Work in the laboratories of the authors is supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Institutes of Health Research, and the Canada Research Chairs program. JL is supported by a fellowship from the Groupe d'&Eacute;tude des Prot&eacute;ines Membranaires (GEPROM) through funding from the Fonds de Recherche en Sant&egrave; du Qu&egrave;bec.

1. Preliminary: Bacterial strains and epithelial cells. 
Manipulations of cells and bacteria are performed aseptically, under a laminar flow hood. 
<ol>
<li>Freshly isolate the E. coli strains 2787, 2787&Delta;aidA, and C600 from glycerol stocks on Lysogeny Broth (LB) agar plates (1% tryptone, 0.5% sodium chloride, 0.5% yeast extract, 1.5% agar) and grow at 37&deg;C. To minimize variability in the assay, it is advised to always use freshly plated strains and to keep the strains at 4&deg;C on sealed Petri plates only for a maximum of a couple of weeks. </li>
<li>Culture HEp-2 cells (ATCC CCL-23) in high glucose Dulbecco&#x2019;s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% heat inactivated bovine serum (heat inactivation is performed at 56&deg;C for 30 min). During routine culture we also add 10 U/ml penicillin and 10 &mu;g/ml streptomycin. </li>
<li>Grow Hep-2 cells at 37&deg;C in a cell incubator with an atmosphere containing 5% CO2. Use standard cell culture procedures to maintain the cells, which are grown in 75 cm2 flasks and subcultured every time they reach confluence. We use our cultured cells until they reach 30 to 40 passages and then discard them. </li>
<li>Prepare an assay when the HEp-2 cells in a 75 cm2 flask are nearly reaching confluence and therefore are ready for an adherence assay.</li>
</ol>
2. DAY 1: Preparing the inoculum and the epithelial cells 
<ol>
<li>Wash the HEp-2 cells in the flask once with warm Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline (DPBS: 8 g/L NaCl, 0.2 g/L KCl, 0.2 g/L KH2PO4, 0.21 g/L Na2HPO4:7H2O) </li>
<li>The cells are incubated with 0.05% trypsin - EDTA for 5 min before adding fresh warm complete medium. After fresh medium is added, the cells are resuspended by pipetting up and down.</li>
<li>Centrifuge the cell suspension at 2,000 rpm for 5 min and resuspend the pellets in DPBS and centrifuge again. </li>
<li>Resuspend the cells in fresh medium supplemented with 10 % serum but containing no antibiotics, at a concentration of 2x105 cells/ml. </li>
<li>Seed one milliliter of cell suspension in three sets of duplicate wells (one for each strain) in the center of a 24-well plate and incubate the plate overnight in a cell culture incubator. 
Note: It is important that the serum be thoroughly decomplemented and that antibiotics are omitted after this stage. Failure to do so might kill the infecting bacteria.</li>
<li>Inoculate one isolated colony of each bacterial strain (2787, 2787&Delta;aidA and C600) in 5 ml of LB broth (1% tryptone, 0.5% sodium chloride, 0.5% yeast extract) and grow overnight at 37&deg;C with vigorous shaking (180 rpm).</li>
</ol>
3. DAY 2: Infection of cells
<ol>
<li>Inspect the HEp-2 cells under an inverted microscope to ascertain that they are at least 90 % confluent and not contaminated.</li>
<li>Washed the cells with warm DPBS and, to each well, add 1 ml of fresh medium supplemented with 10 % serum but containing no antibiotics. Also add fresh medium to three wells without cells. This will be used to determine the total number of bacteria in the inoculum for each strain.</li>
<li>Measure the optical density at 600 nm (O.D.600nm) of the bacterial cultures. Add an aliquot of each bacterial culture to one set of duplicate wells containing Hep-2 cells and to one well not containing cells. Usually, we use a volume of overnight culture corresponding to 106 colony forming units (cfu). This represents a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 5:1 (bacteria:cells). Although we directly use our overnight cultures, it is sometimes advisable to centrifuge the bacteria and resuspend them in DPBS to avoid deleterious effects of secreted molecules present in the overnight cultures (such as cytotoxins, for instance) 
Note: The MOI can vary between 100:1 and 1:10. Higher MOI yields higher variability and background and bacteria will tend to stick to the plastic of the plate. Lower MOI also yields high variability. Once an MOI is chosen, it is imperative to be consistent and keep this MOI.</li>
<li>Incubate the infected cells in the cell culture incubator for 3 hours at 37&deg;C with 5% CO2. 
Note: It is also possible to centrifuge briefly the plate at low speed (e.g. 1,000 x g for 1-2 min), in order to bring all the bacteria directly in contact with the cells. This has the added benefits of synchronizing the infection, and allowing shorter incubation times (as little as 15-30 min).</li>
