Histology Basics and Cell Death Detection in Honeybee Tissue

Summary

Immunohistochemical methods are useful in honeybee research to detect and assess the level of apoptosis and necrosis in the midgut and hypopharyngeal glands of adult bees.

Abstract

Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) inside the hive (nurse workers and other hive bees) and outside the hive (foragers) are exposed to climate and weather changes, various pesticides, pathogens, and malnutrition, mainly entering through the mouth and primarily affecting the digestive tracts of adult bees. To understand and prevent the effects of such external and internal stressors on honeybees, one useful research method is the immunohistochemical method. A basic protocol is described to prepare the midgut (ventriculus) and hypopharyngeal glands (HPGs) of adult bees for histological analysis. A detailed methodology is described to assess the level of cell damage and distinguish necrosis from programmed cell death (apoptosis) as a natural process of tissue regeneration. The results of adult honeybee treatment with oxalic acid and pesticides (insecticide and acaricide) and the determination of cell death in the ventriculus and HPGs are presented. The pros and cons of the methodology are also discussed.

Introduction

Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) are, among other wild pollinators, the most important pollinators of agricultural plants. Over thousands of years, the changing environment has influenced bees to adapt their morphology, physiology, behavior, and tolerance to several pathogens and parasites. Therefore, honeybees have developed a highly diverse range of species and subspecies around the globe¹. These results are consistent with previous findings, that there is genetic variation in the honeybee's digestive tract structure, but also suggest that alterations of the midgut are due to environmental factors^2,

Protocol

1. Basic histology for honeybee research

1. Dissection of honeybee tissue
   NOTE: For the dissection of worker bees, use a dissecting microscope with an LED light source. The most useful magnification is ~20x.
   1. Manipulation and dissection
      1. Carefully take a worker bee with forceps and put it on ice (or into the freezer at -20 °C) for 2 min to immobilize it²². Pin the bee on the Petri dish diagonally through the uppermost back portion of th.......

Discussion

In living organisms, cell death is defined as apoptosis or necrosis²⁵ and can be accompanied by autophagy²⁶. The difference between apoptotic and necrotic cells is that apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death and appears in normal cells, whereas necrosis occurs due to lethal conditions (e.g., accident, disease)^27,28. Apoptosis can be detected using assay kits based on the TUNEL technique (detection ofDNA f.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
2-Propanol
ApopTag Peroxidase kit (ApopTag Peroxidase In Situ Apoptosis Detection)	Sigma-Aldrich	S7100	Assay B, https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/SI/en/product/mm/s7100?gclid=CjwKCA jw7vuUBhBUEiwAEdu2pPanI9SE j81ZTl-nLHEoxXAv7ViKwPA_QRx H7fciMRNcYwR7lbPQbhoCqcQQA vD_BwE; Positive controls included in S7101
Covers
DeadEnd Colorimetric TUNEL system	Promega	G7360	Assay A, https://worldwide.promega.com/products/cell-health-assays/apoptosis-assays/deadend-colorimetric-tunel-system/?catNum=G7360
Dissecting microscope  (for bee dissection)	Zeiss
Distilled water
Embedding cassette
EnVision System alkaline phosphatase kit	Dako
Eosin Y Solution	Sigma-Aldrich		alcoholic
Ethanol			95% (or less pure), 90%, 80%
Faramount mounting medium, aqueous	Dako		mounting medium
Flattening table	Leica	HI1220
Forceps  (for bee dissection)	Fine science tools	11294-00	Standard #4
Formalin 10%			Formaldehyde
Hematoxylin	Sigma-Aldrich
HistoChoice Clearing Agent	Sigma-Aldrich		clearing agent
Hydrogen peroxidase 3%
Incubator	BioRad
Insect pins  (for bee dissection)	Entosphinx	44594	Insect pins stainless steel – white, size 2
ISCDDK, AP (In Situ Cell Death Detecteion Kit, Alkaline Phosphatase)	Roche	11684809910	Assay C, https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/deepweb/assets/sigmaaldrich/product/documents/362/737/11684809910b ul.pdf
KH2PO4
Lab clock
Light microscope	Leica
Microscope slides			Box with the slides must be preserved in a plastic wrap to prevent dust
Microtome	Leica
Modular tissue embedding station	Leica
Na2HPO4
NaCl
Paraformaldehyde 4%
Paraplast	Leica
Pasteur pipettes			1.5 mL; 3 mL
PBS
Petri dish  (for bee dissection)			Filled with condensation silicon  (Xantoprene L blue and Universal liquid plus activator)
Proteinase K	Merck	21627
Ringers' solution  (for bee dissection)			7.5 g NaCL, 2.38 g Na2HPO4, 2.72 g KH2PO4, 1 L distilled water
Scissors  (for bee dissection)	Fine science tools	1406-09, 14061-09	Straight and curved, 9 cm
Universal liquid plus activator  (for bee dissection)	Kulzer
Watchmaker’s forceps (for bee dissection)	Fine science tools	91100-12
Water bath	Leica
Watercolor brush			2x
Xantoprene L blue  (for bee dissection)	Kulzer