Name: a simple red blood cell lysis method for the establishment of b lymphoblastoid cell lines
Uploaded: 2017-01-14T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about A Simple Red Blood Cell Lysis Method for the Establishment of B Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the key projects of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KFZD-SW-205), strategic biological resources technology support system of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CZBZX-1).

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, and the protocol follows the institutional guidelines for human welfare.
1. Preparation of EB Virus
<ol>
	<li>On day 1, thaw B95-8 cells and culture in 6 mL complete RPMI 1640 medium, supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, 2 mM L-glutamine, and antibiotics (100 &#181;g/mL streptomycin, 100 U/mL penicillin) in a T25 culture flask. Place the culture flask in 5% CO2 incubator at 37 &#176;C.</li>
	<l...

<ol>
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H., Quackenbush, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Gene+expression+profiling+of+lymphoblastoid+cell+lines+from+monozygotic+twins+discordant+in+severity+of+autism+reveals+differential+regulation+of+neurologically+relevant+genes.">Gene expression profiling of lymphoblastoid cell lines from monozygotic twins discordant in severity of autism reveals differential regulation of neurologically relevant genes.</a> BMC Genomics. 7, 118 (2006).</li><li>Toda, T., Sugimoto, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Proteome+analysis+of+Epstein-Barr+virus-transformed+B-lymphoblasts+and+the+proteome+database.">Proteome analysis of Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B-lymphoblasts and the proteome database.</a> J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 787 (1), 197-206 (2003).</li><li>Chiorazzi, N., Wasserman, R. 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R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=EBV+immortalization+of+human+B+lymphocytes+separated+from+small+volumes+of+cryo-preserved+whole+blood.">EBV immortalization of human B lymphocytes separated from small volumes of cryo-preserved whole blood.</a> Int J Epidemiol. 37, 41-45 (2008).</li><li>Lacelle, C., Wang, E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Establishing+lymphoblastoid+cell+lines+from+frozen+blood+of+extremely+old+individuals.">Establishing lymphoblastoid cell lines from frozen blood of extremely old individuals.</a> Mech Ageing Dev. 123 (10), 1415-1418 (2002).</li><li>Tohda, H., Oikawa, A., Kudo, T., Tachibana, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+greatly+simplified+method+of+establishing+B-lymphoblastoid+cell+lines.">A greatly simplified method of establishing B-lymphoblastoid cell lines.</a> Cancer Res. 38 (10), 3560-3562 (1978).</li><li>Ventura, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Use+of+a+Simple+Method+for+the+Epstein-Barr+Virus+Transformation+of+Lymphocytes+from+Members+of+Large+Families+of+Reunion+Island.">Use of a Simple Method for the Epstein-Barr Virus Transformation of Lymphocytes from Members of Large Families of Reunion Island.</a> Hum Hered. 38 (1), 36-43 (1988).</li><li>Chenevixtrench, G., Kerr, B., Walters, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Lymphoblastoid+Cell-Lines+from+Frozen+Whole-Blood+-+a+Quick+and+Economical+Safeguard+for+Linkage+Analysis.">Lymphoblastoid Cell-Lines from Frozen Whole-Blood - a Quick and Economical Safeguard for Linkage Analysis.</a> Am J Hum Genet. 46 (1), 635-636 (1990).</li><li>Hansen, M. 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We report the development of a novel method for immortalizing human B cells from whole blood by lysing red blood cells, and its cell viability of established B-LCLs was evaluated by the MTT assay. The results showed that the cell viability of B-LCLs established by the red blood cell lysis method is much higher than that of the density gradient separation method. The major advantage of the red blood cell lysis method is that it is simple and requires a small volume (as little as 0.5 mL) of blood for establishing a permane...

