutant cDNAs were delivered to RPTC through adenoviral vectors. This approach results in transfection of over 90% cultured RPTC.
Here, we present methods for assessing the role of PKC-&epsilon; in: 1. regulation of mitochondrial morphology and functions associated with ATP synthesis, and 2. survival of RPTC in primary culture. PKC-&epsilon; is activated by overexpressing the constitutively active PKC-&epsilon; mutant. PKC-&epsilon; is inhibited by overexpressing the inactive mutant of PKC-&epsilon;. Mitochondrial function is assessed by examining respiration, integrity of the respiratory chain, activities of respiratory complexes and F0F1-ATPase, ATP production rate, and ATP content. Respiration is assessed in digitonin-permeabilized RPTC as state 3 (maximum respiration in the presence of excess substrates and ADP) and uncoupled respirations. Integrity of the respiratory chain is assessed by measuring activities of all four complexes of the respiratory chain in isolated mitochondria. Capacity of oxidative phosphorylation is evaluated by measuring the mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP production rate, and activity of F0F1-ATPase. Energy status of RPTC is assessed by determining the intracellular ATP content. Mitochondrial morphology in live cells is visualized using MitoTracker Red 580, a fluorescent dye that specifically accumulates in mitochondria, and live monolayers are examined under a fluorescent microscope. RPTC viability is assessed using annexin V/propidium iodide staining followed by flow cytometry to determine apoptosis and oncosis.
These methods allow for a selective activation/inhibition of individual PKC isozymes to assess their role in cellular functions in a variety of physiological and pathological conditions that can be reproduced in in vitro.

The effects of activation of protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes on mitochondrial functions associated with respiration and oxidative phosphorylation and on cell viability are described. The approach adapts adenoviral technique to selectively overexpress PKC isozymes in primary cell culture and a variety of assays to determine mitochondrial functions and energy status of the cell.

La valutazione delle funzioni mitocondriali e la vitalità cellulare in cellule renali proteina chinasi C overexpressing isoenzimi

The protein kinase C (PKC) family of isozymes is involved in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Our recent data demonstrate that PKC ...

Coupled Assays for Monitoring Protein Refolding in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Proteostasis, defined as the combined processes of protein folding/biogenesis, refolding/repair, and degradation, is a delicate cellular balance that must be maintained to avoid deleterious consequences 1. External or internal factors that disrupt this balance can lead to protein aggregation, toxicity and cell death. In humans this is a major contributing factor to the symptoms associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington's, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's diseases 10. It is therefore essential that the proteins involved in maintenance of proteostasis be identified in order to develop treatments for these debilitating diseases. This article describes techniques for monitoring in vivo protein folding at near-real time resolution using the model protein firefly luciferase fused to green fluorescent protein (FFL-GFP). FFL-GFP is a unique model chimeric protein as the FFL moiety is extremely sensitive to stress-induced misfolding and aggregation, which inactivates the enzyme 12. Luciferase activity is monitored using an enzymatic assay, and the GFP moiety provides a method of visualizing soluble or aggregated FFL using automated microscopy. These coupled methods incorporate two parallel and technically independent approaches to analyze both refolding and functional reactivation of an enzyme after stress. Activity recovery can be directly correlated with kinetics of disaggregation and re-solubilization to better understand how protein quality control factors such as protein chaperones collaborate to perform these functions. In addition, gene deletions or mutations can be used to test contributions of specific proteins or protein subunits to this process. In this article we examine the contributions of the protein disaggregase Hsp104 13, known to partner with the Hsp40/70/nucleotide exchange factor (NEF) refolding system 5, to protein refolding to validate this approach.

Coupled Assays for Monitoring Protein Refolding in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

This article describes the use of a firefly luciferase-GFP fusion protein to investigate in vivo protein folding in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using this reagent, refolding of a model heat-denatured protein can be monitored simultaneously by fluorescence microscopy and an enzymatic assay to probe the roles of proteostasis network components in protein quality control.

Saggi accoppiati per il monitoraggio delle proteine ​​in ripiegamento<em&gt; Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em

Proteostasis, defined as the combined processes of protein folding/biogenesis, refolding/repair, and degradation, is a delicate cellular balance that must ...

Efficient Generation Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Human Somatic Cells with Sendai-virus

A few years ago, the establishment of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) ushered in a new era in biomedicine. Potential uses of human iPSCs include modeling pathogenesis of human genetic diseases, autologous cell therapy after gene correction, and personalized drug screening by providing a source of patient-specific and symptom relevant cells. However, there are several hurdles to overcome, such as eliminating the remaining reprogramming factor transgene expression after human iPSCs production. More importantly, residual transgene expression in undifferentiated human iPSCs could hamper proper differentiations and misguide the interpretation of disease-relevant in vitro phenotypes. With this reason, integration-free and/or transgene-free human iPSCs have been developed using several methods, such as adenovirus, the piggyBac system, minicircle vector, episomal vectors, direct protein delivery and synthesized mRNA. However, efficiency of reprogramming using integration-free methods is quite low in most cases.
Here, we present a method to isolate human iPSCs by using Sendai-virus (RNA virus) based reprogramming system. This reprogramming method shows consistent results and high efficiency in cost-effective manner.