<li>Remove the medium from the infected cells and wash the cells 3 times with warm DPBS. At this step, adherent bacteria can usually be seen with a standard microscope and we routinely perform this check.</li>
<li>To lyse the cells and detach the adhered bacteria, add 100 &mu;l of 1% Triton X-100 to each well containing the cells. Other detergents can be used (such as saponin for instance).</li>
<li>Incubate the cells for 10 min at room temperature and then add 900 &mu;l of LB medium. </li>
<li>Gently homogenize the suspensions by repeated up-and-down pipetting. The wells without cells containing the inoculum are similarly gently homogenized. 
Note: Some bacteria might be too sensitive to the detergent, in that case we detach the epithelial cells by incubation with 0.05% trypsin - EDTA for 20 min at 37&deg;C. Cells together with adhered bacteria can also be scraped from the wells with a pipette tip.</li>
<li>Prepare serial 10-fold dilutions of the suspensions of adhered bacteria and inoculum using LB broth and plate 100 &mu;l from 3 dilutions (usually the 1:1,000, 1:10,000 and 1:100,000 dilutions) on LB agar and incubate overnight at 37&deg;C.</li>
</ol>
4. DAY 3: cfu counting and data presentation.
<ol>
<li>Count the colonies on the plates and calculate the number of cfu of adhered bacteria and of the inoculum by averaging each series of dilutions. Only plates with between 10-300 colonies should be counted. </li>
</ol>
5. Representative results :
The following table shows typical results of cfu counting of adhered bacteria and inoculum from 3 experiments performed on different days:
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/2783/2783table1.jpg" alt="Table 1" /> 
The results can be reported directly as adhered cfu, as shown in Figure 1A. Since the inoculum sizes can vary between strains because of differences in growth rates or pipetting errors, it is often advisable to report the results as percentage of adhered bacteria. The percentage of adhered bacteria can be calculated by dividing the number of cfu of adhered bacteria by the number of cfu of the inoculum, as shown in Figure 1B. By performing a repeated measure ANOVA and Bonferroni post-tests to compare all columns of Figure 1B, we can see that there are significant differences (p&lt;0.05) between 2787 and 2787&Delta;aidA, as well as between 2787 and C600, but no significant difference between 2787&Delta;aidA and C600. 
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/2783/2783fig1.jpg" alt="Figure 1"/>
 Figure 1. Representation of the results as cfu of adhered bacteria (A) or percentage of adhered bacteria (B)
The percentage of adherence observed is often very dependent on the experimental set-up (and, to a lesser extent, on the experimenter). Particularly important are the MOI and the number of washes, so the percentage should not be literally interpreted.
The bacteria in the inoculum can sometimes grow much faster than the bacteria in the presence of cells, skewing the size of the inoculum by comparison with the real total number of bacteria in wells with cells. To alleviate this issue, it is recommended to either: (i) use wells with cells to determine the inoculum: HEp-2 cells are seeded in an additional well and infected. At the end of the assay, instead of discarding the supernatant and washing, 100 &mu;l of 10% Triton X-100 is added to the well. The cells will lyse and the lysate containing adhered and non-adhered bacteria is gently homogenized by repeated up-and-down pipetting.; or (ii) collect the supernatants of infected cells at the end of the assay, as well as the supernatants from the DPBS washes and determine the number of cfu in those pooled supernatants. This will yield the number of cfu of non-adhered bacteria. The percentage of adhered bacteria can then be calculated by dividing the number of cfu of adhered bacteria by the addition of the number of cfu of adhered and non-adhered bacteria. 
To illustrate the robustness of the assay, we can compare this protocol with the assay performed with S4074, an adhesive porcine pathogenic strain of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae7, incubated with cells from a recently established tracheal piglet cell line, NPTr8. Aside from differences in the media required for growth of the bacteria and the cells, the only difference is that the bacteria used for infection are from an exponentially growing culture, and not from a stationary-phase overnight culture. With A. pleuropneumoniae it is also very important to respect an MOI of 10:1 and to not exceed 3 hours of infection, otherwise the secretion of toxins will cause cell death and bias the results. In addition, this strain of A. pleuropneumoniae can readily adhere to plastic so it is important to use confluent cells and verify visually that the cells are not sloughing off.

