Name: isolation and flow cytometric characterization of murine small intestinal lymphocytes
Uploaded: 2016-05-08T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation and Flow Cytometric Characterization of Murine Small Intestinal Lymphocytes at JoVE.com

NKS is supported by NIH award K08 AI108690.

All studies were conducted under strict review and guidelines according to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at Harvard Medical School, which meets the veterinary standards set by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS).
1. Horizontal Transmission of Bacteria via Co-housing (Optional)&#160;
<ol>
	<li>To minimize exogenous contamination (particularly if using gnotobiotic mice), practice aseptic technique while assembling sterile disposable cages, using food and water t...

<ol>
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We present a protocol for the isolation and flow cytometric characterization of small-intestinal lymphocytes, including the LPLs, IELs, and lymphocytes in the PPs. For those interested in evaluating how changes in the microbiota affect the small-intestinal immune system, we detail the straightforward steps involved in the horizontal transmission of organisms between mice harboring different microbiotas. Although this protocol focuses on the small intestine, the procedure is the same for analysis of the large intestine, w...

The principal task of the small intestine is often considered to be the digestion and absorption of nutrients1. While this metabolic function is clearly essential, the small intestine has an equally significant role in protecting the host from the continual barrage of environmental antigens found within the lumen2. The intestinal tract separates the outside world (e.g., luminal antigens) from the internal environment of the host with an epithelial layer that is only a single cell layer thick. As such, the small-intestinal immune system has the formidable task of balancing its threshold for reactivity, allowing foreign antigens from the diet and commensal microbes to enter the mucosa with minimal, if any, immune response while mounting a robust response against invading pathogens and other &#34;harmful&#34; antigens. Excessive or inappropriate immune responses to these antigens can lead to pathologic disease (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis) and must be avoided3-6.
Overall, the gastrointestinal tract is thought to represent the largest immune organ in the body, containing over 70% of all antibody-secreting cells7. The small-intestinal immune system is comprised of 3 main compartments&#160;&#8212;&#160;the lamina propria (LP), the intraepithelial layer, and Peyer&#39;s patches (PPs) &#8212;&#160;that each contains a distinctive group of lymphocytes2. The LP lymphocytes (LPLs) are primarily TCR&#945;&#946;+ T cells with ~20% B cells; intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) contain very few B cells with more TCR&#947;&#948;+ T cells than TCR&#945;&#946;+ T cells; and PPs, which are secondary lymphoid organs embedded in the small-intestinal wall, contain ~80% B cells. Although each of these anatomical regions has slightly distinct functions and ontological bases, they function in a harmonized fashion to protect the host from pathogenic insults.
Furthermore, there is growing appreciation that the microbiota is a critical determinant for the development of the intestinal immune system, with increasing recognition of the cognate relationship between specific microbes and the ontogeny of particular cell lineages8,9. Moreover, given that education of the intestinal immune system affects immune responses in anatomically distant sites (e.g., arthritis, multiple sclerosis, pneumonia), it has become clear that development of the intestinal immune system is relevant to more disease processes than previously recognized10-12. As such, interest in quantitatively assessing the intestinal immune system has extended beyond host-pathogen interactions to now include host-commensal interactions and the pathogenesis of many systemic diseases as well.
Given the variability of current methods in the isolation of intestinal lymphocytes, a method that is optimized for yield, viability, and consistency while balancing the time required is increasingly critical. Protocols that involve Percoll gradients are time and labor intensive and potentially more prone to human error, leading to variable yield and viability13. Herein, we provide an optimized protocol for the isolation and characterization of lymphocytes from all 3 small-intestinal immune compartments. Additionally, given increasing interest in microbe-induced alterations in the mucosal immune system, we include steps that can be used to allow for the horizontal transmission of microorganisms between mice to assess how these changes quantitatively affect the intestinal immune system.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile Gloves</td>
			<td>Kimberly-Clark</td>
			<td>555092</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>sterile mouse cage</td>
			<td>Innovive</td>
			<td>MS2-AD</td>
			<td>contains lid, cage bottom, and alpha-dri bedding</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>metal feeder</td>
			<td>Innovive</td>
			<td>M-FEED</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>water bottle</td>
			<td>Innovive</td>
			<td>M-WB-300</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>card holder</td>
			<td>Innovive</td>
			<td>CRD-HLD-H</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>autoclavable rodent chow (NIH-31M)</td>
			<td>Zeigler</td>
			<td>4131207530</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RPMI medium 1640</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>11875-119</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dithiothreitol (DTT)</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>D5545-5G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.5 M EDTA (pH 8.0)</td>
			<td>Ambion</td>
			<td>AM9262</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>fetal bovine serum (FBS)</td>
			<td>GemBio</td>
			<td>100-510</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dispase II</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>17105-041</td>
			<td>the concentration in the protocol is based on an activity level of 1.878 U/mg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>collagenase, type II&#160;</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>17101-015</td>
			<td>the concentration in the protocol is based on an activity level of 245 U/mg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dissecting scissors</td>
			<td>Roboz</td>
			<td>RS-5882</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>feeding needle (18 G, 2&#34; length)</td>
			<td>Roboz</td>
			<td>FN-7905</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10 ml syringe</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>305482</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS</td>
			<td>Gibco</td>
			<td>14190-250</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Disposable Scalpel (15 blade)</td>
			<td>Miltex</td>
			<td>4-415</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>curved forceps</td>
			<td>Roboz</td>
			<td>RS-5211</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>straight forceps</td>
			<td>Roboz</td>
			<td>RS-5132</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>multi-purpose cups, 120 ml</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>89009-662</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>stir bar</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>58949-062</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>multi-position stir plate, 9-position</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>12621-048</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>stainless steel conical strainer, 3 inch&#160;</td>
			<td>RSVP</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1.5 ml tube</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>0030 125.150</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>100 &#956;m cell strainer</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>08-771-19</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>40 &#956;m cell strainer</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>08-771-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>50 mL conical tube</td>
			<td>Falcon</td>
			<td>352098</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1 ml syringe</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>309659</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>96-well plate, round-bottom</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>3799</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-mouse CD16/32 (Fc block)</td>
			<td>Biolegend</td>
			<td>101320</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>(optional) fixable viability dye eFluor 780</td>
			<td>eBiosciences</td>
			<td>65-0865-18</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10% formalin, neutral buffered</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>5725</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