Resting B cells could be transformed by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in vitro into actively proliferating B lymphoblastoid cell lines (B-LCLs). B-LCLs are similar to germ cells in differentiation and development, and the somatic mutation rate of B-LCLs was only 0.3%1, with negligible genetic and phenotypic alteration. Therefore, B-LCLs, as surrogates for peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), have substantially accelerated the progress of genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics study of EBV associated diseases2,3. Moreover, B-LCLs also have important application in screening monoclonal antibodies4,5. 
Several methods have been developed for the immortalization of B lymphocytes by EBV. The most major common procedures include the isolation of B lymphocytes and the use of B95-8 cell lines to produce infectious EBV. From isolation to transformation, these methods are divided into three strategies. Lymphocytes are separated from fresh blood by density gradient centrifugation and EBV transformation directly6-8, named density gradient separation method in this study. However, other techniques overcome the difficulty of shipping fresh blood and use a procedure for freezing purified lymphocytes and subsequent thawing and EBV infection9-11. Cryopreserved whole blood can also be used for the isolation of B lymphocytes and transformation12,13. In addition to density gradient centrifugation to separate B lymphocytes, some researchers use a magnetic cell sorter to select B lymphocytes12. However, magnetic separation is an expensive, complex and time consuming process. Although these methods are useful to immortalize B lymphocytes with a high success rate, the need to treat a large number of clinical samples and the relatively small volume of blood require a simpler method for the establishment of a permanent cell line.
Another less commonly used method is using whole blood as the source of nucleated cells for EBV infection and the establishment of B-LCLs. These methods simplify the technique by omitting the separation procedure. Only a small amount of whole blood, either fresh14 or frozen15,16, is sufficient to obtain the cell lines. Unfortunately, there is great variability in success from documents15,16 and several of our validation tests. Furthermore, transformed colonies are hardly recognized under a microscope because of the large contaminating impurities. Thus, a more reliable method for transformation is required.
Based on the above considerations, we have developed a novel method to establish B-LCLs without previous purification of the lymphocytes, named the red blood cell lysis method. This method is convenient, time saving and applicable to a large number of samples. As little as 0.5 mL of whole blood was enough to obtain B-LCLs that are easily obtainable from infants and the elderly without significantly harming their health.

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	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Centrifuge</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Techcomp</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">CT6T</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Centrifugation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Automated Cell Counter&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Countstar</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">&#160;IC 1000&#160;</td>
			<td>For cell counting&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;">&#160;Epoch Microplate Spectrophotometer</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">BioTek Instruments</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">SN263839</td>
			<td>For measuring the absorbance</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:216px;">96 well cell culture cluster</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Corning Incorporated</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">3599</td>
			<td>Polystyrene plates</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:216px;">24 well cell culture cluster</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Corning Incorporated</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">3524</td>
			<td>Polystyrene plates</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="25">
			<td height="25" style="height:25px;width:216px;">25cm2 cell culture flask</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Nest</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">707001</td>
			<td>Polystyrene&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">FBS</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Gibco</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">10270</td>
			<td>Component of B-LCLs medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">RPMI Medium 1640</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Gibco</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">31800-022</td>
			<td>For B-LCLs medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">L-Glutamine&#160;&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Amresco</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">0374</td>
			<td>Component of B-LCLs medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">100 x streptomycin penicillin solution BioRoYeeBRY-2309</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">BioRoYee</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">BRY-2309</td>
			<td>Component of B-LCLs medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:216px;">Ficoll paque plus</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">GE&#160; Healthcare</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">17-1440-03</td>
			<td>For in vitro isolation of lymphocyte</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">PHA-M</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">L8902</td>
			<td>For stimulating lymphocyte proliferation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:216px;">Cyclosporin A</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Cayman&#160; Chemical</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">12088</td>
			<td>For inhibiting the cytotoxicity effect of T cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Red cell lysis buffer</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Tiangen</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">RT122-01</td>
			<td>For lysing red blood cell</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">MTT</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Amresco</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">0793</td>
			<td>For the detection of cell viability</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">DMSO</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">D2650</td>
			<td>For freezing cells</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

a simple red blood cell lysis method for the establishment of b lymphoblastoid cell lines

A number of methods exist for the transformation of B lymphocytes by the Epstein Barr virus in vitro into immortalized cell lines. We have developed a new method with a powerful and simple strategy for the establishment of B-LCLs, the red blood cell lysis method. This method simplified the PBMC separation procedure with red blood cell removal, and used as little as 0.5 mL of whole blood for establishing EBV-immortalized cell lines, which can proliferate to large cell numbers in a relatively short amount time with a 100% success rate. The method is simple, reliable, time saving, and applicable to treating a large number of the clinical samples.