<ol>
	<li>Kline, K. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Bacterial+adhesins+in+host-microbe+interactions.">Bacterial adhesins in host-microbe interactions.</a> Cell Host Microbe. 5, 580-580 (2009).</li><li>Cossart, P., Boquet, P., Normark, S., Rappuoli, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cellular+microbiology+emerging.">Cellular microbiology emerging.</a> Science. 271, 315-315 (1996).</li><li>Elsinghorst, E. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Measurement+of+invasion+by+gentamicin+resistance.">Measurement of invasion by gentamicin resistance.</a> Methods Enzymol. 236, 405-405 (1994).</li><li>Pizarro-Cerda, J., Lecuit, M., Cossart, P., Sansonetti, P., Zychlinsky, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Molecular Cellular Microbiology. , 161-161 (2002).</li><li>Srivastava, A., Isberg, R. R., Sansonetti, P., Zychlinsky, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Molecular Cellular Microbiology. , 179-179 (2002).</li><li>Benz, I., Schmidt, M. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cloning+and+expression+of+an+adhesin+(AIDA-I)+involved+in+diffuse+adherence+of+enteropathogenic+Escherichia+coli.">Cloning and expression of an adhesin (AIDA-I) involved in diffuse adherence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli.</a> Infect Immun. 57, 1506-1506 (1989).</li><li>Charbonneau, M. E., Berthiaume, F., Mourez, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Proteolytic+processing+is+not+essential+for+multiple+functions+of+the+Escherichia+coli+autotransporter+adhesin+involved+in+diffuse+adherence+(AIDA-I).">Proteolytic processing is not essential for multiple functions of the Escherichia coli autotransporter adhesin involved in diffuse adherence (AIDA-I).</a> J Bacteriol. 188, 8504-8504 (2006).</li><li>Jacques, M., Paradis, S. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Adhesin-receptor+interactions+in+Pasteurellaceae.">Adhesin-receptor interactions in Pasteurellaceae.</a> FEMS Microbiol Rev. 22, 45-45 (1998).</li><li>Auger, E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Host-pathogen+interactions+of+Actinobacillus+pleuropneumoniae+with+porcine+lung+and+tracheal+epithelial+cells.">Host-pathogen interactions of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae with porcine lung and tracheal epithelial cells.</a> Infect Immun. 77, 1426-1426 (2009).</li><li>Jacques, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Role+of+lipo-oligosaccharides+and+lipopolysaccharides+in+bacterial+adherence.">Role of lipo-oligosaccharides and lipopolysaccharides in bacterial adherence.</a> Trends Microbiol. 4, 408-408 (1996).</li><li>Nataro, J. P., Kaper, J. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Diarrheagenic+Escherichia+coli.">Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli.</a> Clin Microbiol Rev. 11, 142-142 (1998).</li><li>Jallat, C., Darfeuille-Michaud, A., Rich, C., Joly, B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Survey+of+clinical+isolates+of+diarrhoeogenic+Escherichia+coli:+diffusely+adhering+E.+coli+strains+with+multiple+adhesive+factors.">Survey of clinical isolates of diarrhoeogenic Escherichia coli: diffusely adhering E. coli strains with multiple adhesive factors.</a> Res Microbiol. 145, 621-621 (1994).</li></ol>

No conflicts of interest declared.

This protocol describes a standard bacterial adherence assay that can be modified to study invasion (e.g. using gentamicin protection assay3). The counting of colony forming units allows quantification, by comparison with approaches relying on standard visualization techniques under a microscope, such as Giemsa staining. The latter only gives a qualitative view of adhesion but is often a useful complement since it can differentiate various patterns of adhesion and give mechanistical insights9. For i...

<table border="1">
<tbody>
 <tr>
 <th>Reagent</th>
 <th>Company</th>
 <th>Catalogue number</th>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>High glucose DMEM</td>
 <td>GIBCO-Invitrogen </td>
 <td>12430-054</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>DDPBS</td>
 <td>GIBCO-Invitrogen </td>
 <td>14190-144</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Bovine Growth Serum</td>
 <td>Hyclone</td>
 <td>SH3054</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Penicillin/Streptomycin</td>
 <td>GIBCO-Invitrogen </td>
 <td>15140-148</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>24 well plates</td>
 <td>Corning</td>
 <td>3337</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Triton X-100</td>
 <td>Fisher Scientific</td>
 <td>BP151-100</td>
 </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