isolation and flow cytometric characterization of murine small intestinal lymphocytes

The intestines &#8212; which contain the largest number of immune cells of any organ in the body &#8212; are constantly exposed to foreign antigens, both microbial and dietary. Given an increasing understanding that these luminal antigens help shape the immune response and that education of immune cells within the intestine is critical for a number of systemic diseases, there has been increased interest in characterizing the intestinal immune system. However, many published protocols are arduous and time-consuming. We present here a simplified protocol for the isolation of lymphocytes from the small-intestinal lamina propria, intraepithelial layer, and Peyer&#39;s patches that is rapid, reproducible, and does not require laborious Percoll gradients. Although the protocol focuses on the small intestine, it is also suitable for analysis of the colon. Moreover, we highlight some aspects that may need additional optimization depending on the specific scientific question. This approach results in the isolation of large numbers of viable lymphocytes that can subsequently be used for flow cytometric analysis or alternate means of characterization.

Flow cytometric analysis of single cell suspensions of small-intestinal lymphocytes should yield a discrete population of cells that have similar forward and side scatter characteristics as splenocytes (Figures 1A and 1B). The lymphocytes may begin to die if the tissue is not maintained at 4 &#176;C during the initial stages of the isolation, resulting in the lymphocyte population having a lower forward scatter and being more difficult to separate from other epithelial an...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation and Flow Cytometric Characterization of Murine Small Intestinal Lymphocytes at JoVE.com

Isolation and Flow Cytometric Characterization of Murine Small Intestinal Lymphocytes

There is growing interest in the quantitative characterization of intestinal lymphocytes owing to increasing recognition that these cells play a critical role in a variety of intestinal and systemic diseases. In this protocol, we describe how to isolate single cell populations from different small-intestinal compartments for subsequent flow cytometric characterization.

The intestines &#8212; which contain the largest number of immune cells of any organ in the body &#8212; are constantly exposed to foreign antigens, both ...

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