During the process of transformation, the morphological changes of cells are visualized by light microscopy (Figure 2). Small clusters of cells were clearly visible with the density gradient separation method after 7 days of infection, while only a thick layer of cell fragments are visible from the red blood cell lysis method. However, lymphoblastoid cell clusters are visible under the thick layer of cell fragments 30 days post infection. With more frequent medium change,...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about A Simple Red Blood Cell Lysis Method for the Establishment of B Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines at JoVE.com

A Simple Red Blood Cell Lysis Method for the Establishment of B Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines

A simple red blood cell lysis method for establishing B-LCLs was developed with high immortalization efficiency, requiring a small amount of blood and saving time from initiation to cryopreservation.

A number of methods exist for the transformation of B lymphocytes by the Epstein Barr virus in vitro into immortalized cell lines. We have developed a new ...

The overall goal of this simple method is to establish B lymphoblastoid cell lines, or B-LCLs with high immortalization efficiency using only a small amount of blood and saving time between initiation and cryopreservation. This is a novel method for immortalizing human B cells from whole blood by lysing red blood cells. B-LCLs provides a valuable source of bio-materials to carry out various studies.The main advantage of this method is that only 0.5 milliliters of blood is sufficient to obtain B-LCLs with immortalization efficiency and high cell viability. To establish B-LCLs by Epstein-Barr virus, or EBV, transforming B lymphocytes, the widely used method into separate peripheral blood mononuclear cells or PBMC, by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation. However, when the sample is less than one milliliter of the red blood cell lyse, the addition will fail.We first had the idea for this method when we that to isolate the PBMC from small red blood cells is difficult using a density gradient separation method. To prepare EBV, on day one begin by thawing B95-8 cells and culture them in a T25 culture flask in six milliliters of complete RPMI 1640 Medium supplemented with 10%FBS, two millimolar of L-glutamine, and antibiotics. Incubate the culture at 37 degrees Celsius and 5%carbon dioxide.On day two, under a microscope, observe the cell morphology. Cells are in good condition when they are bright and round. Add 10 milliliters of complete RPMI 1640 Medium to the culture.On day four, add 10 milliliters of fresh medium and transfer the cells to a T75 culture flask. Then, on day eight, add 20 milliliters more of medium and maintain the cells for eight days without adding fresh medium. On day 16, check the cells under the microscope.Then collection 12 milliliters of cells into 15 milliliter centrifuge tubes. Next, cryopreserve the cells at minus 80 degrees Celsius for one hour and rapidly thaw the cultures at 37 degrees Celsius. Repeat the freeze thaw, three more times until the virus particles are released from the cells.Centrifuge the cultures at 240 times g at room temperature for 10 minutes. Then, filter the supernatant through 0.22 micron filter. Aliquot 12 milliliters of the filtrate per tube and store the tubes at minus 80 degrees Celsius.To a 50 milliliter tube, add 0.5 milliliters of whole blood that has been anticoagulated by EDTA K2.Add one milliliter of red blood cell lysis buffer to the whole blood and mix well. Incubate the mixture at room temperature for four minutes. Then quickly add five to seven milliliters of 1x PBS to stop the lysis reaction.After adding red blood cell lysis buffer to blood, be sure to mix well. Invertation ensures that the reaction is terminated in a timely manner. Next, centrifuge the tube at 240 times g at room temperature for five minute.The white blood cells will precipitate at the bottom of the tube. Discard the supernatant and wash the precipitate by adding seven milliliters of 1640 Basic Medium. Then centrifuge the solution before repeating the wash.With 300 microliters of transformation medium, resuspend the cell pellet. Then to carry out EBV infection, add 60 microliters of 20 micrograms per milliliter of Cyclosporin A to the cell suspension. Rapid thaw an aliquot of EBV at 37 degrees Celsius and add 240 microliters of the virus to the cells.Thoroughly mix the suspension and transfer 200 microliters per well to a 96 well plate. Then incubate the plate at 37 degrees Celsius and 5%carbon dioxide. For the first month after EBV