in vitro assay of bacterial adhesion onto mammalian epithelial cells

To cause infections, bacteria must colonize their host. Bacterial pathogens express various molecules or structures able to promote attachment to host cells1. These adhesins rely on interactions with host cell surface receptors or soluble proteins acting as a bridge between bacteria and host. Adhesion is a critical first step prior to invasion and/or secretion of toxins, thus it is a key event to be studied in bacterial pathogenesis. Furthermore, adhered bacteria often induce exquisitely fine-tuned cellular responses, the studies of which have given birth to the field of 'cellular microbiology'2. Robust assays for bacterial adhesion on host cells and their invasion therefore play key roles in bacterial pathogenesis studies and have long been used in many pioneer laboratories3,4. These assays are now practiced by most laboratories working on bacterial pathogenesis.
Here, we describe a standard adherence assay illustrating the contribution of a specific adhesin. We use the Escherichia coli strain 27875, a human pathogenic strain expressing the autotransporter Adhesin Involved in Diffuse Adherence (AIDA). As a control, we use a mutant strain lacking the aidA gene, 2787&Delta;aidA (F. Berthiaume and M. Mourez, unpublished), and a commercial laboratory strain of E. coli, C600 (New England Biolabs). The bacteria are left to adhere to the cells from the commonly used HEp-2 human epithelial cell line. This assay has been less extensively described before6.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vitro Assay of Bacterial Adhesion onto Mammalian Epithelial Cells at JoVE.com

In Vitro Assay of Bacterial Adhesion onto Mammalian Epithelial Cells

This protocol is a simple bacterial adhesion assay consisting in counting the numbers of bacterial colony forming units that are adhered onto cultured cells. The assay is robust, independent of the adhesin studied, and numerous variations are used in most laboratories working on bacterial pathogenesis.

In Vitro Assay of Bacterial Adhesion onto Mammalian Epithelial Cells

To cause infections, bacteria must colonize their host. Bacterial pathogens express various molecules or structures able to promote attachment to host ...

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Immunology and Infection

25.2K Views.  Groupe de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses du Porc GREMIP, Faculte de medecine veterinaire. This protocol is a simple bacterial adhesion assay consisting in counting the numbers of bacterial colony forming units that are adhered onto cultured cells. The assay is robust, independent of the adhesin studied, and numerous variations are used in most laboratories working on bacterial pathogenesis.

Video: In Vitro Assay of Bacterial Adhesion onto Mammalian Epithelial Cells

Application of a Mouse Ligated Peyer&#x2019;s Patch Intestinal Loop Assay to Evaluate Bacterial Uptake by M cells

The inside of our gut is inhabited with enormous number of commensal bacteria. The mucosal surface of the gastrointestinal tract is continuously exposed to them and occasionally to pathogens. The gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) play a key role for induction of the mucosal immune response to these microbes1, 2. To initiate the mucosal immune response, the mucosal antigens must be transported from the gut lumen across the epithelial barrier into organized lymphoid follicles such as Peyer's patches. This antigen transcytosis is mediated by specialized epithelial M cells3, 4. M cells are atypical epithelial cells that actively phagocytose macromolecules and microbes. Unlike dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages, which target antigens to lysosomes for degradation, M cells mainly transcytose the internalized antigens. This vigorous macromolecular transcytosis through M cells delivers antigen to the underlying organized lymphoid follicles and is believed to be essential for initiating antigen-specific mucosal immune responses. However, the molecular mechanisms promoting this antigen uptake by M cells are largely unknown. We have previously reported that glycoprotein 2 (Gp2), specifically expressed on the apical plasma membrane of M cells among enterocytes, serves as a transcytotic receptor for a subset of commensal and pathogenic enterobacteria, including Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), by recognizing FimH, a component of type I pili on the bacterial outer membrane 5. Here, we present a method for the application of a mouse Peyer's patch intestinal loop assay to evaluate bacterial uptake by M cells. This method is an improved version of the mouse intestinal loop assay previously described 6, 7. The improved points are as follows: 1. Isoflurane was used as an anesthetic agent. 2. Approximately 1 cm ligated intestinal loop including Peyer's patch was set up. 3. Bacteria taken up by M cells were fluorescently labeled by fluorescence labeling reagent or by overexpressing fluorescent protein such as green fluorescent protein (GFP). 4. M cells in the follicle-associated epithelium covering Peyer's patch were detected by whole-mount immunostainig with anti Gp2 antibody. 5. Fluorescent bacterial transcytosis by M cells were observed by confocal microscopic analysis. The mouse Peyer's patch intestinal loop assay could supply the answer what kind of commensal or pathogenic bacteria transcytosed by M cells, and may lead us to understand the molecular mechanism of how to stimulate mucosal immune system through M cells.

