This research was supported by ERA-CVD-2019 and ANR-JCJC-2020 to SS. We thank the Genomics and Bioinformatics facility (GBiM) from the U 1251/Marseille Medical Genetics lab and the anonymous reviewers for providing valuable comments.

The animal procedure adopted in this study was approved by the animal ethics committees of the Aix-Marseille University (C2EA-14) and was carried out according to protocols approved by the appointed national ethical committee for animal experimentation (Minist&#232;re de l&#39;Education Nationale, de l&#39;Enseignement Sup&#233;rieur et de la Recherche; Authorization Apafis N&#176;33927-2021111715507212).
1. Setting up the timed mating prior to dissection
<ol>
	<li>To generate mouse embryos, perform a timed mating between adult mice 9.5 days prior to heart region isolation. In this procedure, wild-type C57BL/6J mice aged 2-6 months were used, and timed mating was performed overnight.</li>
	<li>The next morning, check if the female mice have a vaginal plug. Consider the day the plug is identified as embryonic day (E) 0.5.</li>
</ol>
2. Tissue preparation and cell isolation
<ol>
	<li>Euthanize 2-6 months old pregnant female C57BL/6J at day 9.5 post-conception via CO2 with an increasing concentration followed by cervical dislocation. Clean the lower part of the abdomen with 70% ethanol. 
	NOTE: The use of anesthetics before cervical dislocation is not recommended as this would expose the embryos to environmental changes that could impact subsequent transcriptomic and epigenomic studies.</li>
	<li>Open the abdomen and peritoneum with scissors. Visualize the uterine horns, and use forceps to excise both horns.</li>
	<li>Place the horns in a Petri dish containing cold complete medium with 1% FBS. While no specific volume is required, care must be taken to ensure that the embryos are completely immersed in the medium. An approximate volume of 10 mL per 10 cm Petri dish is appropriate.</li>
	<li>Under the stereomicroscope set at 5x magnification and using forceps, remove the endometrial tissue, placenta, and yolk sac from each embryo.</li>
	<li>Place the embryos in a Petri dish with cold complete medium with 1% FBS. Dissect the embryonic heart region, as described on the schematic embryo illustrated in Figure 1, in cold complete medium.</li>
	<li>Pool together the heart regions dissected from five mouse embryos in a 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tube. Prechill swinging bucket centrifuges to 4 &#176;C.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge at 300x g for 1 min at RT in a swinging bucket centrifuge. Remove the supernatant, and wash the tissues by adding 1 mL of tissue culture-grade PBS.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge at 300 x g for 1 min at RT. Remove the supernatant, and repeat the washing steps for a total of two washes. Repeat the wash twice, replacing the PBS with 0.05% trypsin/EDTA (1x).</li>
	<li>For tissue digestion, add 50 &#181;L of 0.25% trypsin/EDTA for 10 min at 37 &#176;C. Apply gentle mechanical dissociation after 5 min by up and down gestures using a wide-orifice filter tip.</li>
	<li>Inactivate trypsin digestion activity by adding 350 &#181;L of complete medium to the dissociated cells. Pass the resuspended cells through a 40 &#181;m cell strainer.</li>
</ol>
3. Cell counting and viability assessment
NOTE: The cell count and viability are critical parameters for the success of single-cell experiments. The snATAC-seq approach is sensitive to minor variations in cell number. Too few cells lead to over-digestion of the chromatin, which results in a higher number of reads and the mapping of inaccessible chromatin regions (noise). Similarly, having too many cells generates high-molecular-weight fragments that are hard to sequence. For the accurate determination of the cell and nuclei concentrations, the cell count and viability were assessed by two different methods.
<ol>
	<li>Perform a trypan blue assay for cell counting, as described below.
	<ol>
		<li>Vortex 0.4% trypan blue staining solution, spin for 10 s at room temperature at 2,000 x g, and transfer 10 &#181;L into a microtube.</li>
		<li>Using a pipette, mix the cell suspension, and add 10 &#181;L of suspension to the already aliquoted 10 &#181;L of trypan blue solution. Mix carefully 10 times with a pipette.</li>
		<li>Transfer 10 &#181;L of the stained cells into a counting slide. Place the slide into the counter to automatically calculate the cell concentration and viability.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Perform a fluorescence-based assessment of mortality as described below. 
