This work is supported by NIH grants AI125701 and AI139721, Cancer Research Institute CLIP program and American Cancer Society grant RSG-18-222-01-LIB to N.Z. We thank Karla Gorena and Sebastian Montagnino from Flow Cytometry Facility. Data generated in the Flow Cytometry Shared Resource Facility were supported by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), NIH/NCI grant P30 CA054174-20 (Clinical and Translational Research Center [CTRC] at UTHSCSA), and UL1 TR001120 (Clinical and Translational Science Award).

All animal experiments performed following this protocol must be approved by the respective institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). All procedures described here have been approved by IACUC UT Health San Antonio.
1. Adoptive transfer of P14 T cells into C57BL/6 recipients and LCMV infection
<ol>
	<li>Use P14 mice at 6-12 weeks of age. Ensure that the sex of donor P14 TCR transgenic mouse should match the sex of C57BL/6 recipient mice. Otherwise, cells such as male T cells transf...

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As tissue specific immunity is a rapid expanding area of research, accumulating evidence suggest that immune cells, especially lymphocytes population can be identified in almost all organs in adult human or infected or immunized mice. LCMV mouse infection model is a well-established model to study antigen-specific T cell response, effector and memory T cell differentiation including TRM biology across multiple tissues. Here, we described a protocol to analyze CD8+ T cells in the kidney. This protoco...

Tissue-resident memory (TRM) T cells represent one of the most abundant T cell populations in adult human and infected mice. TRM cells provide the first line of immune defense and are critically involved in various physiological and pathological processes1,2,3,4,5. Comparing with circulating T cells, TRM cells carry distinct surface markers with unique transcription programs6,7,8. Expanding our knowledge of TRM biology is the key to understanding T cell responses which is essential for future development of T cell-based vaccines and immunotherapies.
In addition to commonly shared molecular markers of TRMs across all non-lymphoid tissues, accumulating evidence suggest that tissue-specific features are a central component of TRM biology9. Kidney harbors many immune cells including TRM cells after infection and offers a great opportunity to study TRM cell biology in a non-mucosal tissue. Acute LCMV (lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus) infection via intraperitoneal route is a well-established systemic infection model to study antigen-specific T cell responses in mice. The infection is usually resolved in 7-10 days in wild type mice and leave a large number of LCMV-specific memory T cells in a variety of tissues, including the kidney10. P14 TCR (T cell receptor) transgenic mice carry CD8+ T cells recognize one of the immune-dominant epitopes of LCMV presented by MHC-I (class I major histocompatibility complex) molecule H2-Db in C57BL/6 mice. Combining congenically marked P14 T cell adoptive transfer and LCMV infection in mice, CD8+ effector and memory T cells are tracked, including TRM differentiation and homeostasis.
In some barrier tissues, such as intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) compartment and salivary glands, established lymphocyte isolation procedure yields high percentage of TRM cells with minimal blood borne T cell contamination in mouse LCMV model11. However, in non-barrier tissues, such as the kidney, dense vascular network contains a large number of circulating CD8+ T cells. It has been well documented that even successful perfusion cannot efficiently remove all circulating CD8+ T cells. To overcome this technical hurdle, intravascular antibody staining has been established as one of the most commonly used techniques in TRM labs12. In brief, 3-5 minutes before euthanasia, 3 &#181;g/mouse anti-CD8 antibody (to label CD8+ T cells) is delivered intravenously. Intact blood vessel wall prevents rapid diffusion of the antibody within this short period of time (i.e., 3-5 minutes) and only intravascular cells are labeled. Following standard lymphocyte isolation protocol, intravascular versus extravascular cells can be easily distinguished using flow cytometry.
Here, we will describe a standard protocol commonly used in TRM labs to perform intravascular labeling, lymphocyte isolation and flow cytometry analysis of kidney CD8+ T cells using a C57BL/6 mouse that has received CD45.1+ P14 T cells and LCMV infection 30 days before13. Same protocol can be used to study both effector and memory T cells in the kidney.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1.5 ml microcentrifuge tubes</td>
			<td>Fisherbrand</td>
			<td>05-408-130</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>15 ml Conical Tubes</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>431470</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3 ml syringe</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>309657</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>37C incubator</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Biotin a-CD8a antibody(Clone 53-6.7)</td>
			<td>Tonbo Biosciences</td>
			<td>30-0081-U025</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Calf Serum</td>
			<td>GE Healthcare Life Sciences</td>
			<td>SH30073.03</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collegenase B</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>11088807001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Disposable Graduated Transfer Pipettes</td>
			<td>Fisherbrand</td>
			<td>13-711-9AM</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Insulin Syringe</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>329424</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Micro Dissecting Spring Scissors</td>
			<td>Roboz Surgical</td>
			<td>RS 5692</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mojosort Mouse CD8 Na&#239;ve T Cells Isolation Kit</td>
			<td>Biolegend</td>
			<td>480043</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>overhead heat lamp</td>
			<td>Amazon</td>
			<td>B00333PZZG</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Percoll</td>
			<td>GE Healthcare Life Sciences</td>
			<td>17089101</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>rocker</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RPMI</td>
			<td>GE Healthcare Life Sciences</td>
			<td>SH30096.01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Solid Brass Mouse Restrainer</td>
			<td>Braintree Scientific, Inc</td>
			<td>SAI-MBR</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Swing Bucket Centrifuge with refrigerator</td>
			<td>Thermofisher</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tissue Culture 6-well plate</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>3516</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