Application of a Mouse Ligated Peyer&amp;#8217;s Patch Intestinal Loop Assay to Evaluate Bacterial Uptake by M cells

M cells in a specialized follicle-associated epithelium covering Peyer&#x2019;s patches play an important role for the mucosal immunosurveillance in gut-associated lymphoid tissue. Here we described the evaluation method for bacterial transcytosis by M cells in vivo. This method provides a method to understand M-cell function in the immune system.

The inside of our gut is inhabited with enormous number of commensal bacteria. The mucosal surface of the gastrointestinal tract is continuously exposed ...

Introducing Shear Stress in the Study of Bacterial Adhesion

During bacterial infections a sequence of interactions occur between the pathogen and its host. Bacterial adhesion to the host cell surface is often the initial and determining step of the pathogenesis. Although experimentally adhesion is mostly studied in static conditions adhesion actually takes place in the presence of flowing liquid. First encounters between bacteria and their host often occur at the mucosal level, mouth, lung, gut, eye, etc. where mucus flows along the surface of epithelial cells. Later in infection, pathogens occasionally access the blood circulation causing life-threatening illnesses such as septicemia, sepsis and meningitis. A defining feature of these infections is the ability of these pathogens to interact with endothelial cells in presence of circulating blood. The presence of flowing liquid, mucus or blood for instance, determines adhesion because it generates a mechanical force on the pathogen. To characterize the effect of flowing liquid one usually refers to the notion of shear stress, which is the tangential force exerted per unit area by a fluid moving near a stationary wall, expressed in dynes/cm2. Intensities of shear stress vary widely according to the different vessels type, size, organ, location etc. (0-100 dynes/cm2). Circulation in capillaries can reach very low shear stress values and even temporarily stop during periods ranging between a few seconds to several minutes 1. On the other end of the spectrum shear stress in arterioles can reach 100 dynes/cm2 2. The impact of shear stress on different biological processes has been clearly demonstrated as for instance during the interaction of leukocytes with the endothelium 3. To take into account this mechanical parameter in the process of bacterial adhesion we took advantage of an experimental procedure based on the use of a disposable flow chamber 4. Host cells are grown in the flow chamber and fluorescent bacteria are introduced in the flow controlled by a syringe pump. We initially focused our investigations on the bacterial pathogen Neisseria meningitidis, a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for septicemia and meningitis. The procedure described here allowed us to study the impact of shear stress on the ability of the bacteria to: adhere to cells 1, to proliferate on the cell surface 5and to detach to colonize new sites 6 (Figure 1). Complementary technical information can be found in reference 7. Shear stress values presented here were chosen based on our previous experience1 and to represent values found in the literature. The protocol should be applicable to a wide range of pathogens with specific adjustments depending on the objectives of the study.

During the infection process, a key step is the adhesion of pathogens with host cells. In most instances this adhesion step occurs in the presence of mechanical stress generated by flowing liquid. We describe a technique that introduces shear stress as an important parameter in the study of bacterial adhesion.

During bacterial infections a sequence of interactions occur between the pathogen and its host. Bacterial adhesion to the host cell surface is often the ...

Quantitative In vitro Assay to Measure Neutrophil Adhesion to Activated Primary Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells under Static Conditions

The vascular endothelium plays an integral part in the inflammatory response. During the acute phase of inflammation, endothelial cells (ECs) are activated by host mediators or directly by conserved microbial components or host-derived danger molecules. Activated ECs express cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules that mobilize, activate and retain leukocytes at the site of infection or injury. Neutrophils are the first leukocytes to arrive, and adhere to the endothelium through a variety of adhesion molecules present on the surfaces of both cells. The main functions of neutrophils are to directly eliminate microbial threats, promote the recruitment of other leukocytes through the release of additional factors, and initiate wound repair. Therefore, their recruitment and attachment to the endothelium is a critical step in the initiation of the inflammatory response. In this report, we describe an in vitro neutrophil adhesion assay using calcein AM-labeled primary human neutrophils to quantitate the extent of microvascular endothelial cell activation under static conditions. This method has the additional advantage that the same samples quantitated by fluorescence spectrophotometry can also be visualized directly using fluorescence microscopy for a more qualitative assessment of neutrophil binding.