	NOTE: This assay is based on the use of fluorescent dyes (ethidium homodimer-1, EthD-1, and calcein AM) to evaluate the cell viability. A commercially available kit was used, and the provider&#39;s instructions were followed for the appropriate preparation and usage.
	<ol>
		<li>Prepare a 10 &#181;M EthD-1 solution by adding 5 &#181;L of the supplied 2 mM EthD-1 stock solution to 1 mL of sterile tissue-culture grade D-PBS, and vortex for 5 s to ensure complete mixing.</li>
		<li>Transfer 2.5 &#181;L of the supplied 4 mM calcein AM stock solution to the already prepared EthD-1 solution. Vortex for 5 s to ensure complete mixing.</li>
		<li>Add 10 &#181;L of the resulting 10 &#181;M EthD-1 and 10 &#181;M calcein AM working solution to 10 &#181;L of cell suspension. 
		NOTE: Calcein is highly susceptible to hydrolysis in aqueous solutions, so use this working solution within 1 day.</li>
		<li>Transfer 10 &#181;L of the stained cells onto a counting slide. Insert the slide into the automated fluorescent cell counter. Count the live cells using a GFP filter and the dead cells with an RFP filter. 
		NOTE: The two counting methods gave similar cell counts and viability, and the total number of freshly dissociated cells was estimated to average around 20,000 cells per embryonic heart region (0.06 mm3).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
4. Cell freezing
<ol>
	<li>Centrifuge the cell suspension at 500 x g for 5 min at 4 &#176;C. Carefully remove the supernatant without touching the bottom of the tube, and resuspend the pellet in 1 mL of chilled freezing medium.</li>
	<li>Transfer the cell suspension into a pre-cooled cryovial, and place the cryovial in a pre-cooled freezing container.</li>
	<li>Place the container at &#8722;80 &#9702;C for 4 h to 8 h. Transfer the cryovial to liquid nitrogen for downstream single-nucleus RNA and ATAC sequencing experiments. 
	&#8203;NOTE: The cryovial should be transported on dry ice prior to usage. In our experience, the cells may be stored in liquid nitrogen for at least 6 months with no loss of cell viability. The storage temperature should be kept below &#8722;150 &#176;C all times to prevent the formation of ice crystals.</li>
</ol>
5. Cell thawing and removal of dead cells
<ol>
	<li>Place the cryovials in a 37 &#176;C water bath for 1-2 min. Remove it when a tiny crystal remains in the cryovial.</li>
	<li>Add 1 mL of pre-warmed (37 &#176;C) complete medium. Mix with a pipette three times. Transfer the suspension to a 15 mL conical tube containing 10 mL of warm complete medium.</li>
	<li>Pass the entire cell suspension over a 30 &#181;m strainer. Rinse the strainer with 1-2 mL of warm complete medium, and collect the flowthrough in the same conical tube.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge at 300 x g for 5 min, and remove supernatant. Wash one time with PBS, and transfer the cell suspension into a 1.5 mL microtube.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge at 300 x g for 5 min, and remove the supernatant without disrupting the cell pellet.</li>
	<li>Add 100 &#181;L of the provided magnetic microbeads to the pelleted cells, and homogenize five times using a wide-bore pipette tip. Incubate for 15 min at RT.</li>
	<li>In the meantime, rinse the magnetic separation column (capacity: 1 x 107 to 2 x 108 cells) with 500 &#181;L of 1x binding buffer.</li>
	<li>Once the incubation is completed, dilute the cell suspension containing the microbeads with 500 &#181;L of 1x binding buffer.</li>
	<li>Apply the cell suspension (0.6&#160;&#181;L) to the prepared magnetic separation column. The flow-through is the negatively selected live cell fraction, and the magnetically retained fraction is the positively selected dead cells.</li>
	<li>Collect the live cell effluent in a 15 mL centrifuge tube. Rinse the 1.5 mL microtube that contained the cell suspension and the column with 2 mL of 1x binding buffer, and collect the effluent in the same 15 mL tube.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge at 300 x g for 5 min. Remove the supernatant without disrupting the cell pellet.</li>
	<li>Add 1 mL of the PBS-BSA solution, and mix gently by pipetting five times using a wide-orifice pipette tip. Transfer the cell suspension into a 1.5 mL microtube.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge at 300 x g for 5 min. Remove the supernatant without disrupting the cell pellet.</li>
	<li>Add 1 mL of PBS-BSA to resuspend the pellet, and repeat the washing step for a total of two washes.</li>
	<li>Resuspend the cells in 100 &#181;L of PBS-BSA solution. Mix gently by pipetting 10 times.</li>