infection, change half of the medium in the cell culture once per week.On day seven, only a thick layer of cell fragments is visible under the microscope. After one month of infection, lymphoblastoid cell clusters are visible under a thick layer of cell fragments. From this point forward, change half of the medium every three days until the cell clusters are clearly visible under the microscope.After resuspending the cells, transfer the suspension to the wells of a 24 well plate. Then depending on the rate of cell growth, when the culture medium turns yellow, double the volume of complete RPMI 1640 Medium. When lymphoblastoid cell clusters are visible to the naked eye, transfer the culture to a T25 culture flask.As the culture medium turns yellow, double the volume of the medium until the volume expands to 10 to 15 milliliters. Before freezing, change the medium 24 hours ahead a time. Then to freeze the cells, centrifuge the cell suspension and use a cell counter to count the cells.With the frozen stock solution containing 90%FBS and 10%DMSO, adjust the suspension to a density of five to 10 times 10 to the sixth cells per milliliter. Then freeze the suspension at a rate of one degree Celsius per minute to minus 80 degrees Celsius before transferring the frozen cells directly into liquid nitrogen. During the process of transformation, the morphological changes of cells are visible by light microscopy.After seven days of infection, small clusters of cells are clearly visible using the density gradient separation method, while only a thick layer of cell fragments are visible from the red blood cell lysis method. 30 days post infection, lymphoblastoid cell clusters are visible under the thick layer of cell fragments. With more frequent medium changes, the cell debris is reduced and the cell clusters are clearly visible and look similar to the culture established by density gradient separation.Finally the MTT assay was used to evaluate the viability of B-LCLs. The results shown here indicate that the B-LCLs cell cultured using the red blood lysis method were significantly more viable than the culture established using the density gradient separation method. Once mastered, the EBV viral transformation process can be done in 30 minutes when it is performed properly.After watching this video you should have a good understanding of how to establish B-LCLs with a simple and time saving red blood cell lysis method without previous purification of lymphocytes. After its development, this technique accelerated the progress of the genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics study of EBV associated diseases and this application in the production of mononuclear antibodies. Don't forget that working with human pathogens, such as EBV can be extremely hazardous and the precautions should always be taken while performing this procedure.

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Immunology and Infection

Depletion of Specific Cell Populations by Complement Depletion

The purification of immune cell populations is often required in order to study their unique functions. In particular, molecular approaches such as real-time PCR and microarray analysis require the isolation of cell populations with high purity. Commonly used purification strategies include fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS), magnetic bead separation and complement depletion. Of the three strategies, complement depletion offers the advantages of being fast, inexpensive, gentle on the cells and a high cell yield. The complement system is composed of a large number of plasma proteins that when activated initiate a proteolytic cascade culminating in the formation of a membrane-attack complex that forms a pore on a cell surface resulting in cell death1. The classical pathway is activated by IgM and IgG antibodies and was first described as a mechanism for killing bacteria. With the generation of monoclonal antibodies (mAb), the complement cascade can be used to lyse any cell population in an antigen-specific manner. Depletion of cells by the complement cascade is achieved by the addition of complement fixing antigen-specific antibodies and rabbit complement to the starting cell population. The cells are incubated for one hour at 37&deg;C and the lysed cells are subsequently removed by two rounds of washing. MAb with a high efficiency for complement fixation typically deplete 95-100% of the targeted cell population. Depending on the purification strategy for the targeted cell population, complement depletion can be used for cell purification or for the enrichment of cell populations that then can be further purified by a subsequent method.