Quantitative In vitro Assay to Measure Neutrophil Adhesion to Activated Primary Human Microvascular Endothelial Cells under Static Conditions

Neutrophil adherence to the activated endothelium at sites of infection is an integral component of the host's inflammatory response. Described in this report is a neutrophil binding assay that allows for the in vitro quantitation of primary human neutrophil binding to endothelial cells activated by inflammatory mediators under static conditions.

The vascular  endothelium plays an integral part in the inflammatory response. During the  acute phase of inflammation, endothelial cells (ECs) are ...

Enteric Bacterial Invasion Of Intestinal Epithelial Cells In Vitro Is Dramatically Enhanced Using a Vertical Diffusion Chamber Model

The interactions of bacterial pathogens with host cells have been investigated extensively using in vitro cell culture methods. However as such cell culture assays are performed under aerobic conditions, these in vitro models may not accurately represent the in vivo environment in which the host-pathogen interactions take place. We have developed an in vitro model of infection that permits the coculture of bacteria and host cells under different medium and gas conditions. The Vertical Diffusion Chamber (VDC) model mimics the conditions in the human intestine where bacteria will be under conditions of very low oxygen whilst tissue will be supplied with oxygen from the blood stream. Placing polarized intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) monolayers grown in Snapwell inserts into a VDC creates separate apical and basolateral compartments. The basolateral compartment is filled with cell culture medium, sealed and perfused with oxygen whilst the apical compartment is filled with broth, kept open and incubated under microaerobic conditions. Both Caco-2 and T84 IECs can be maintained in the VDC under these conditions without any apparent detrimental effects on cell survival or monolayer integrity. Coculturing experiments performed with different C. jejuni wild-type strains and different IEC lines in the VDC model with microaerobic conditions in the apical compartment reproducibly result in an increase in the number of interacting (almost 10-fold) and intracellular (almost 100-fold) bacteria compared to aerobic culture conditions1. The environment created in the VDC model more closely mimics the environment encountered by C. jejuni in the human intestine and highlights the importance of performing in vitro infection assays under conditions that more closely mimic the in vivo reality. We propose that use of the VDC model will allow new interpretations of the interactions between bacterial pathogens and host cells.

Enteric Bacterial Invasion Of Intestinal Epithelial Cells In Vitro Is Dramatically Enhanced Using a Vertical Diffusion Chamber Model

Performing cell culture assays for investigating bacterial adhesion and invasion under aerobic conditions is usually unrepresentative of the in vivo environment. A Vertical Diffusion Chamber model allows study of interactions of the human pathogen Campylobacter jejuni with intestinal epithelial cells under more in vivo-like conditions, resulting in enhanced bacterial invasion.

The interactions of bacterial pathogens with host cells have been investigated extensively using in vitro cell culture methods. However as such cell ...

In vitro Coculture Assay to Assess Pathogen Induced Neutrophil Trans-epithelial Migration

Mucosal surfaces serve as protective barriers against pathogenic organisms.&#160;Innate immune responses are activated upon sensing pathogen leading to the infiltration of tissues with migrating inflammatory cells, primarily neutrophils.&#160;This process has the potential to be destructive to tissues if excessive or held in an unresolved state.&#160; Cocultured in vitro models can be utilized to study the unique molecular mechanisms involved in pathogen induced neutrophil trans-epithelial migration.&#160;This type of model provides versatility in experimental design with opportunity for controlled manipulation of the pathogen, epithelial barrier, or neutrophil.&#160;Pathogenic infection of the apical surface of polarized epithelial monolayers grown on permeable transwell filters instigates physiologically relevant basolateral to apical trans-epithelial migration of neutrophils applied to the basolateral surface.&#160;The in vitro model described herein demonstrates the multiple steps necessary for demonstrating neutrophil migration across a polarized lung epithelial monolayer that has been infected with pathogenic P. aeruginosa (PAO1).&#160;Seeding and culturing of permeable transwells with human derived lung epithelial cells is described, along with isolation of neutrophils from whole human blood and culturing of PAO1 and nonpathogenic K12 E. coli (MC1000).&#160; The emigrational process and quantitative analysis of successfully migrated neutrophils that have been mobilized in response to pathogenic infection is shown with representative data, including positive and negative controls.&#160;This in vitro model system can be manipulated and applied to other mucosal surfaces.&#160;Inflammatory responses that involve excessive neutrophil infiltration can be destructive to host tissues and can occur in the absence of pathogenic infections.&#160;A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that promote neutrophil trans-epithelial migration through experimental manipulation of the in vitro coculture assay system described herein has significant potential to identify novel therapeutic targets for a range of mucosal infectious as well as inflammatory diseases.