	<li>Determine the concentration and viability of the cells using the previously described methods (step 3.1 and step 3.2). To proceed to the next step, ensure a cell count of &#8805;100,000 cells. See Figure 2 for representative results. 
	&#8203;NOTE: Cryopreservation results in a loss of approximately 40% of the initial starting material of live cells. Depending on the starting number of cells, bead separation on a magnetic column results in high cell viability but divides the total number of cells by two-fold to five-fold. The utilization of a column-based magnetic kit to remove the dead cells is advised only when sufficient starting material is available.</li>
</ol>
6. Nuclei isolation
NOTE: snATAC and snRNA-seq combined are performed with a suspension of clean and intact nuclei. The optimization of the lysis conditions (lysis time and NP40 concentration) for the used cell type is recommended. The optimal lysis timepoint and detergent concentration are those that result in the maximum number of cells being lysed without disrupting the nuclear morphology. The loss of cells/nuclei can be reduced by using a swinging bucket centrifuge instead of a fixed-angle centrifuge. To minimize nuclei retention on plastics, it is recommended to use low-retention pipette tips and centrifuge tubes. This can increase the nuclei recovery. The coating of the pipette tips and centrifuge tubes with 5% BSA is a less expensive but more time-consuming alternative.
<ol>
	<li>Clean the working place and materials with 70% ethanol and RNase removing solution.</li>
	<li>Prechill swinging bucket centrifuges to 4 &#176;C. Freshly prepare lysis buffer, lysis dilution buffer, 0.1x lysis buffer, and wash buffer (see Table 1). Maintain the buffers on ice.</li>
	<li>Centrifuge the cell suspension at 500 x g for 5min at 4 &#176;C in a swinging bucket centrifuge. Gently remove all the supernatant without touching the bottom of the tube to avoid dislodging the cell pellet.</li>
	<li>Add 100 &#181;L of chilled 0.1x lysis buffer. Gently mix by pipetting 10 times. Incubate for 5 min on ice.</li>
	<li>Add 1 mL of chilled wash buffer, and gently mix by pipetting five times. Centrifuge at 500 x g for 5 min at 4 &#176;C. Remove the supernatant without disrupting the nuclei pellet.</li>
	<li>Repeat the washes with chilled wash buffer for a total of three washes. Prepare the diluted nuclei buffer. After resuspension, keep the nuclei stock solution on ice.</li>
</ol>
7. Quality and quantity assessments of the isolated nuclei
NOTE: Based on the initial cell count and estimating approximately 50% nuclei loss during cell lysis, resuspend the appropriate number of cells in cold diluted nuclei buffer. The calculation of the resuspension volume with chilled diluted nuclei buffer is based on the targeted nuclei recovery and the corresponding nuclei stock concentrations recommended by the manufacturer&#39;s user guide. See an example of this calculation in Supplementary Protocol 1.
<ol>
	<li>Based on the initial cell count and estimating approximately 50% nuclei loss during cell lysis, resuspend the appropriate number of cells in cold diluted nuclei buffer.</li>
	<li>Determine the actual nuclei concentration. Mix 2 &#181;L of nuclei stock solution with 8 &#181;L of diluted nuclei buffer and add the mix to the pre-aliquoted 10 &#181;L of trypan blue or EthD-1/calceinAM working solution. Count the nuclei using an automated cell counter. Less than 5% of the cells should be viable. See Figure 3 for representative results.</li>
	<li>Calculate the volume of nuclei stock and the volume of diluted nuclei buffer to obtain a total volume of 5 &#181;L at the recommended concentration for the transposition reaction (refer to the manufacturer&#39;s user guide). Proceed immediately to the transposition reaction according to the user guide17. 
	&#8203;NOTE: All the steps from the transposition reaction to the construction of the ATAC and GEX libraries were performed according to the user guide of the kit used for snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq combined17.</li>
</ol>
8. Quality analysis of the snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq libraries
<ol>
	<li>Before proceeding to next-generation sequencing, validate the quality and size distribution of the final snATAC-seq and gene expression GEX libraries. Assess the quality and quantity of sequences identified in the libraries using fragment analysis systems. See Figure 4 for representative quality assessment results. 
	NOTE: The final trace of the snATAC-seq libraries should show the periodicity of nucleosome winding, and the sizes should range from 200 bp to several Kbp, whereas the sizes in the gene expression library should range from 300 bp to 600 bp.</li>
</ol>

