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Method Article
Here, we propose a systematized, accessible, and reproducible protocol to detect cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) using 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate probe (DCFH-DA) in Müller glial cells (MGCs). This method quantifies total cellular ROS levels with a flow cytometer. This protocol is very easy to use, suitable, and reproducible.
The redox balance has an important role in maintaining cellular homeostasis. The increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) promotes the modification of proteins, lipids, and DNA, which finally may lead to alteration in cellular function and cell death. Therefore, it is beneficial for cells to increase their antioxidant defense in response to detrimental insults, either by activating an antioxidant pathway like Keap1/Nrf2 or by improving redox scavengers (vitamins A, C, and E, β-carotene, and polyphenols, among others). Inflammation and oxidative stress are involved in the pathogenesis and progression of retinopathies, such as diabetic retinopathy (DR) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Since Müller glial cells (MGCs) play a key role in the homeostasis of neural retinal tissue, they are considered an ideal model to study these cellular protective mechanisms. In this sense, quantifying ROS levels with a reproducible and simple method is essential to assess the contribution of pathways or molecules that participate in the antioxidant cell defense mechanism. In this article, we provide a complete description of the procedures required for the measurement of ROS with DCFH-DA probe and flow cytometry in MGCs. Key steps for flow cytometry data processing with the software are provided here, so the readers will be able to measure ROS levels (geometric means of FITC) and analyze fluorescence histograms. These tools are highly helpful to evaluate not only the increase in ROS after a cellular insult but also to study the antioxidant effect of certain molecules that can provide a protective effect on the cells.
The neural retina is a very organized tissue that presents well-defined neuronal layers. In these, neurons (ganglion, amacrine, bipolar, horizontal, and photoreceptor cells) are interconnected to each other and also with Müller glial cells (MGCs) and astrocytes, leading to adequate phototransduction and processing of visual information1,2. MGCs are known to have an important role in the maintenance of retinal homeostasis because they cross the entire retinal section and, thus, they can interact with all cell types that modulate multiple protective processes. It has been reported that MGCs have several important functions for the maintenance and survival of retinal neurons, including glycolysis to provide energy to neurons, the removal of neuronal waste, the recycling of neurotransmitters, and the release of neurotrophic factors, among others3,4,5.
On the other hand, inflammation, oxidative and nitrosative stress are involved in the pathogenesis and progression of many human diseases, including retinopathies6,7,8,9,10,11. The redox balance in cells depends on tight regulation of ROS levels. ROS are constantly generated under physiological conditions as a result of aerobic respiration mainly. The major members of the ROS family include reactive free radicals such as the superoxide anion (O2͘͘͘͘•−), hydroxyl radicals (•OH), various peroxides (ROOR′), hydroperoxides (ROOH), and the no radical hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)12,13. In the last years, it has become apparent that ROS plays an important signaling role in the cells by controlling essential processes. MGCs have a strong antioxidant defense by the activation of the transcriptional nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and the subsequent expression of antioxidant proteins to eliminate the excessive production of ROS under pathological conditions14,15,16. When the cells lose their redox balance due to an exaggerated production of ROS or a defective ability to remove ROS, the accumulation of oxidative stress promotes harmful modifications in proteins, lipids, and DNA, leading to cellular stress or death. The increase of the retinal antioxidant defense system improves the resolution and prevention of retinopathies, such as ROP and RD17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24. Therefore, the measurement of ROS production in real-time is a powerful and useful tool.
There are several methods for measuring ROS production or oxidative stress in cells. Among these, 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) probe is one of the most widely used techniques for directly quantifying the redox state of a cell25,26,27,28. This probe is lipophilic and non-fluorescent. Diffusion of this probe across the cell membrane allows its cleavage by intracellular esterases at the two ester bonds, producing a relatively polar and cell membrane-impermeable product, 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein (H2DCF). This non-fluorescent molecule accumulates intracellularly, and subsequent oxidation by ROS yields the highly fluorescent product DCF. The oxidation of the probe is the product of the action of multiple types of ROS (peroxynitrite, hydroxyl radicals, nitric oxide, or peroxides), which can be detected by flow cytometry or confocal microscopy (emission at 530 nm and excitation at 485 nm). The limitation of this technique is that superoxide and hydrogen peroxide do not strongly react with H2DCF25,29. In this article, we use DCFH-DA probe to measure and quantify ROS by flow cytometry. For that reason, we induce ROS production by stimulating MGCs with ROS inducer, A or B, previous to loading the cells with the fluorescent probe. In addition, we use an antioxidant compound. Finally, we show representative and reliable data obtained using this protocol.