In vitro Coculture Assay to Assess Pathogen Induced Neutrophil Trans-epithelial Migration

Neutrophil trans-epithelial migration in response to mucosal bacterial infection contributes to epithelial injury and clinical disease.&#160;An in vitro model has been developed that combines pathogen, human neutrophils, and polarized human epithelial cell layers grown on transwell filters to facilitate investigations towards unraveling the molecular mechanisms orchestrating this phenomenon.

Mucosal surfaces serve as protective barriers against pathogenic organisms.&#160;Innate immune responses are activated upon sensing pathogen leading to ...

Human Neutrophil Flow Chamber Adhesion Assay

Neutrophil firm adhesion to endothelial cells plays a critical role in inflammation in both health and disease. The process of neutrophil firm adhesion involves many different adhesion molecules including members of the &beta;2 integrin family and their counter-receptors of the ICAM family. Recently, naturally occurring genetic variants in both &beta;2 integrins and ICAMs are reported to be associated with autoimmune disease. Thus, the quantitative adhesive capacity of neutrophils from individuals with varying allelic forms of these adhesion molecules is important to study in relation to mechanisms underlying development of autoimmunity. Adhesion studies in flow chamber systems can create an environment with fluid shear stress similar to that observed in the blood vessel environment in vivo. Here, we present a method using a flow chamber assay system to study the quantitative adhesive properties of human peripheral blood neutrophils to human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) and to purified ligand substrates. With this method, the neutrophil adhesive capacities from donors with different allelic variants in adhesion receptors can be assessed and compared. This method can also be modified to assess adhesion of other primary cell types or cell lines.

A method of quantitating neutrophil adhesion is reported. This method creates a dynamic flow environment similar to that encountered in a blood vessel. It allows the investigation of neutrophil adhesion to either purified adhesion molecules (ligand) or endothelial cell substrate (HUVEC) in a context similar to the in vivo environment with sheer stress.

Neutrophil firm adhesion to endothelial cells plays a critical role in inflammation in both health and disease. The process of neutrophil firm adhesion ...

Static Adhesion Assay for the Study of Integrin Activation in T Lymphocytes

T lymphocyte adhesion is required for multiple T cell functions, including migration to sites of inflammation and formation of immunological synapses with antigen presenting cells. T cells accomplish regulated adhesion by controlling the adhesive properties of integrins, a class of cell adhesion molecules consisting of heterodimeric pairs of transmembrane proteins that interact with target molecules on partner cells or extracellular matrix. The most prominent T cell integrin is lymphocyte function associated antigen (LFA)-1, composed of subunits &#945;L and &#946;2, whose target is the intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1. The ability of a T cell to control adhesion derives from the ability to regulate the affinity states of individual integrins. Inside-out signaling describes the process whereby signals inside a cell cause the external domains of integrins to assume an activated state. Much of our knowledge of these complex phenomena is based on mechanistic studies performed in simplified in&#160;vitro model systems. The T lymphocyte adhesion assay described here is an excellent tool that allows T cells to adhere to target molecules, under static conditions, and then utilizes a fluorescent plate reader to quantify adhesiveness. This assay has been useful in defining adhesion-stimulatory or inhibitory substances that act on lymphocytes, as well as characterizing the signaling events involved. Although described here for LFA-1 - ICAM-1 mediated adhesion; this assay can be readily adapted to allow for the study of other adhesive interactions (e.g.&#160;VLA-4 - fibronectin).

Static adhesion assay is a powerful tool that can be used to model the interactions between T lymphocytes and other cell types. Interactions are generated by injecting labeled T cells into wells coated with adhesion molecules, while a plate reader is used to quantify the number of adherent cells following serial washes.

T lymphocyte adhesion is required for multiple T cell functions, including migration to sites of inflammation and formation of immunological synapses with ...