To effectively study the function of immune cell populations their purification is often required. Complement depletion is a fast and inexpensive technique for the isolation of immune cell populations with high purity.

The purification of immune cell populations is often required in order to study their unique functions.  In particular, molecular approaches such as ...

Purification of Specific Cell Population by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS)

Experimental and clinical studies often require highly purified cell populations.  FACS is a technique of choice to purify cell populations of known phenotype.  Other bulk methods of purification include panning, complement depletion and magnetic bead separation.  However, FACS has several advantages over other available methods.  FACS is the preferred method when very high purity of the desired population is required, when the target cell population expresses a very low level of the identifying marker or when cell populations require separation based on differential marker density.  In addition, FACS is the only available purification technique to isolate cells based on internal staining or intracellular protein expression, such as a genetically modified fluorescent protein marker.  FACS allows the purification of individual cells based on size, granularity and fluorescence.  In order to purify cells of interest, they are first stained with fluorescently-tagged monoclonal antibodies (mAb), which recognize specific surface markers on the desired cell population (1).  Negative selection of unstained cells is also possible.  FACS purification requires a flow cytometer with sorting capacity and the appropriate software.  For FACS, cells in suspension are passed as a stream in droplets with each containing a single cell in front of a laser.  The fluorescence detection system detects cells of interest based on predetermined fluorescent parameters of the cells.  The instrument applies a charge to the droplet containing a cell of interest and an electrostatic deflection system facilitates collection of the charged droplets into appropriate collection tubes (2).  The success of staining and thereby sorting depends largely on the selection of the identifying markers and the choice of mAb.  Sorting parameters can be adjusted depending on the requirement of purity and yield.  Although FACS requires specialized equipment and personnel training, it is the method of choice for isolation of highly purified cell populations.

Purification of Specific Cell Population by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting FACS

For many scientific studies requiring a biological and chemical analysis of cell populations the cells must be in a high state of purity. Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) is a superior method in which to obtain pure cell populations.

Experimental and clinical studies often require highly purified cell populations.  FACS is a technique of choice to purify cell populations of known ...

Establishment of Epstein-Barr Virus Growth-transformed Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines

Infection of B cells with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) leads to proliferation and subsequent immortalization, resulting in establishment of lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) in vitro. Since LCL are latently infected with EBV, they provide a model system to investigate EBV latency and virus-driven B cell proliferation and tumorigenesis1. LCL have been used to present antigens in a variety of immunologic assays2, 3. In addition, LCL can be used to generate human monoclonal antibodies4, 5 and provide a potentially unlimited source when access to primary biologic materials is limited6, 7.
A variety of methods have been described to generate LCL. Earlier methods have included the use of mitogens such as phytohemagglutinin, lipopolysaccharide8, and pokeweed mitogen9 to increase the efficiency of EBV-mediated immortalization. More recently, others have used immunosuppressive agents such as cyclosporin A to inhibit T cell-mediated killing of infected B cells7, 10-12.
The considerable length of time from EBV infection to establishment of cell lines drives the requirement for quicker and more reliable methods for EBV-driven B cell growth transformation. Using a combination of high titer EBV and an immunosuppressive agent, we are able to consistently infect, transform, and generate LCL from B cells in peripheral blood. This method uses a small amount of peripheral blood mononuclear cells that are infected in vitroclusters of cells can be demonstrated. The presence of CD23 with EBV in the presence of FK506, a T cell immunosuppressant. Traditionally, outgrowth of proliferating B cells is monitored by visualization of microscopic clusters of cells about a week after infection with EBV. Clumps of LCL can be seen by the naked eye after several weeks. We describe an assay to determine early if EBV-mediated growth transformation is successful even before microscopic clusters of cells can be demonstrated. The presence of CD23hiCD58+ cells observed as early as three days post-infection indicates a successful outcome.

