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In This Article

  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Protocol
  • Representative Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Materials
  • References
  • Reprints and Permissions

Summary

The protocol presented here enables the identification and high-dimensional analysis of muscle stem and progenitor cells by single-cell mass cytometry and their purification by FACS for in-depth studies of their function. This approach can be applied to study regeneration dynamics in disease models and test the efficacy of pharmacological interventions.

Abstract

Skeletal muscle regeneration is a dynamic process driven by adult muscle stem cells and their progeny. Mostly quiescent at a steady state, adult muscle stem cells become activated upon muscle injury. Following activation, they proliferate, and most of their progeny differentiate to generate fusion-competent muscle cells while the remaining self-renews to replenish the stem cell pool. While the identity of muscle stem cells was defined more than a decade ago, based on the co-expression of cell surface markers, myogenic progenitors were identified only recently using high-dimensional single-cell approaches. Here, we present a single-cell mass cytometry (cytometry by time of flight [CyTOF]) method to analyze stem cells and progenitor cells in acute muscle injury to resolve the cellular and molecular dynamics that unfold during muscle regeneration. This approach is based on the simultaneous detection of novel cell surface markers and key myogenic transcription factors whose dynamic expression enables the identification of activated stem cells and progenitor cell populations that represent landmarks of myogenesis. Importantly, a sorting strategy based on detecting cell surface markers CD9 and CD104 is described, enabling prospective isolation of muscle stem and progenitor cells using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) for in-depth studies of their function. Muscle progenitor cells provide a critical missing link to study the control of muscle stem cell fate, identify novel therapeutic targets for muscle diseases, and develop cell therapy applications for regenerative medicine. The approach presented here can be applied to study muscle stem and progenitor cells in vivo in response to perturbations, such as pharmacological interventions targeting specific signaling pathways. It can also be used to investigate the dynamics of muscle stem and progenitor cells in animal models of muscle diseases, advancing our understanding of stem cell diseases and accelerating the development of therapies.

Introduction

Skeletal muscle constitutes the largest tissue by mass in the body and regulates multiple functions, from eyesight to respiration, from posture to movement, as well as metabolism1. Therefore, maintaining skeletal muscle integrity and function is critical to health. Skeletal muscle tissue, which consists of tightly packed bundles of multinucleated myofibers surrounded by a complex network of nerves and blood vessels, exhibits remarkable regenerative potential1,2.

The main drivers of skeletal muscle regeneration are adult muscle stem cells (MuSCs). Also known a....

Protocol

Animal procedures were approved by the Danish animal experiments inspectorate (protocol # 2022-15-0201-01293), and experiments were performed in compliance with the institutional guidelines of Aarhus University. Analgesia (buprenorphine) is provided in drinking water 24 h prior to injury for the mice to adapt to the taste. Supplying buprenorphine in drinking water is continued for 24 h post-injury. Together with a subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of buprenorphine at the time of acute muscle injury, buprenorphine in the drin.......

Representative Results

Here we present an overview of the experimental setup for using this combined approach which includes (i) high-dimensional CyTOF analysis of an acute injury time course by notexin injection to study the cellular and molecular dynamics of stem and progenitor cells in skeletal muscle (Figure 1, top scheme); and (ii) FACS of stem and progenitor cells using two cell surface markers, CD9 and CD104, to isolate these populations and perform in-depth studies of their function (F.......

Discussion

Skeletal muscle regeneration is a dynamic process that relies on the function of adult stem cells. While prior studies have focused on the role of muscle stem cells during regeneration, their progeny in vivo has been understudied, primarily due to a lack of tools to identify and isolate these cell populations15,16,17,18. Here, we present a method to simultaneously identify and isolate .......

Acknowledgements

We thank the members of the FACS Core Facility in the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University for technical support. We thank Alexander Schmitz, the manager of the Mass Cytometry Unit at the Department of Biomedicine, for discussion and support. Scientific Illustrations were created using Biorender.com. This work was funded by an Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfond (AUFF) Starting Grant and a Start Package grant (0071113) from Novo Nordisk Foundation to E.P.

....