Nuclei Isolation from Mouse Cardiac Progenitor Cells at Single-Cell Resolution

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C., Zaffran, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Outflow+tract+formation-embryonic+origins+of+conotruncal+congenital+heart+disease.">Outflow tract formation-embryonic origins of conotruncal congenital heart disease.</a> Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease. 8 (4), 42 (2021).</li><li>Hao, Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Integrated+analysis+of+multimodal+single-cell+data.">Integrated analysis of multimodal single-cell data.</a> Cell. 184 (13), 3573-3587 (2021).</li><li>Bai, H., Lin, M., Meng, Y., Bai, H., Cai, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=An+improved+CUT&amp;RUN+method+for+regulation+network+reconstruction+of+low+abundance+transcription+factor.">An improved CUT&amp;RUN method for regulation network reconstruction of low abundance transcription factor.</a> Cellular Signalling. 96, 110361 (2022).</li></ol>

The authors have nothing to disclose.

The analysis of the cellular composition of the developing heart by combined snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq studies provides a deeper understanding of the origin of congenital heart disease26. Several research laboratories have studied the effects of cardiac tissue cryopreservation on snRNA-seq27. Conducting snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq using fresh micro-dissected tissue from mouse models of human disease can be logistically challenging when comparing different experimental condition...

Among birth defects, congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common, occurring in about 1% of live births each year1,2. Genetic mutations are identified in only a minority of cases, implying that other causes, such as abnormalities in gene regulation, are involved in the etiology of CHD2,3. Cardiac development is a complex process of diverse and interacting cell types, making the identification of causal noncoding mutations and their effects on gene regulation challenging. Organogenesis of the heart begins with cellular progenitors that give rise to different subtypes of cardiac cells, including myocardial, fibroblast, epicardial, and endocardial cells4,5.&#160;Single-cell genomics is emerging as a key method for studying heart development and assessing the impact of cellular heterogeneity in health and disease6. The development of multi-omics methods for the simultaneous measurement of different parameters and the expansion of computational pipelines has facilitated the discovery of cell types and subtypes in the normal and diseased heart6. This article describes a reliable single-nucleus isolation protocol for frozen cardiac progenitor cells obtained from mouse embryos that is compatible with downstream snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq (as well as snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq combined)7,8,9.
ATAC-seq is a robust method that allows the identification of regulatory open chromatin regions and the positioning of nucleosomes10,11. This information is used to draw conclusions about the location, identity, and activity of transcription factors. The activity of chromatin factors, including remodelers, as well as the transcriptional activity of RNA polymerase, can, thus, be analyzed since the method is highly sensitive for measuring quantitative changes in chromatin structure1,2. Thus, ATAC-seq provides a robust and impartial approach to uncovering the mechanisms controlling transcriptional regulation in a specific cell type. ATAC-seq protocols have also been validated to measure chromatin accessibility in single cells, revealing variability in the chromatin architecture within cell populations10,12,13.
Although there have been notable advances in the field of single cells in recent years, the main difficulty is the processing of the fresh samples needed to perform these experiments14. To circumvent this difficulty, various tests have been carried out with the aim of conducting analyses such as snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq with frozen cardiac tissue or cells15,16.
Several platforms have been used to analyze single-cell genomics data17. The widely used platforms for single-cell gene expression and ATAC profiling are platforms for multiple microfluidic droplet encapsulation17. As these platforms use microfluidic chambers, debris or aggregates can clog the system, resulting in non-usable data. Thus, the success of single-cell studies depends on the accurate isolation of individual cells/nuclei.
The protocol presented here uses a similar approach to recent studies using snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq to understand congenital heart defects18,19,20,21,22,23. This procedure utilizes the enzymatic dissociation of freshly microdissected cardiac tissue followed by the cryopreservation of mouse cardiac progenitor cells. After thawing, the viable cells are purified and processed for nuclear isolation. In this work, this protocol was successfully used to obtain snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq data from the same nuclear preparation of mouse cardiac progenitor cells.