isolation of mouse kidney-resident cd8+ t cells for flow cytometry analysis

Tissue-resident memory T cell (TRM) is a rapidly expanding field of immunology research. Isolating T cells from various non-lymphoid tissues is one of the key steps to investigate TRMs. There are slight variations in lymphocyte isolation protocols for different organs. Kidney is an essential non-lymphoid organ with numerous immune cell infiltration especially after pathogen exposure or autoimmune activation. In recent years, multiple labs including our own have started characterizing kidney resident CD8+ T cells in various physiological and pathological settings in both mouse and human. Due to the abundance of T lymphocytes, kidney represents an attractive model organ to study TRMs in non-mucosal or non-barrier tissues. Here, we will describe a protocol commonly used in TRM-focused labs to isolate CD8+ T cells from mouse kidneys following systemic viral infection. Briefly, using an acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection model in C57BL/6 mice, we demonstrate intravascular CD8+ T cell labeling, enzymatic digestion, and density gradient centrifugation to isolate and enrich lymphocytes from mouse kidneys to make samples ready for the subsequent flow cytometry analysis.

The protocol described here is summarized in a flow chart (Figure 1A). At day 30 post LCMV infection, we performed intravascular labeling of CD8+ T cells. 5 minutes later, both kidneys of the animal were dissected, minced and subjected to collagenase digestion. Lymphocytes were further purified from the digested samples via Percoll centrifugation and analyzed by flow cytometry. As shown in Figure 1B, even after density centrifugation-mediated lymphocy...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation of Mouse Kidney-Resident CD8+ T cells for Flow Cytometry Analysis at JoVE.com

Isolation of Mouse Kidney-Resident CD8+ T cells for Flow Cytometry Analysis

Following viral infection, kidney harbors a relatively large number of CD8+ T cells and offers an opportunity to study non-mucosal TRM cells. Here, we describe a protocol to isolate mouse kidney lymphocytes for flow cytometry analysis.

Isolation of Mouse Kidney-Resident CD8+ T cells for Flow Cytometry Analysis

Tissue-resident memory T cell (TRM) is a rapidly expanding field of immunology research. Isolating T cells from various non-lymphoid tissues is one of the ...