Materials

NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
15 mL centrifuge tubeFisher Scientific07-200-886
20 G needleKDMKD-fine 900123
28 G, 0.5 mL insulin syringe BD329461
29 G, 0.3 mL insulin syringeBD324702
3 mL syringesTerumo medicalMDSS03SE
40 µm cell strainersFisher Scientific11587522
5 mL polypropylene tubes Fisher Scientific352002
5 mL polystyrene test tubes with 35 µm cell strainerFalcon352235
5 mL syringesTerumo medicalSS05LE1
50 mL centrifuge tubeFisher Scientific05-539-13
5-Iodo-2-deoxyuridine (IdU)MerckI7125-5g
anti-CD104 FITC (clone: 346-11A)Biolegend123605Stock = 0.5 mg/mL
anti-CD11b APC-Cy7 (Clone: M1/70)Biolegend101226Stock = 0.2 mg/mL
anti-CD31 APC-Cy7 (clone: 390)Biolegend102440Stock = 0.2 mg/mL
anti-CD45 APC-Cy7 (Clone: 30-F11)Biolegend103116Stock = 0.2 mg/mL
anti-CD9 APC (clone: KMC8)ThermoFisher Scientific17-0091-82Stock = 0.2 mg/mL
anti-Sca1 (Ly6A/E) APC-Cy7 (clone: D7)Biolegend108126Stock = 0.2 mg/mL
anti-α7 integrin PE (clone: R2F2))UBC AbLab67-0010-05Stock = 1 mg/mL
BD FACS Aria III (4 laser) instrumentBD BiosciencesN/A405, 488, 561, and 633 nm laser
Bovine Serum AlbuminSigma AldrichA7030-50G
Buprenorphine 0.3 mg/mLCevaVnr 054594
CD104 (Clone: 346-11A)BD Biosciences553745Dy162; In-house conjugated
CD106/VCAM-1 (Clone: 429 MVCAM.A)Biolegend105701Er170; In-house conjugated
CD11b (Clone: M1/70)BD Biosciences553308Nd148; In-house conjugated
CD29/Integrin β1 (Clone: 9EG7)BD Biosciences553715Tm169; In-house conjugated
CD31 (Clone: MEC 13.3)BD Biosciences557355Sm154; In-house conjugated
CD34 (Clone: RAM34)BD Biosciences551387Lu175; In-house conjugated
CD44 (Clone: IM7)BD Biosciences550538Yb171; In-house conjugated
CD45 (Clone: MEC 30-F11)BD Biosciences550539Sm147; In-house conjugated
CD9 (Clone: KMC8)Thermo Fisher Scientific14-0091-85Yb174; In-house conjugated
CD90.2/Thy1.2 (Clone: 30-H12)BD Biosciences553009Nd144; In-house conjugated
CD98 (Clone: H202-141)BD Biosciences557479Pr141; In-house conjugated
Cell Acquisition Solution/Maxpar CAS-bufferStandard Biotools201240
Cell-ID Intercalator-IridiumStandard Biotools201192Bcationic nucleic acid intercalator
CisplatinMerckP4394Pt195
Cisplatin (cis-Diammineplatinum(II) dichloride)MerckP4394
Clear 1.5 mL tubeFisher Scientific11926955
Collagenase, Type IIWorthington Biochemical CorporationLS004177
Counting chamberMerckBR718620-1EA
CXCR4/SDF1 (Clone: 2B11/CXCR4 )BD Biosciences551852Gd158; In-house conjugated
DAPI (1 mg/mL)BD Biosciences564907
Dark 1.5 mL tubeFisher Scientific15386548
Dispase IIThermo Fisher Scientific17105041
Dissection ScissorsFine Science Tools14568-09
DMEM (low glucose, with pyruvate)Thermo Fisher Scientific11885-092
EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt)MerckE5134Na2EDTA-2H20
EQ Four Element Calibration Beads (EQ beads)Standard Biotools201078Calibration beads
Fetal Bovine Serum, qualified, Brazil originThermo Fisher Scientific10270106
Forceps Dumont #5SFFine Science Tools11252-00
Forceps Dumont #7Hounisen.com1606.3350
Goat serumThermo Fisher Scientific16210-072
Helios CyTOF systemStandard BiotoolsN/A
Horse Serum, heat inactivated, New Zealand originThermo Fisher Scientific26-050-088
IdUMerckI7125I127
Iridium-IntercalatorStandard Biotools201240Ir191/193
Isoflurane/Attane VetScanVetVnr 055226
MethanolFisher ScientificM/3900/17
Myf5 (Clone: C-20)Santa Cruz BiotechnologySc-302Yb173; In-house conjugated
MyoD (Clone: 5.8A)BD Biosciences554130Dy164; In-house conjugated
MyoG (Clone: F5D)BD Biosciences556358Gd160; In-house conjugated
Nalgene Rapid-Flow Sterile Disposable Bottle Top 0.20 μM PES FiltersThermo Fisher Scientific595-4520
NotexinLatoxanL8104Resuspend to 50 µg/ml in sterile PBS. Keep stocks (e.g. 50 µl) at -20 °C
Nutrient mixture F-10 (Ham's)Thermo Fisher Scientific31550031
pAkt (Clone: D9E)Standard Biotools3152005ASm152
Pax7 (Clone: PAX7)Santa Cruz BiotechnologySc-81648Eu153; In-house conjugated
Penicillin-Streptomycin (10,000 U/mL) (Pen/Strep)Thermo Fisher Scientific15140122
PES Filter Units 0.20 μMFisher Scientific15913307
PES Syringe FilterFisher Scientific15206869
Petri dishSarstedt82.1472.001
PFA 16% EM gradeMP Biomedicals219998320
Potassium chloride (KCl)Fisher Scientific10375810
Potassium phosphate, monobasic, anhydrous (KH2PO4)Fisher Scientific10573181
pRb (Clone: J112-906)Standard Biotools3166011AEr166
pS6 kinase (Clone: N7-548)Standard Biotools3172008AYb172
Sca-1 (Clone: E13-161.7)BD Biosciences553333Nd142; In-house conjugated
Sodium AzideSigma AldrichS2002
Sodium chloride (NaCl)Fisher Scientific10553515
Sodium phosphate, dibasic, heptahydrate (Na2HPO4-6H2O)MerckS9390
Sterile saline solution 0.9%FreseniusB306414/02
α7 integrin (Clone: 3C12)MBL internationalK0046-3Ho165; In-house conjugated

References

  1. Mukund, K., Subramaniam, S. Skeletal muscle: A review of molecular structure and function in health and disease. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Syst Biol Med. 12 (1), e1462 (2020).
  2. Feige, P., Brun, C. E., Ritso, M., Rudnicki, M. A.

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