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			<td>Sterile and RNase-free</td>
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			<td>Falcon 15 mL Conical Centrifuge Tubes&#160;</td>
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			<td>5067-4626</td>
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			<td>130-042-201</td>
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			<td>NovaSeq 6000 S2</td>
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			<td>Single Index Kit N Set A, 96 rxn</td>
			<td>10X Genomics</td>
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			<td>Standard 90mm Petri dish Sterilin</td>
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			<td>Trypan Blue stain (0.4%)</td>
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			<td>25300054</td>
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			<td>Tween20</td>
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			<td>P9416-50ML&#160;</td>
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			<td>Wide orifice filtered pipette tips 200 &#956;l</td>
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			<td>1152-965-008-9</td>
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			<td>ZEISS SteREO Discovery.V8</td>
			<td>ZEISS</td>
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nuclei isolation from mouse cardiac progenitor cells for epigenome and gene expression profiling at single-cell resolution

The developing heart is a complex structure containing various progenitor cells controlled by complex regulatory mechanisms. The examination of the gene expression and chromatin state of individual cells allows the identification of the cell type and state. Single-cell sequencing approaches have revealed a number of important characteristics of cardiac progenitor cell heterogeneity. However, these methods are generally restricted to fresh tissue, which limits studies with diverse experimental conditions, as the fresh tissue must be processed at once in the same run to reduce the technical variability. Therefore, easy and flexible procedures to produce data from methods such as single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) and the single-nucleus assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (snATAC-seq) are needed in this area. Here, we present a protocol to rapidly isolate nuclei for subsequent single-nuclei dual-omics (combined snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq). This method allows the isolation of nuclei from frozen samples of cardiac progenitor cells and can be combined with platforms that use microfluidic chambers.

Compared to the preparation of single-cell suspensions for single-cell approaches, the preparation of single-nuclei suspensions is much more challenging and requires a higher degree of resolution and processing. The key factor for successful combined snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq is a clean and intact nuclei suspension. The protocol for efficient nuclei isolation must be adapted to each tissue type and condition (fresh or frozen). Here, an optimized protocol is described for the isolation of nuclei from frozen mouse embryonic...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Nuclei Isolation from Mouse Cardiac Progenitor Cells for Epigenome and Gene Expression Profiling at Single-Cell Resolution at JoVE.com

Author Spotlight: Nuclei Isolation from Mouse Cardiac Progenitor Cells for Epigenome and Gene Expression Profiling at Single-Cell Resolution  

Here, we present a protocol describing cell nuclei preparation. After microdissection and enzymatic dissociation of cardiac tissue into single cells, the progenitor cells were frozen, followed by isolation of pure viable cells, which were used for single-nucleus RNA sequencing and the single-nucleus assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing analyses.

Nuclei Isolation from Mouse Cardiac Progenitor Cells for Epigenome and Gene Expression Profiling at Single-Cell Resolution

The developing heart is a complex structure containing various progenitor cells controlled by complex regulatory mechanisms. The examination of the gene ...

nuclei-isolation-from-mouse-cardiac-progenitor-cells-for-epigenome

Research

JoVE Journal

Developmental Biology

2.2K Views.  Aix-Marseille University. Here, we present a protocol describing cell nuclei preparation. After microdissection and enzymatic dissociation of cardiac tissue into single cells, the progenitor cells were frozen, followed by isolation of pure viable cells, which were used for single-nucleus RNA sequencing and the single-nucleus assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing analyses. 

Video: Author Spotlight: Nuclei Isolation from Mouse Cardiac Progenitor Cells for Epigenome and Gene Expression Profiling at Single-Cell Resolution  

Derivation of Cardiac Progenitor Cells from Embryonic Stem Cells

Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) have the capacity to differentiate into cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells (SMC), and endothelial cells and hold great promise in cell therapy against heart disease. Among various methods to isolate CPCs, differentiation of embryonic stem cell (ESC) into CPCs attracts great attention in the field since ESCs can provide unlimited cell source. As a result, numerous strategies have been developed to derive CPCs from ESCs. In this protocol, differentiation and purification of embryonic CPCs from both mouse and human ESCs is described. Due to the difficulty of using cell surface markers to isolate embryonic CPCs, ESCs are engineered with fluorescent reporters activated by CPC-specific cre recombinase expression. Thus, CPCs can be enriched by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). This protocol illustrates procedures to form embryoid bodies (EBs) from ESCs for CPC specification and enrichment. The isolated CPCs can be subsequently cultured for cardiac lineage differentiation and other biological assays. This protocol is optimized for robust and efficient derivation of CPCs from both mouse and human ESCs.

In this protocol, derivation of cardiac progenitor cells from both mouse and human embryonic stem cells will be illustrated. A major strategy in this protocol is to enrich cardiac progenitor cells with flow cytometry using fluorescent reporters engineered into the embryonic stem cell lines.

Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) have the capacity to differentiate into cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells (SMC), and endothelial cells and hold great ...

