Optimized Protocol for Intestinal Swiss Rolls and Immunofluorescent Staining of Paraffin Embedded Tissue

Summary

The intestine is vital for digestion and absorption. Each region-duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon-serves distinct functions due to unique cellular structures. Studying intestinal physiology demands meticulous tissue analysis. This protocol outlines tissue fixation and processing using the Swiss roll technique, ensuring accurate immunostaining through proper tissue preservation and orientation.

Abstract

The intestine is a complex organ composed of the small and the large intestines. The small intestine can be further divided into duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. Each anatomical region of the intestine has a unique function that is reflected by differences in cellular structure. Investigating changes in the intestine requires an in-depth analysis of different tissue regions and cellular alterations. To study the intestine and visualize large pieces of tissue, researchers commonly use a technique known as intestinal Swiss rolls. In this technique, the intestine is divided into each anatomical region and fixed in a flat orientation. Then, the tissue is carefully rolled and processed for paraffin embedding. Proper tissue fixation and orientation is an often-overlooked laboratory technique but is critically important for downstream analysis. Additionally, improper Swiss rolling of intestinal tissue can damage the fragile intestinal epithelium, leading to poor tissue quality for immunostaining. Ensuring well-fixed and properly oriented tissue with intact cellular structures is a crucial step that ensures optimal visualization of intestinal cells. We present a cost-effective and simple method for making Swiss rolls to include all sections of the intestine in a single paraffin-embedded block. We also describe optimized immunofluorescence staining of intestinal tissue to study various aspects of the intestinal epithelium. The following protocol provides researchers with a comprehensive guide to obtaining high-quality immunofluorescence images through intestinal tissue fixation, Swiss-roll technique, and immunostaining. Employing these refined approaches preserves the intricate morphology of the intestinal epithelium and fosters a deeper understanding of intestinal physiology and pathobiology.

Introduction

The cellular architecture of the intestine poses a unique challenge in maintaining its structural integrity when intestinal tissue is being preserved for immunostaining. The small intestine is made up of elongated fingerlike structures known as villi¹. These villi often become malformed during embedding processes. Ensuring that researchers have techniques for properly embedding intestines to achieve cross sections, allowing visualization of all regions of the intestine, as well as the layers that make up the intestine (i.e., muscularis propria, mucosa, and the serosa), is crucial for robust experimental analysis². Inadeq....

Protocol

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Medical University of South Carolina approved all animal care, maintenance, and treatment. Intestinal tissue was collected from adult C57BL/6J mice (males and females 3-5 months old, weighing about 30 g) for use in the present study.

1. Intestinal tissue fixation

1. Carefully dissect out the entire intestine from an euthanized mouse and place it in a weigh boat or Petri dish containing phosphate-buffered saline (P.......

Discussion

Here, we present an optimized method for tissue fixation using the Swiss roll technique to preserve intestinal architecture and promote accurate immunostaining. Once mastered, this technique can be used to investigate a wide variety of research questions involving intestinal physiology and cell biology¹⁹. Several optimized Swiss rolling methods have been published and are very useful^20,21. An advantage of this technique is the ease of accu.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
β-CATENIN	GeneTex	GTX101435
Cellulose filter paper	Cytiva	10427804	Thick Whatman paper
Charged glass slides	Thermo Fisher Scientific	23888114
Coverslip	Epredia	152440
Dissecting pins size 00	Phusis	B082DH4TZF
E-CADHERIN	R&D Systems	AF748
Freezer gloves	Tempshield	UX-09113-02
Heating block	Premiere	XH-2001	Slide Warmer
Histo-Clear II	Electron Microscopy Sciences	64111-04	Clearing reagent
Hoescht	Thermo Fisher Scientific	62249
Hydrochloric Acid	Sigma Aldrich	320331
Hydrophobic pen	Millipore	402176
LAMININ	GeneTex	GTX27463
LAMP1	Santa Cruz	SC-19992
Large cassettes	Tissue-Tek	4173
Minutien pins	Fine Science Tools	NC9679721
Mouse-on-mouse blocking reagent	Vector Laboratories	MKB-2213	Mouse-on-mouse block
MUC2	GeneTex	GTX100664
PCNA	Cell Signaling Technology	2586S
Pressure Cooker	Cuisinart	B000MPA044
ProLong gold antifade	Thermo Fisher Scientific	P36934	Mounting medium
Reverse action forceps	Dumont	5748
Slide Rack	Tissue-Tek	62543-06
Slide Staining Set	Tissue-Tek	62540-01	Solvent Resistant Dishes and Metal Frame
Small cassettes	Fisherbrand	15-200-403B
Sodium citrate dihydrate	Fisher Bioreagents	BP327-1
Teleostein Gelatin	Sigma	G7765	Blocking buffer
Triton X-100	Thermo Fisher Scientific	A16046
Tween 20	Thermo Fisher Scientific	J20605-AP
Wipes	KimTech	34155
Xylenes	Fisher Chemical	1330-20-7
γ-ACTIN	Santa Cruz	SC-65638