CD8+T cells carry distinct features in different tissue, as a critical example of non-mucosal and non-lymphoid tissue. It is essential to directly characterize kidney-resident cells to fully understand T-cell biology. Here we will demonstrate our convenient method to isolate kidney-resident CD8+T cells accommodating subsequent flow cytometry analysis.This method could provide insight into the studies of effector and memory CD8+T cells generated after infections as well as autoimmune responses. The procedure will be performed by Dr.Chaoyu Ma, a research scientist for my laboratory. Begin by diluting biotin anti CD8 alpha antibody to 15 micrograms per milliliter in PBS, making sure that there is enough to administer 200 microliters to each mouse.Prior to injection, heat the tail vein of the mouse with an overhead heat lamp for five to 10 minutes to dilate it. Draw 200 microliters of the pre diluted antibody mix into a 28-gauge insulin syringe and remove any air bubbles by moving the piston up and down. Bend the needle to create a 150-degree angle between the needle and the syringe, bevel up, so that the needle is parallel to the tail vein.Restrain the mouse with a rodent restrainer and spray the tail with 70%ethanol to make the vein clearly visible. Hold the tail at the distal end with the thumb and middle fingers of the non-dominant hand, then place the index finger underneath the injection site. With the dominant hand insert the needle into the vein in parallel towards the direction of the heart and slowly inject 200 microliters of the antibody.Remove the needle and gently compress the injection site until bleeding stops. After euthanizing the mouse, dissect the kidney with scissors and transfer it to a 1.5-milliliter micro centrifuge tube. Leave the samples on ice until further processing.Prepare six-well plates with three milliliters of digestion solution in each well, using one well per mouse, and store them on ice. Add 300 microliters of digestion solution into each sample tube and mince the kidney samples with a straight spring scissor. Transfer the minced kidney samples to the six-well plates with the digestion solution.Incubate the samples at 37 degrees Celsius with gentle rocking for 45 minutes, then homogenize the tissue with the plunger flange of a three-milliliter syringe and transfer it to 15-milliliter conical tubes. Spin the samples down at 500 times g and four degrees Celsius for five minutes. Remove the supernatant and resuspend the pellet in three milliliters of RPMI with 10%FCS.Spin down the sample at 500 times g and four degrees Celsius for five minutes, then remove the supernatant and resuspend the cell pellet with five milliliters of 44%density gradient medium and RPMI mix. Put the tip of a three-milliliter pipette containing three milliliters of 67%density gradient medium and PBS directly to the bottom of each tube and slowly release the solution so that the heavy solution forms a distinct layer at the bottom. Spin the samples at 900 times g for 20 minutes with reduced accelerator and brake settings, then carefully remove the tubes from the centrifuge without disturbing the layers.Remove the top layer with a transfer pipette without touching the lymphocyte layer and transfer the lymphocyte layer to a new 15-milliliter tube. Fill the tube with PBS and 5%FCS, then mix by slowly inverting the tube four to six times. After centrifuging the samples at 500 times G and four degrees Celsius for five minutes, remove the supernatant and resuspend the cell pellet with 500 microliters of complete RPMI medium.The cells are now ready for flow cytometry staining. Even after density centrifugation-mediated lymphocyte enrichment, it was very common to see a large portion of non lymphocytes in the final product. However, after gaining on live lymphocytes, CD8+T lymphocytes were easy to identify.As expected, only extra-vascular CD8+T cells efficiently acquired tissue resident memory T-cell phenotypes, such as upregulation of CD69 and downregulation of Ly6C. In contrast to the infected mice, the vast majority of CD8+T cells isolated from young naive mice housed in the SPF facility were labeled with CD8 alpha antibody and therefore belonged to the intravascular compartment. This technique has greatly accelerated the investigation of tissue-resident immune cells in densely vascularized organs.

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JoVE Journal

Immunology and Infection

6.3K Views.  University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Le cellule CD8+T portano caratteristiche distinte in diversi tessuti, come esempio critico di tessuto non mucoso e non linfoide. È essenziale caratterizzare direttamente le cellule renali residenti per comprendere appieno la biologia delle cellule T. Qui dimostreremo il nostro comodo metodo per isolare le cellule CD8 + T residenti nei reni che ospitano la successiva analisi della citometria del flusso.Questo metodo potrebbe fornire informazioni sugli studi delle cellule CD8+T dell'eff...