Isolation and Characterization of Single Cells from Zebrafish Embryos

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a powerful model organism to study vertebrate development. Though many aspects of zebrafish embryonic development have been described at the morphological level, little is known about the molecular basis of cellular changes that occur as the organism develops. With recent advancements in microfluidics and multiplexing technologies, it is now possible to characterize gene expression in single cells. This allows for investigation of heterogeneity between individual cells of specific cell populations to identify and classify cell subtypes, characterize intermediate states that occur during cell differentiation, and explore differential cellular responses to stimuli. This study describes a protocol to isolate viable, single cells from zebrafish embryos for high throughput multiplexing assays. This method may be rapidly applied to any zebrafish embryonic cell type with fluorescent markers. An extension of this method may also be used in combination with high throughput sequencing technologies to fully characterize the transcriptome of single cells. As proof of principle, the relative abundance of cardiac differentiation markers was assessed in isolated, single cells derived from nkx2.5 positive cardiac progenitors. By evaluation of gene expression at the single cell level and at a single time point, the data support a model in which cardiac progenitors coexist with differentiating progeny. The method and work flow described here is broadly applicable to the zebrafish research community, requiring only a labeled transgenic fish line and access to microfluidics technologies.

This protocol describes a method for isolating single cells from zebrafish embryos, enriching for cells of interest, capturing zebrafish cells in microfluidic based single cell multiplex systems, and assessing gene expression from single cells.

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a powerful model organism to study vertebrate development. Though many aspects of zebrafish embryonic development have been ...

Isolation of Perivascular Multipotent Precursor Cell Populations from Human Cardiac Tissue

Multipotent mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) were conventionally isolated, through their plastic adherence, from primary tissue digests whilst their anatomical tissue location remained unclear. The recent discovery of defined perivascular and MSC cell marker expression by perivascular cells in multiple tissues by our group and other researchers has provided an opportunity to prospectively isolate and purify specific homogenous subpopulations of multipotent perivascular precursor cells. We have previously demonstrated the use of fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS) to purify microvascular CD146+CD34- pericytes and vascular CD34+CD146- adventitial cells from human skeletal muscle. Herein we describe a method to simultaneously isolate these two perivascular cell subsets from human myocardium by FACS, based on the expression of a defined set of cell surface markers for positive and negative selections. This method thus makes available two specific subpopulations of multipotent cardiac MSC-like precursor cells for use in basic research and/or therapeutic investigations.

Human cardiac tissue harbours multipotent perivascular precursor cell populations that may be suitable for myocardial regeneration. The technique described here allows for the simultaneous isolation and purification of two multipotent stromal cell populations associated with native blood vessels, i.e. CD146+CD34- pericytes and CD34+CD146- adventitial cells, from the human myocardium.

Multipotent mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) were conventionally isolated, through their plastic adherence, from primary tissue digests whilst their ...

Imaging Cleared Embryonic and Postnatal Hearts at Single-cell Resolution

Single clonal tracing and analysis at the whole-heart level can determine cardiac progenitor cell behavior and differentiation during cardiac development, and allow for the study of the cellular and molecular basis of normal and abnormal cardiac morphogenesis. Recent emerging technologies of retrospective single clonal analyses make the study of cardiac morphogenesis at single cell resolution feasible. However, tissue opacity and light scattering of the heart as imaging depth is increased hinder whole-heart imaging at single cell resolution. To overcome these obstacles, a whole-embryo clearing system that can render the heart highly transparent for both illumination and detection must be developed. Fortunately, in the last several years, many methodologies for whole-organism clearing systems such as CLARITY, Scale, SeeDB, ClearT, 3DISCO, CUBIC, DBE, BABB and PACT have been reported. This lab is interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cardiac morphogenesis. Recently, we established single cell lineage tracing via the ROSA26-CreERT2; ROSA26-Confetti system to sparsely label cells during cardiac development. We adapted several whole embryo-clearing methodologies including Scale and CUBIC (clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails and computational analysis) to clear the embryo in combination with whole mount staining to image single clones inside the heart. The heart was successfully imaged at single cell resolution. We found that Scale can clear the embryonic heart, but cannot effectively clear the postnatal heart, while CUBIC can clear the postnatal heart, but damages the embryonic heart by dissolving the tissue. The methods described here will permit the study of gene function at a single clone resolution during cardiac morphogenesis, which, in turn, can reveal the cellular and molecular basis of congenital heart defects.