Electroporation of Functional Bacterial Effectors into Mammalian Cells

The study of protein interactions in the context of living cells can generate critical information about localization, dynamics, and interacting partners. This information is particularly valuable in the context of host-pathogen interactions. Many pathogen proteins function within host cells in a variety of way such as, enabling evasion of the host immune system and survival within the intracellular environment. To study these pathogen-protein host-cell interactions, several approaches are commonly used, including: in vivo infection with a strain expressing a tagged or mutant protein, or introduction of pathogen genes via transfection or transduction. Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages. We sought a means to directly introduce exogenous proteins into cells. Electroporation is commonly used to introduce nucleic acids into cells, but has been more rarely applied to proteins although the biophysical basis is exactly the same. A standard electroporator was used to introduce affinity-tagged bacterial effectors into mammalian cells. Human epithelial and mouse macrophage cells were cultured by traditional methods, detached, and placed in 0.4 cm gap electroporation cuvettes with an exogenous bacterial pathogen protein of interest (e.g. Salmonella Typhimurium GtgE). After electroporation (0.3 kV) and a short (4 hr) recovery period, intracellular protein was verified by fluorescently labeling the protein via its affinity tag and examining spatial and temporal distribution by confocal microscopy. The electroporated protein was also shown to be functional inside the cell and capable of correct subcellular trafficking and protein-protein interaction. While the exogenous proteins tended to accumulate on the surface of the cells, the electroporated samples had large increases in intracellular effector concentration relative to incubation alone. The protocol is simple and fast enough to be done in a parallel fashion, allowing for high-throughput characterization of pathogen proteins in host cells including subcellular targeting and function of virulence proteins.

Electroporation was used to insert purified bacterial virulence effector proteins directly into living eukaryotic cells. Protein localization was monitored by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. This method allows for studies on trafficking, function, and protein-protein interactions using active exogenous proteins, avoiding the need for heterologous expression in eukaryotic cells.

The study of protein interactions in the context of living cells can generate critical information about localization, dynamics, and interacting partners. ...

In Vitro and In Vivo Model to Study Bacterial Adhesion to the Vessel Wall Under Flow Conditions

In order to cause endovascular infections and infective endocarditis, bacteria need to be able to adhere to the vessel wall while being exposed to the shear stress of flowing blood.
To identify the bacterial and host factors that contribute to vascular adhesion of microorganisms, appropriate models that study these interactions under physiological shear conditions are needed. Here, we describe an in vitro flow chamber model that allows to investigate bacterial adhesion to different components of the extracellular matrix or to endothelial cells, and an intravital microscopy model that was developed to directly visualize the initial adhesion of bacteria to the splanchnic circulation in vivo. These methods can be used to identify the bacterial and host factors required for the adhesion of bacteria under flow. We illustrate the relevance of shear stress and the role of von Willebrand factor for the adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus using both the in vitro and in vivo model.

In Vitro and In Vivo Model to Study Bacterial Adhesion to the Vessel Wall Under Flow Conditions

To study the interaction of bacteria with the blood vessels under shear stress, a flow chamber and an in vivo mesenteric intravital microscopy model are described that allow to dissect the bacterial and host factors contributing to vascular adhesion.

In order to cause endovascular infections and infective endocarditis, bacteria need to be able to adhere to the vessel wall while being exposed to the ...

Assay of Adhesion Under Shear Stress for the Study of T Lymphocyte-Adhesion Molecule Interactions

Overall, T cell adhesion is a critical component of function, contributing to the distinct processes of cellular recruitment to sites of inflammation and interaction with antigen presenting cells (APC) in the formation of immunological synapses. These two contexts of T cell adhesion differ in that T cell-APC interactions can be considered static, while T cell-blood vessel interactions are challenged by the shear stress generated by circulation itself. T cell-APC interactions are classified as static in that the two cellular partners are static relative to each other. Usually, this interaction occurs within the lymph nodes. As a T cell interacts with the blood vessel wall, the cells arrest and must resist the generated shear stress.1,2 These differences highlight the need to better understand static adhesion and adhesion under flow conditions as two distinct regulatory processes. The regulation of T cell adhesion can be most succinctly described as controlling the affinity state of integrin molecules expressed on the cell surface, and thereby regulating the interaction of integrins with the adhesion molecule ligands expressed on the surface of the interacting cell. Our current understanding of the regulation of integrin affinity states comes from often simplistic in vitro model systems. The assay of adhesion using flow conditions described here allows for the visualization and accurate quantification of T cell-epithelial cell interactions in real time following a stimulus. An adhesion under flow assay can be applied to studies of adhesion signaling within T cells following treatment with inhibitory or stimulatory substances. Additionally, this assay can be expanded beyond T cell signaling to any adhesive leukocyte population and any integrin-adhesion molecule pair.

This flow adhesion assay provides a simple, high impact model of T cell-epithelial cell interactions. A syringe pump is used to generate shear stress, and confocal microscopy captures images for quantification. The goal of these studies is to effectively quantify T cell adhesion using flow conditions.

Overall, T cell adhesion is a critical component of function, contributing to the distinct processes of cellular recruitment to sites of inflammation and ...