Here, we present our established method to reprogram human somatic cells into transgene-free human iPSCs with Sendai virus, which shows consistent outcome and enhanced efficiency.

Efficiente generazione indotta umane pluripotenti cellule staminali da cellule somatiche umane con Sendai-virus

A few years ago, the establishment of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) ushered in a new era in biomedicine. Potential uses of human iPSCs ...

Massively Parallel Reporter Assays in Cultured Mammalian Cells

The genetic reporter assay is a well-established and powerful tool for dissecting the relationship between DNA sequences and their gene regulatory activities. The potential throughput of this assay has, however, been limited by the need to individually clone and assay the activity of each sequence on interest using protein fluorescence or enzymatic activity as a proxy for regulatory activity. Advances in high-throughput DNA synthesis and sequencing technologies have recently made it possible to overcome these limitations by multiplexing the construction and interrogation of large libraries of reporter constructs. This protocol describes implementation of a Massively Parallel Reporter Assay (MPRA) that allows direct comparison of hundreds of thousands of putative regulatory sequences in a single cell culture dish.

The genetic reporter assay is a well-established and powerful tool for dissecting the relationship between DNA sequences and their gene regulatory activities. Coupling candidate regulatory elements to reporter genes that carry identifying sequence tags enables massive parallelization of these assays.

Saggi Reporter massicciamente parallelo in cellule di mammifero in coltura

The genetic reporter assay is a well-established and powerful tool for dissecting the relationship between DNA sequences and their gene regulatory ...

Nephrotoxin Microinjection in Zebrafish to Model Acute Kidney Injury

The kidneys are susceptible to harm from exposure to chemicals they filter from the bloodstream. This can lead to organ injury associated with a rapid decline in renal function and development of the clinical syndrome known as acute kidney injury (AKI). Pharmacological agents used to treat medical circumstances ranging from bacterial infection to cancer, when administered individually or in combination with other drugs, can initiate AKI. Zebrafish are a useful animal model to study the chemical effects on renal function in vivo, as they form an embryonic kidney comprised of nephron functional units that are conserved with higher vertebrates, including humans. Further, zebrafish can be utilized to perform genetic and chemical screens, which provide opportunities to elucidate the cellular and molecular facets of AKI and develop therapeutic strategies such as the identification of nephroprotective molecules. Here, we demonstrate how microinjection into the zebrafish embryo can be utilized as a paradigm for nephrotoxin studies.

Renal injuries incurred from nephrotoxins, which include drugs ranging from antibiotics to chemotherapeutics, can result in complex disorders whose pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. This protocol demonstrates how zebrafish can be used for disease modeling of these conditions, which can be applied to the identification of renoprotective measures.

Nefrotossina microiniezione in Zebrafish per creare un modello danno renale acuto

The kidneys are susceptible to harm from exposure to chemicals they filter from the bloodstream. This can lead to organ injury associated with a rapid ...

Assays for the Degradation of Misfolded Proteins in Cells

Protein misfolding and aggregation are associated with various neurodegenerative diseases. Cellular mechanisms that recognize and degrade misfolded proteins may serve as potential therapeutic targets. To distinguish degradation of misfolding-prone proteins from other mechanisms that regulate their levels, one important method is to measure protein half-life in cells. However, this can be challenging because misfolding-prone proteins may exist in different forms, including the native form and misfolded forms of distinct characteristics. Here we describe assays to examine the half-life of misfolded proteins in mammalian cells using a highly aggregation-prone protein, Ataxin-1 with an extended polyglutamine (polyQ) stretch, and a conformationally unstable luciferase mutant as models. Cycloheximide chase is combined with cell fractionation to examine the turnover rate of misfolding-prone proteins in various cellular fractions. We further depict a fluorescence-based assay using an enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP)-fusion of the luciferase mutant, which can be adapted for high throughput screening on a microplate-reader.

This report describes protocols for measuring degradation rates of misfolded proteins by either western blot or fluorescence-based assays. The methods can be applied to analysis of other misfolded proteins and for high throughput screening.

Saggi per la degradazione delle proteine ​​nelle cellule mal ripiegate

Protein misfolding and aggregation are associated with various neurodegenerative diseases. Cellular mechanisms that recognize and degrade misfolded ...