Summary
Abstract
Introduction
Protocol
Representative Results
Discussion
Acknowledgements
Materials
References
Immunology and Infection
Described herein is a protocol to isolate and analyze the infiltrating leukocytes of tissues at the maternal-fetal interface (uterus, decidua, and placenta) of mice. This protocol maintains the integrity of most cell surface markers and yields enough viable cells for downstream applications including flow cytometry analysis.
Immune tolerance in pregnancy requires that the immune system of the mother undergoes distinctive changes in order to accept and nurture the developing fetus. This tolerance is initiated during coitus, established during fecundation and implantation, and maintained throughout pregnancy. Active cellular and molecular mediators of maternal-fetal tolerance are enriched at the site of contact between fetal and maternal tissues, known as the maternal-fetal interface, which includes the placenta and the uterine and decidual tissues. This interface is comprised of stromal cells and infiltrating leukocytes, and their abundance and phenotypic characteristics change over the course of pregnancy. Infiltrating leukocytes at the maternal-fetal interface include neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells, mast cells, T cells, B cells, NK cells, and NKT cells that together create the local micro-environment that sustains pregnancy. An imbalance among these cells or any inappropriate alteration in their phenotypes is considered a mechanism of disease in pregnancy. Therefore, the study of leukocytes that infiltrate the maternal-fetal interface is essential in order to elucidate the immune mechanisms that lead to pregnancy-related complications. Described herein is a protocol that uses a combination of gentle mechanical dissociation followed by a robust enzymatic disaggregation with a proteolytic and collagenolytic enzymatic cocktail to isolate the infiltrating leukocytes from the murine tissues at the maternal-fetal interface. This protocol allows for the isolation of high numbers of viable leukocytes (>70%) with sufficiently conserved antigenic and functional properties. Isolated leukocytes can then be analyzed by several techniques, including immunophenotyping, cell sorting, imaging, immunoblotting, mRNA expression, cell culture, and in vitro functional assays such as mixed leukocyte reactions, proliferation, or cytotoxicity assays.
Immune tolerance in pregnancy is a period when distinctive changes occur within the immune system of the mother. These changes allow the mother to tolerate the fetus, a semi-allogenic graft1. The fetus expresses paternal major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens2, and fetal cells have been found in the maternal circulation3; however, the fetus is not rejected4,5. This enigma is not fully understood.
The most recent hypothesis states that maternal-fetal tolerance is created during coitus and fecundation6,7 and maintained to sustain a full-term pregnancy8-10. A breakdown ....
Before working with the samples mentioned in this protocol, animal ethical approval must be given by the Local Research Ethics Committee and the Institutional Review Boards. When working with animal blood, cells, or hazardous agents as mentioned in this protocol, the proper biosafety and laboratory safety actions must be followed.
1. Mouse Handling and Tissue Collection
The dissection of murine tissues from the maternal-fetal interface is shown in Figure 1; this procedure includes opening the peritoneal cavity (Figure 1A,B), uterine horns (Figure 1C) including the implantation sites (Figure 1D), and the collection of the uterine tissues (Figure 1E), placenta (Figure 1F), and decidual tissues (Figure 1G) at 16.5 dpc. Figure 2 shows the morphology of.......
The collection of consistent data that records the abundance and phenotypic characteristics of infiltrating leukocytes at the maternal-fetal interface is essential to understanding the pathogenesis of pregnancy-related complications. Several techniques have been described that facilitate the isolation of infiltrating leukocytes from the murine tissues at the maternal-fetal interface throughout pregnancy31,38,39,43-46. However, each technique is different, uses different enzymes or enzyme combinations, requires.......
NGL was supported by the Wayne State University Perinatal Initiative in Maternal, Perinatal and Child Health. We gratefully acknowledge Maureen McGerty and Amy E. Furcron (Wayne State University) for their critical reading of the manuscript.
....Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
Magentic Cell Separation | |||
MS Columns | |||
Cell Separator | |||
30μm pre separation filters | |||
Multistand | |||
15mL safe lock conical tubes | |||
MACS Buffer | (0.5% bovine serum albumin, 2mM EDTA and 1X PBS) | ||
Reagents | |||
Anti-mouse CD16/CD32 | |||
Anti-mouse extracellular antibodies | (Table 1) | ||
Sodium azide | |||
Bovine serum albumin | (BSA) | ||
LIVE/DEAD viability dye | |||
Fixation buffer solution | |||
FACS Buffer | (1% bovine serum albumin, 0.5% sodium azide, and 1X PBS ph 7.2) | ||
Trypan Blue Solution 0.4% | |||
Fetal bovine serum | |||
Additional Instruments | |||
Incubator with shaker | |||
Flow cytometer | |||
Centrifuge | |||
Vacuum system | |||
Incubator | |||
Water bath | |||
Cell counter | |||
Microscope |
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