Development of this protocol was funded by private donations directed to the Parkinson's Institute Brain Donation Program.

The brain donation registration includes documentation by the registrant of their intent to donate. The autopsy permission for tissue retrieval is provided by the next of kin as permitted by law. Research studies using collected autopsy specimens are reviewed by the institutional review board (IRB) to ensure compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations.
NOTE: Leptomeninges samples are collected by the brain dissector or neuropathologist during a brain...

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	<li>Decimo, I., Fumagalli, G., Berton, V., Krampera, M., Bifari, F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Meninges:+from+protective+membrane+to+stem+cell+niche.">Meninges: from protective membrane to stem cell niche.</a> Am J Stem Cells. 1 (2), 92-105 (2012).</li><li>Bifari, F., 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=Novel+stem/progenitor+cells+with+neuronal+differentiation+potential+reside+in+the+leptomeningeal+niche.">Novel stem/progenitor cells with neuronal differentiation potential reside in the leptomeningeal niche.</a> J Cell Mol Med. 13 (9B), 3195-3208 (2009).</li><li>Bifari, F., 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=Meninges+harbor+cells+expressing+neural+precursor+markers+during+development+and+adulthood.">Meninges harbor cells expressing neural precursor markers during development and adulthood.</a> Front Cell Neurosci. 9, 383 (2015).</li><li>Decimo, I., Bifari, F., Krampera, M., Fumagalli, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Neural+stem+cell+niches+in+health+and+diseases.">Neural stem cell niches in health and diseases.</a> Curr Pharm Des. 18 (13), 1755-1783 (2012).</li><li>Hayashi, H., 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=Meningeal+cells+induce+dopaminergic+neurons+from+embryonic+stem+cells.">Meningeal cells induce dopaminergic neurons from embryonic stem cells.</a> Eur J Neurosci. 27 (2), 261-268 (2008).</li><li>Nakagomi, T., 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=Leptomeningeal-derived+doublecortin-expressing+cells+in+poststroke+brain.">Leptomeningeal-derived doublecortin-expressing cells in poststroke brain.</a> Stem Cells Dev. 21 (13), 2350-2354 (2012).</li><li>Hjelm, B. 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J., Barlow, C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Multisystem+Lewy+body+disease+and+the+other+parkinsonian+disorders.">Multisystem Lewy body disease and the other parkinsonian disorders.</a> Nature Genetics. 47 (12), 1378-1384 (2015).</li><li>Vangipuram, M., Ting, D., Kim, S., Diaz, R., Sch&#252;le, B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Skin+punch+biopsy+explant+culture+for+derivation+of+primary+human+fibroblasts.">Skin punch biopsy explant culture for derivation of primary human fibroblasts.</a> J Vis Exp. (77), e3779 (2013).</li><li>Byers, B., 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=SNCA+triplication+Parkinson's+patient's+iPSC-derived+DA+neurons+accumulate+alpha-synuclein+and+are+susceptible+to+oxidative+stress.">SNCA triplication Parkinson's patient's iPSC-derived DA neurons accumulate alpha-synuclein and are susceptible to oxidative stress.</a> PLoS One. 6 (11), e26159 (2011).</li><li>Sanders, L. H., 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=LRRK2+mutations+cause+mitochondrial+DNA+damage+in+iPSC-derived+neural+cells+from+Parkinson's+disease+patients:+reversal+by+gene+correction.">LRRK2 mutations cause mitochondrial DNA damage in iPSC-derived neural cells from Parkinson's disease patients: reversal by gene correction.</a> Neurobiol Dis. 62, 381-386 (2014).</li><li>Beevers, J. 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The authors have nothing to disclose.

This protocol describes a simple and robust protocol to derive a meningeal fibroblast culture from human postmortem leptomeninges collected in conjunction with a brain donation. There are very few descriptions of protocols to derive cell cultures from postmortem human material. Two studies describe skin-derived fibroblast cultures7,8,9, one study describes dura samples10, and another describes non-cryopre...