We describe a method for generating transformed B cell lines using Epstein-Barr virus. We also illustrate a novel assay that can identify B cells destined to undergo transformation as early as three days after infection.

Infection of B cells with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) leads to proliferation and subsequent immortalization, resulting in establishment of lymphoblastoid ...

Antigens Protected Functional Red Blood Cells By The Membrane Grafting Of Compact Hyperbranched Polyglycerols

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is vital for the treatment of a number of acute and chronic medical problems such as thalassemia major and sickle cell anemia 1-3. Due to the presence of multitude of antigens on the RBC surface (~308 known antigens 4), patients in the chronic blood transfusion therapy develop alloantibodies due to the miss match of minor antigens on transfused RBCs 4, 5. Grafting of hydrophilic polymers such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) forms an exclusion layer on RBC membrane that prevents the interaction of antibodies with surface antigens without affecting the passage of small molecules such as oxygen ,glucose, and ions3. At present no method is available for the generation of universal red blood donor cells in part because of the daunting challenge presented by the presence of large number of antigens (protein and carbohydrate based) on the RBC surface and the development of such methods will significantly improve transfusion safety, and dramatically improve the availability and use of RBCs. In this report, the experiments that are used to develop antigen protected functional RBCs by the membrane grafting of HPG and their characterization are presented. HPGs are highly biocompatible compact polymers 6, 7, and are expected to be located within the cell glycocalyx that surrounds the lipid membrane 8, 9 and mask RBC surface antigens10, 11.

The cell membrane modification of red blood cells (RBCs) with hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) is presented. Modified RBCs were characterized by aqueous two phase partitioning, osmotic fragility and complement mediated lysis. The camouflage of surface proteins and antigens was evaluated using the flow cytometry and Micro Typing System (MTS) blood phenotyping cards.

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is vital for the treatment of a number of acute and chronic medical problems such as thalassemia major and sickle cell ...

Ex Vivo Red Blood Cell Hemolysis Assay for the Evaluation of pH-responsive Endosomolytic Agents for Cytosolic Delivery of Biomacromolecular Drugs

Phospholipid bilayers that constitute endo-lysosomal vesicles can pose a barrier to delivery of biologic drugs to intracellular targets. To overcome this barrier, a number of synthetic drug carriers have been engineered to actively disrupt the endosomal membrane and deliver cargo into the cytoplasm. Here, we describe the hemolysis assay, which can be used as rapid, high-throughput screen for the cytocompatibility and endosomolytic activity of intracellular drug delivery systems. 
In the hemolysis assay, human red blood cells and test materials are co-incubated in buffers at defined pHs that mimic extracellular, early endosomal, and late endo-lysosomal environments. Following a centrifugation step to pellet intact red blood cells, the amount of hemoglobin released into the medium is spectrophotometrically measured (405 nm for best dynamic range). The percent red blood cell disruption is then quantified relative to positive control samples lysed with a detergent. In this model system the erythrocyte membrane serves as a surrogate for the lipid bilayer membrane that enclose endo-lysosomal vesicles. The desired result is negligible hemolysis at physiologic pH (7.4) and robust hemolysis in the endo-lysosomal pH range from approximately pH 5-6.8.

Ex Vivo Red Blood Cell Hemolysis Assay for the Evaluation of pH-responsive Endosomolytic Agents for Cytosolic Delivery of Biomacromolecular Drugs

A hemolysis assay can be used as a rapid, high-throughput screen of drug delivery systems' cytocompatibility and endosomolytic activity for intracellular cargo delivery. The assay measures the disruption of erythrocyte membranes as a function of environmental pH.

Phospholipid bilayers that constitute endo-lysosomal vesicles can pose a barrier to delivery of biologic drugs to intracellular targets. To overcome this ...