We describe a protocol to volumetrically image fluorescent protein labeled cells deep inside intact embryonic and postnatal hearts. Utilizing tissue-clearing methods in combination with whole mount staining, single fluorescent protein-labeled cells inside an embryonic or postnatal heart can be imaged clearly and accurately.

Single clonal tracing and analysis at the whole-heart level can determine cardiac progenitor cell behavior and differentiation during cardiac development, ...

Isolation of Endothelial Progenitor Cells from Human Umbilical Cord Blood

The existence of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in peripheral blood and its involvement in vasculogenesis was first reported by Ashara and colleagues1. Later, others documented the existence of similar types of EPCs originating from bone marrow2,3. More recently, Yoder and Ingram showed that EPCs derived from umbilical cord blood had a higher proliferative potential compared to ones isolated from adult peripheral blood4,5,6. Apart from being involved in postnatal vasculogenesis, EPCs have also shown promise as a cell source for creating tissue-engineered vascular and heart valve constructs7,8. Various isolation protocols exist, some of which involve the cell sorting of mononuclear cells (MNCs) derived from the sources mentioned earlier with the help of endothelial and hematopoietic markers, or culturing these MNCs with specialized endothelial growth medium, or a combination of these techniques9. Here, we present a protocol for the isolation and culture of EPCs using specialized endothelial medium supplemented with growth factors, without the use of immunosorting, followed by the characterization of the isolated cells using Western blotting and immunostaining.

The goal of this protocol is to isolate endothelial progenitor cells from umbilical cord blood. Some of the applications include using these cells as a biomarker for identifying patients with cardiovascular risk, treating ischemic diseases, and creating tissue-engineered vascular and heart valve constructs.

The existence of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in peripheral blood and its involvement in vasculogenesis was first reported by Ashara and ...

Quantitative Whole-mount Immunofluorescence Analysis of Cardiac Progenitor Populations in Mouse Embryos

The use of ever-advancing imaging techniques has contributed broadly to our increased understanding of embryonic development. Pre-implantation development and organogenesis are two areas of research that have benefitted greatly from these advances, due to the high quality of data that can be obtained directly from imaging pre-implantation embryos or ex vivo organs. While pre-implantation embryos have yielded data with especially high spatial resolution, later stages have been less amenable to three-dimensional reconstruction. Obtaining high-quality 3D or volumetric data for known embryonic structures in combination with fate mapping or genetic lineage tracing will allow for a more comprehensive analysis of the morphogenetic events taking place during embryogenesis.
This protocol describes a whole-mount immunofluorescence approach that allows for the labeling, visualization, and quantification of progenitor cell populations within the developing cardiac crescent, a key structure formed during heart development. The approach is designed in such a way that both cell- and tissue-level information can be obtained. Using confocal microscopy and image processing, this protocol allows for three-dimensional spatial reconstruction of the cardiac crescent, thereby providing the ability to analyze the localization and organization of specific progenitor populations during this critical phase of heart development. Importantly, the use of reference antibodies allows for successive masking of the cardiac crescent and subsequent quantitative measurements of areas within the crescent. This protocol will not only enable a detailed examination of early heart development, but with adaptations should be applicable to most organ systems in the gastrula to early somite stage mouse embryo.

Here, we describe a protocol for whole mount immunofluorescence and image-based quantitative volumetric analysis of early stage mouse embryos. We present this technique as a powerful approach to qualitatively and quantitatively assess cardiac structures during development, and propose that it may be widely adaptable to other organ systems.

The use of ever-advancing imaging techniques has contributed broadly to our increased understanding of embryonic development. Pre-implantation development ...

Single-cell Photoconversion in Living Intact Zebrafish

Animal and plant tissue is composed of distinct populations of cells. These cells interact over time to build and maintain the tissue and can cause disease when disrupted. Scientists have developed clever techniques to investigate characteristics and natural dynamics of these cells within intact tissue by expressing fluorescent proteins in subsets of cells. However, at times, experiments require more selected visualization of cells within the tissue, sometimes at the single-cell or population-of-cells manner. To achieve this and visualize single cells within a population of cells, scientists have utilized single-cell photoconversion of fluorescent proteins. To demonstrate this technique, we show here how to direct UV light to an Eos-expressing cell of interest in an intact, living zebrafish. We then image those photoconverted Eos+ cells 24 h later to determine how they changed in the tissue. We describe two techniques: single cell photoconversion and photoconversions of populations of cell. These techniques can be used to visualize cell-cell interactions, cell-fate and differentiation, and cell migrations, making it a technique that is applicable in numerous biological questions.