Meninges consist of three membranes that protect the brain: dura mater, arachnoid and pia mater. More recently, it has been recognized that meninges also play an important role in brain development and brain homeostasis1. Meninges are derived from mesenchymal and neural crest-derived cells and interestingly, it has been shown that progenitor cells residing in meninges can give rise to neurons in vitro and after transplantation in vivo2,3,4. Meninges cultures have been also successfully used as feeder layers, as they possess stromal cell-derived inducing activity for differentiation of embryonic stem cells into dopaminergic neurons5. Moreover, leptomeninges have the potential to directly differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes under ischemic conditions6.

For this protocol, human postmortem meninges samples are collected from the arachnoid and pia mater, collectively called the leptomeninges, and are procured as part of a human brain donation for research purposes. Dissection of the brain is performed within 24 h of death and the leptomeninges sample is placed in cold growth media for further processing within the next 6-8 h as illustrated here in this protocol.
This protocol describes the dissection and preparation of human meninges samples for the development of patient primary leptomeninges cell culture. The tissue is cut into 25-30 pieces of approximately 3 mm x 3 mm squares. Three pieces are placed in each 6-well gelatin-coated well and held down with round glass coverslips. The meninges dissection takes about 25-35 min. The main challenge with this culture is sterility as the brain procurement, transport, and dissection are generally not performed under sterile conditions. Therefore, it is important to supplement the culture media with a cocktail of penicillin, streptomycin, and amphotericin B and use multi-well dishes to separately culture tissue pieces.
Outgrowth of meningeal fibroblasts occurs usually within the first week. Media is changed every two to three days until cells are confluent and the cells are enzymatically passaged. The meningeal fibroblasts are cryopreserved at 1 million cells per mL/vial in cryopreservation media. With this protocol, 20-30 million meningeal fibroblasts can be derived in 6-8 weeks for cryopreservation. Downstream applications of these meningeal fibroblasts are primary cultures for disease research, direct neuronal differentiation or derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells from the leptomeninges for understanding of disease mechanisms and for drug development.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="1256">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;width:459px;">Corning Petri dishes</td>
			<td style="width:187px;">Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:127px;">351029</td>
			<td style="width:485px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Nunc 6-well plate</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>14-832-11</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">15-mm cover slips</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td colspan="2">12-545-83 15CIR-1D</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Scalpels, sterile blade, No. 15</td>
			<td>Miltex</td>
			<td>4-415</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Curved precision tip forceps</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>16-100-122</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Serological pipettes</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-678-11E</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Pasteur pipettes</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>22-230490</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Gelatin</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>G1890-100G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Phosphate Buffer Solution</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>SH30264.02</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Corning 500 mL filter unit</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>430770</td>
			<td>Combine media components and filter.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="24">
			<td height="24" style="height:24px;">Nunc Cell Culture Treated Flasks with Filter Caps, T175 cm2&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>178883</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;">Name</td>
			<td>Company</td>
			<td>Catalog Number</td>
			<td>Comments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="23">
			<td height="23" style="height:23px;">Growth Media</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;">Hyclone DMEM</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>SH30081.02</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Hyclone FBS</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>SH30910.03</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">MEM Non-Essential Amino Acids Solution (100x)</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>11140-050</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">GlutaMAX Supplement (100x)</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>35050-061</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Sodium Pyruvate (100 mM)</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>11360-070</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Penicillin-Streptomycin (10,000 U/mL)</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>15140-122</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Amphotericin B (Yellow Solution/250 &#181;g/mL)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP264520</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Bambanker Freeze 120 mL</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>NC9582225</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;">Name</td>
			<td>Company</td>
			<td>Catalog Number</td>
			<td>Comments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="23">
			<td height="23" style="height:23px;">Fibronectin Staining</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="22">
			<td height="22" style="height:22px;">8 well chamber slides&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>1256518</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">20% paraformaldehyde&#160;</td>
			<td>Electron Microscopy Sciences</td>
			<td>15713</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Triton X-100&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>T8787</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">100% Glycerol&#160;</td>
			<td>BioRad</td>
			<td>9455</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">100% normal goat serum&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>101098-382</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Anti-Fibronectin antibody [F1]</td>
			<td>Abcam</td>
			<td>ab32419</td>
			<td>1:300 dilution in blocking solution</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Anti-SERPINH1</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>S5950-200ul</td>
			<td>1:250 dilution in blocking solution</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Anti-SOX2</td>
			<td>Millipore</td>
			<td>MAB4343</td>
			<td>1:100 dilution in blocking solution</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Anti-Nestin</td>
			<td>Millipore</td>
			<td>MAB5326</td>
			<td>1:200 dilution in blocking solution</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Anti-TUJ1</td>
			<td>Covance</td>
			<td>MMS-435P</td>
			<td>1:1000 dilution in blocking solution</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Alexa Fluor 488 anti-rabbit</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>A11029</td>
			<td>1:400 dilution in blocking solution; (green channel; Ex/Em2 495/519 nm)&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Alexa Fluor 555 anti-mouse</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>A21424</td>
			<td>1:400 dilution in blocking solution; (red channel; Ex/Em2 590/617 nm)&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Hoechst 33342 stain</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher</td>
			<td>H3570</td>
			<td>dilute to a final concentration of 1.0 &#956;g/ml; (blue channel; Ex/Em2 358/461 nm)&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td colspan="2" height="21" style="height:21px;">Suppliers are suggestions, similar products from alternative vendors can be used as well.</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

