Isolation of Infiltrating Leukocytes from Mouse Skin Using Enzymatic Digest and Gradient Separation

Summary

This protocol describes enzymatic digestion of mouse skin in nutrient-rich medium followed by gradient separation to isolate leukocytes. Cells thus derived can be used for diverse downstream applications. This is an effective, economical, and improved alternative to tissue dissociation machines and harsher trypsin and dispase-based tissue digestion protocols.

Abstract

Dissociating murine skin into a single cell suspension is essential for downstream cellular analysis such as the characterization of infiltrating immune cells in rodent models of skin inflammation. Here, we describe a protocol for the digestion of mouse skin in a nutrient-rich solution with collagenase D, followed by separation of hematopoietic cells using a discontinuous density gradient. Cells thus obtained can be used for in vitro studies, in vivo transfer, and other downstream cellular and molecular analyses including flow cytometry. This protocol is an effective and economical alternative to expensive mechanical dissociators, specialized separation columns, and harsher trypsin- and dispase-based digestion methods, which may compromise cellular viability or density of surface proteins relevant for phenotypic characterization or cellular function. As shown here in our representative data, this protocol produced highly viable cells, contained specific immune cell subsets, and had no effect on integrity of common surface marker proteins used in flow cytometric analysis.

Introduction

Skin conditions ranging from contact dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, cellulitis, fungal infections and abscesses to non-melanoma skin cancers were found to be among the 50 most prevalent diseases worldwide, and the fourth leading global cause of non-fatal diseases in 2010¹. Accordingly, the investigation of molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying diverse skin pathologies is a necessary and active area of research. Rodent models have been remarkably useful in the understanding of inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis², psoriasis³, or Staphylococcus aureus infection⁴. Inexpensive, efficient, and s....

Protocol

Note: 8-12 week old female ND4 Swiss Webster mice, conventionally housed with free access to food and water, were used for these studies. The experimental protocol used (B13S1) was approved by Macalester College's IACUC.

1. Sensitization and Challenge with Oxazolone

1. Day 0
   1. Prepare anesthesia chamber by adding 3 ml isoflurane to absorbent towels placed beneath mesh at the bottom of a 4 L lidded glass jar. For the ND4 female mice used here, time in the chamber is 30-60 sec until the subject is adequately anesthetized; optimize anesthetic administration for the mouse strain being used.
   2. Shave each anesthetized mou....

Discussion

Characterizing changes in skin-resident leukocytes in rodent models of skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis or psoriasis is important for understanding mechanistic connections between inflammatory cell influx and disease pathology. Here we describe an economical technique to isolate leukocytes from skin tissue with basic equipment found in most biomedical research labs. This relatively rapid technique avoids the use of expensive tissue dissociation machines and custom tubes and reagents, helping to conserve resources .......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
HBSS with phenol red, without calcium, without magnesium, liquid	Sigma Aldrich	55021C	Keep sterile until day of usage.
HEPES, ≥99.5% (titration)	Sigma Aldrich	H3375
EDTA disodium salt solution	Sigma Aldrich	E7889	Keep sterile until day of usage.
Fetal Bovine Serum, USDA, Heat Inactivated, Premium Select	MidSci	S01520HI	Keep sterile until day of usage.
Percoll, pH 8.5-9.5 (25°C)	Sigma Aldrich	P1644	Keep sterile. Percoll needs to be made isotonic with sterile 10X PBS prior to use.
Trimmer Combo Kit	Kent Scientific	CL9990-1201	Use the larger trimmer for shaving the flank and back.
4-Ethoxymethylene-2-phenyl-2-oxazolin-5-one	Sigma Aldrich	E0753-10G	Dissolve in 100% EtOH at 50°C for 15 minutes on a rotating plate.
Purified anti-mouse CD16/CD32 (2.4G2)	Tonbo Biosciences	70-0161	Antibody used to block non-specific antibody binding during antibody staining for flow cytometry
anti-CD3e-BV650 (145-2C11)	Becton Dickinson	564378	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
anti-CD4-APC-eFluor780 (RM4-5)	eBioscience	47-0042-80	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
anti-CD8a-BV785 (53-6.7)	BioLegend	100749	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
anti-CD11b-eFluor450 (M1/70)	eBioscience	48-0112-80	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
anti-CD11c-eFluor450 (N418)	eBioscience	48-0114-80	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
anti-CD44-BV711 (IM7)	Becton Dickinson	563971	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
anti-CD45-FITC (30-F11)	Tonbo Biosciences	35-0451-U025	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
anti-CD45R-eFluor450 (RA3-6B2)	eBioscience	48-0452-80	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
anti-CD62L-PerCP-Cy5.5 (MEL-14)	BioLegend	104431	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
anti-Ly-6G/Ly-6C (Gr-1)-PE (RB6-8C5)	BioLegend	108407	Antibody used to stain cells for flow cytometry
Ghost Dye-BV510	Tonbo Biosciences	13-0870-T100	Viability dye for flow cytometry
LSR Fortessa	Becton Dickinson	N/A	Cell analyzer (18 parameters)
Collagenase D from Clostridium histolyticum	Roche Applied Science	11088858001	Aliquot lyophilized enzyme at 5 mg/mL in HBSS with phenol red, without calcium, and without magnesium into 1 mL aliquots.  Store immediately at -20°C for up to six months.
ND4 Swiss female mice	Harlan	0-32	8-12 weeks old; conventionally housed with free access to food and water and used according to Macalester College's IACUC guidelines.