Here, we present a protocol to show how cell photoconversion is achieved through UV exposure to specific areas expressing the fluorescent protein, Eos, in living animals.

Animal and plant tissue is composed of distinct populations of cells. These cells interact over time to build and maintain the tissue and can cause ...

Single-cell Transcriptomic Analyses of Mouse Pancreatic Endocrine Cells

Pancreatic endocrine cells, which are clustered in islets, regulate blood glucose stability and energy metabolism. The distinct cell types in islets, including insulin-secreting &#946; cells, are differentiated from common endocrine progenitors during the embryonic stage. Immature endocrine cells expand via cell proliferation and mature during a long postnatal developmental period. However, the mechanisms underlying these processes are not clearly defined. Single-cell RNA-sequencing is a promising approach for the characterization of distinct cell populations and tracing cell lineage differentiation pathways. Here, we describe a method for the single-cell RNA-sequencing of isolated pancreatic &#946; cells from embryonic, neonatal and postnatal pancreases.

We describe a method for the isolation of endocrine cells from embryonic, neonatal and postnatal pancreases followed by single-cell RNA sequencing. This method allows analyses of pancreatic endocrine lineage development, cell heterogeneity and transcriptomic dynamics.

Pancreatic endocrine cells, which are clustered in islets, regulate blood glucose stability and energy metabolism. The distinct cell types in islets, ...

Laser Capture Microdissection of Mouse Embryonic Cartilage and Bone for Gene Expression Analysis

Laser capture microdissection (LCM) is a powerful tool to isolate specific cell types or regions of interest from heterogeneous tissues. The cellular and molecular complexity of skeletal elements increases with development. Tissue heterogeneity, such as at the interface of cartilaginous and osseous elements with each other or with surrounding tissues, is one obstacle to the study of developing cartilage and bone. Our protocol provides a rapid method of tissue processing and isolation of cartilage and bone that yields high quality RNA for gene expression analysis. Fresh frozen tissues of mouse embryos are sectioned and brief cresyl violet staining is used to visualize cartilage and bone with colors distinct from surrounding tissues. Slides are then rapidly dehydrated, and cartilage and bone are isolated subsequently by LCM. The minimization of exposure to aqueous solutions during this process maintains RNA integrity. Mouse Meckel&rsquo;s cartilage and mandibular bone at E16.5 were successfully collected and gene expression analysis showed differential expression of marker genes for osteoblasts, osteocytes, osteoclasts, and chondrocytes. High quality RNA was also isolated from a range of tissues and embryonic ages. This protocol details sample preparation for LCM including cryoembedding, sectioning, staining and dehydrating fresh frozen tissues, and precise isolation of cartilage and bone by LCM resulting in high quality RNA for transcriptomic analysis.

This protocol describes laser capture microdissection for the isolation of cartilage and bone from fresh frozen sections of the mouse embryo. Cartilage and bone can be rapidly visualized by cresyl violet staining and collected precisely to yield high quality RNA for transcriptomic analysis.

Laser capture microdissection (LCM) is a powerful tool to isolate specific cell types or regions of interest from heterogeneous tissues. The cellular and ...

Preparation of Small RNA Libraries for Sequencing from Early Mouse Embryos

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important for the complex regulation of cell fate decisions and developmental timing. In vivo studies of the contribution of miRNAs during early development are technically challenging due to the limiting cell number. Moreover, many approaches require a miRNA of interest to be defined in assays such as northern blotting, microarray, and qPCR. Therefore, the expression of many miRNAs and their isoforms have not been studied during early development. Here, we demonstrate a protocol for small RNA sequencing of sorted cells from early mouse embryos to enable relatively unbiased profiling of miRNAs in early populations of neural crest cells. We overcome the challenges of low cell input and size selection during library preparation using amplification and gel-based purification. We identify embryonic age as a variable accounting for variation between replicates and stage-matched mouse embryos must be used to accurately profile miRNAs in biological replicates. Our results suggest that this method can be broadly applied to profile the expression of miRNAs from other lineages of cells. In summary, this protocol can be used to study how miRNAs regulate developmental programs in different cell lineages of the early mouse embryo.

We describe a technique for profiling microRNAs in early mouse embryos. This protocol overcomes the challenge of low cell input and small RNA enrichment. This assay can be used to analyze changes in miRNA expression over time in different cell lineages of the early mouse embryo.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important for the complex regulation of cell fate decisions and developmental timing. In vivo studies of the contribution of miRNAs ...