derivation of leptomeninges explant cultures from postmortem human brain donors

Even though great progress has been made in the clinical characterization of Parkinson&#39;s disease, several studies report that the diagnosis of Parkinson&#39;s disease is not pathologically confirmed in up to 25% of clinically diagnosed Parkinson&#39;s disease. Therefore, tissue collected from clinically diagnosed patients with idiopathic Parkinson&#39;s disease can have a high rate of misdiagnosis; hence in vitro studies from such tissues to study Parkinson&#39;s disease as a preclinical model can become futile.
By collecting postmortem human leptomeninges with a confirmed neuropathological diagnosis of Parkinson&#39;s disease and characterized by nigrostriatal cell loss and intracellular protein inclusions called Lewy bodies, one can be certain that clinically observed parkinsonism is not caused by another underlying disease process (e.g. tumor, arteriosclerosis).
This protocol presents the dissection and preparation of postmortem human leptomeninges for derivation of a meningeal fibroblast culture. This procedure is robust and has a high success rate. The challenge of the culture is sterility as the brain procurement is generally not performed under sterile conditions. Therefore, it is important to supplement the culture media with a cocktail of penicillin, streptomycin, and amphotericin B.
The derivation of meningeal fibroblasts from autopsy-confirmed cases with Parkinson&#39;s disease provides the foundation for in vitro modeling of Parkinson&#39;s disease. Meningeal fibroblasts appear 3-9 days after sample preparation and about 20-30 million cells can be cryopreserved in 6-8 weeks. The meningeal fibroblast culture is homogenous and the cells express fibronectin, a commonly used marker to identify meninges.

When the leptomeninges processing protocol has been successful, outgrowth of meningeal fibroblasts is first observed three to nine days after dissection, although this can depend on the length of post-mortem interval for the brain. Figure 1 demonstrates meningeal fibroblast cultures of four different donors. Figure 1A shows a leptomeninges piece held down by a glass cover slip (dark diagonal line) and fibroblast outgrowth around the tissue four days after...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Derivation of Leptomeninges Explant Cultures from Postmortem Human Brain Donors at JoVE.com

Derivation of Leptomeninges Explant Cultures from Postmortem Human Brain Donors

The leptomeninges explant culture protocol from human postmortem brain is a technically robust and simple way to derive fibronectin-positive meningeal fibroblasts within 6-8 weeks and cryopreserve approximately 20-30 million cells.

Even though great progress has been made in the clinical characterization of Parkinson&#39;s disease, several studies report that the diagnosis of ...