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NOTE: For buffer compositions see Table 1.
1. Cell culture preparation
NOTE: Described here is the culture preparation of MIO-M1 cells, a spontaneously immortalized human Müller glial cell line (Moorfield's/Institute of Ophthalmology- Müller 1). Always use proper aseptic technique and work in a laminar flow hood.
2. Assay conditions and controls
3. Performing the assay
NOTE: The assay is performed on day 7. Always use proper aseptic technique and work in a laminar flow hood unless otherwise instructed.
4. Cell preparation for flow cytometry
5. Data acquisition in a flow cytometer
6. Analysis of the acquired data
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As described in the protocol section, we have shown representative and quantitative data demonstrating flow cytometry detection of ROS production with the fluorescence probe DCFH-DA from MIO-M1 cells stimulated with ROS inducer, A or B. As expected, we observed changes in FITC fluorescence in unstimulated cells above autofluorescence levels (Figure 1A, compare "basal control" vs. "autofluorescence control", dot plots graph). This occurred due to a basal production of ROS in t...
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Several pathological conditions, such as cancer, inflammatory diseases, ischemia/reperfusion, ischemic heart disease, diabetes, and retinopathies, and also physiological situations like aging, lead to ROS overproduction6,7,8,9,10,11. Therefore, the detection, measurement, and understanding of the pathway involved in the modul...
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The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The authors would like to thank María Pilar Crespo and Paula Alejandra Abadie of CIBICI (Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología, CONICET-UNC, Córdoba, Argentina) for assistance in flow cytometry and Gabriela Furlan and Noelia Maldonado for cell culture assistance. We also thank Victor Diaz (Pro-Secretary of Institutional Communication of FCQ) for the video production and editing.
This article was funded by grants from Secretaría de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (SECyT-UNC) Consolidar 2018-2021, Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (FONCyT), and Proyecto de Investigación en Ciencia y Tecnología (PICT) 2015 N° 1314 (all to M.C.S.).
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Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
2′,7′-DCFH-DA | Sigma | 35845-1G | |
4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) | Gibco by life technologies | 15630-080 | |
BD FACSCanto II flow cytometer | BD Biosciences | FACSCanto | |
BD FACSDiva software | BD Biosciences | ||
Cell Culture Dishes 100x20 mm | Cell Star- Greiner Bio-One | 664 160 | |
Centrifuge | Thermo | Sorvall legend micro 17 R | |
Centrifuge Tubes (15 ml) | BIOFIL | CFT011150 | |
Centrifuge Tubes (50 ml) | BIOFIL | CFT011500 | |
Cryovial | CRYO.S - Greiner Bio-One | 126263 | |
Dimethyl Sulfoxide | Sigma-Aldrich | W387520-1KG | |
Disodium-hydrogen-phosphate heptahydrate | Merck | 106575 | |
DMEM without phenol red | Gibco by life technologies | 31053-028 | |
Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) | Gibco by life technologies | 11995065 | |
Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid (EDTA), Disodium Salt, Dihydrate | Merck | 324503 | |
Fetal Bovine Serum | Internegocios | ||
FlowJo v10 Software | BD Biosciences | ||
Glucose | Merck | 108337 | |
hemocytometer, Neubauer chamber | BOECO,Germany | ||
Laminar flow hood | ESCO | AC2-6E8 | |
L-glutamine (GlutaMAX) | Gibco by life technologies | A12860-01 | |
MitoSOX Red | Invitrogen | M36008 | |
Penicillin/Streptomycin | Gibco by life technologies | 15140-122 | |
Potassium Chloride | Merck | 104936 | |
Potassium-dihydrogen phosphate | Merck | 4878 | |
Round polystyrene tubes 5 ml (flow cytometry tubes) | Falcon - Corning | BD-352008 | |
Sodium Azide | Merck | 822335 | |
Sodium Chloride | Merck | 106404 | |
Sodium Hydroxide | Merck | 106462 | |
SPINWIN Micro Centrifuge Tube 1.5 ml | Tarson | 500010-N | |
Tissue Culture Plate 6 well | BIOFIL | TCP011006 | |
Trypan Blue | Merck | 111732 | |
Trypsin-EDTA 0.5% 10X | Gibco by life technologies | 15400-054 | |
Vortex Mixer | Labnet International, Inc. |
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