I'm Birgitt Schule, the Director of the Brain Donation Program at the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center. In this video, we describe a technique for an explant cell culture and duration of primary fibroblast from leptomeninges of postmortem human brain from patients with Parkinson's disease. These fibroblasts can be used for variety of applications, including cell-based assays.This is important, because we can study cell lines from autopsy-proven cases of sporadic Parkinson's disease with Lewy body pathology. Begin by placing all required materials into the tissue culture hood. All objects entering the hood must be sprayed with 70%ethanol and wiped down.The first step is to transfer the meninges from the tube to the cutting dish. Start by pouring approximately 10 milliliters of phosphate-buffered saline into a sterile 10-centimeter cutting dish. Here you can see the meninges.Using sterile forceps, carefully transfer the meninges into the cutting dish. Perform this step slowly to prevent ripping. The next step is to wash the meninges in PBS to remove as much blood as possible.If your sample is too bloody, you may consider transferring it to another cutting dish. Add another 10 milliliters of PBS into a fresh 10-centimeter dish. Repeat this wash to continue removing blood from the meninges.Finally, transfer the meninges into a fresh 10-centimeter dish containing PBS. When finished, cover the dish and transfer it to the dissecting microscope in the laminar flow Hood. This next step is to continue sectioning the meninges into smaller pieces.Using two sterile scalpels, gently separate the blood vessels from the meninges with a shallow scraping motion. Prepare a region large enough to cut roughly 18 3-millimeter by 3-millimeter pieces, as shown in this image. Then, take the scalpel and, using a rocking motion, section the prepared region into 3-millimeter by 3-millimeter pieces.It is easier to do this in a stepwise process by first cutting the meninges into larger pieces and then cutting those pieces into smaller sections. Cover the cutting dish, and transfer it back into the tissue culture hood. Next, prepare to transfer the meninges into a six-well tissue culture plate that has been pretty coated with 1 milliliter of 0.1 percent gelatin for 30 to 60 minutes.Add one milliliter of meninges media into each well. Then, with sterile forceps, transfer three to four meninges pieces into the center of each well. The cells grown on this plate will be a passage zero.The next step uses coverslips to ensure that the meninges pieces are stationary and remain in contact with the culture dish. Place a sterile 15-millimeter circular coverslip over the meninges pieces. If necessary, reposition the meninges pieces with a coverslip.Then, using the forceps, firmly press down on the coverslip to ensure that the pieces are touching the plate. This image shows the meninges pieces held in place with a coverslip. Place the cover over the six-well plate and carefully transfer the plate into an incubator set to 37 degrees Celsius and 5%carbon dioxide.After two days in culture, add an additional one milliliter of fresh meninges media to each well. At seven days, aspirate the media. Then, refill each well with 2 milliliters of fresh media.After day seven, continue to replenish the wells with 2 milliliters of fresh media every other day. This image shows the initial day of the meninges pieces and culture under an inverted microscope. After roughly six to nine days, cellular attachment in the first outgrowth can be observed.Between 15 to 19 days, the cell number increases and growth becomes denser. Meningeal fibroblasts are characterized by the expression of fibronectin. These images show cultured meningeal cells that have been stained and are positive for fibronectin.After watching this video, you should have a good understanding of how to derive leptomeninges explant cultures from postmortem human brain donors. This technique provides a simple and robust way to derive meningeal fibroblast within three to six weeks, and allows to bank 15 to 20 million cells at a low passage number.

derivation-leptomeninges-explant-cultures-from-postmortem-human-brain

Research

JoVE Journal

Neuroscience

8.1K visualizações.  Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center. I'm Birgitt Schule, the Director of the Brain Donation Program at the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center. In this video, we describe a technique for an explant cell culture and duration of primary fibroblast from leptomeninges of postmortem human brain from patients with Parkinson's disease. These fibroblasts can be used for variety of applications, including cell-based assays.This is important, because we can study cell lines from autopsy-proven cases of sporadic Parkinson's di...