Isolation of Precursor B-cell Subsets from Umbilical Cord Blood

Umbilical cord blood is highly enriched for hematopoietic progenitor cells at different lineage commitment stages. We have developed a protocol for isolating precursor B-cells at four different stages of differentiation. Because genes are expressed and epigenetic modifications occur in a tissue specific manner, it is vital to discriminate between tissues and cell types in order to be able to identify alterations in the genome and the epigenome that may lead to the development of disease. This method can be adapted to any type of cell present in umbilical cord blood at any stage of differentiation.	
This method comprises 4 main steps. First, mononuclear cells are separated by density centrifugation. Second, B-cells are enriched using biotin conjugated antibodies that recognize and remove non B-cells from the mononuclear cells. Third the B-cells are fluorescently labeled with cell surface protein antibodies specific to individual stages of B-cell development. Finally, the fluorescently labeled cells are sorted and individual populations are recovered. The recovered cells are of sufficient quantity and quality to be utilized in downstream nucleic acid assays.

Here we describe a protocol for isolating subsets of precursor B-cells from umbilical cord blood. A sufficient quantity and quality of nucleic acids may be extracted from the cells and used in subsequent assays utilizing DNA or RNA.

Umbilical cord blood is highly enriched for hematopoietic progenitor cells at different lineage commitment stages. We have developed a protocol for ...

A Simple Flow Cytometric Method to Measure Glucose Uptake and Glucose Transporter Expression for Monocyte Subpopulations in Whole Blood

Monocytes are innate immune cells that can be activated by pathogens and inflammation associated with certain chronic inflammatory diseases. Activation of monocytes induces effector functions and a concomitant shift from oxidative to glycolytic metabolism that is accompanied by increased glucose transporter expression. This increased glycolytic metabolism is also observed for trained immunity of monocytes, a form of innate immunological memory. Although in vitro protocols examining glucose transporter expression and glucose uptake by monocytes have been described, none have been examined by multi-parametric flow cytometry in whole blood. We describe a multi-parametric flow cytometric protocol for the measurement of fluorescent glucose analog 2-NBDG uptake in whole blood by total monocytes and the classical (CD14++CD16-), intermediate (CD14++CD16+) and non-classical (CD14+CD16++) monocyte subpopulations. This method can be used to examine glucose transporter expression and glucose uptake for total monocytes and monocyte subpopulations during homeostasis and inflammatory disease, and can be easily modified to examine glucose uptake for other leukocytes and leukocyte subpopulations within blood.

Monocytes are integral components of the human innate immune system that rely on glycolytic metabolism when activated. We describe a flow cytometry protocol to measure glucose transporter expression and glucose uptake by total monocytes and monocyte subpopulations in fresh whole blood.

Monocytes are innate immune cells that can be activated by pathogens and inflammation associated with certain chronic inflammatory diseases. Activation of ...

Dextran Enhances the Lentiviral Transduction Efficiency of Murine and Human Primary NK Cells

The efficient transduction of specific genes into natural killer (NK) cells has been a major challenge. Successful transductions are critical to defining the role of the gene of interest in the development, differentiation, and function of NK cells. Recent advances related to chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) in cancer immunotherapy accentuate the need for an efficient method to deliver exogenous genes to effector lymphocytes. The efficiencies of lentiviral-mediated gene transductions into primary human or mouse NK cells remain significantly low, which is a major limiting factor. Recent advances using cationic polymers, such as polybrene, show an improved gene transduction efficiency in T cells. However, these products failed to improve the transduction efficiencies of NK cells. This work shows that dextran, a branched glucan polysaccharide, significantly improves the transduction efficiency of human and mouse primary NK cells. This highly reproducible transduction methodology provides a competent tool for transducing human primary NK cells, which can vastly improve clinical gene delivery applications and thus NK cell-based cancer immunotherapy.

The goal of this study was to formulate technologies that allow for successful gene transduction in primary natural killer (NK) cells. The dextran-mediated lentiviral transduction of human or mouse primary NK cells results in higher gene expression efficiencies. This method of gene transduction will vastly improve NK cell genetic manipulation.

The efficient transduction of specific genes into natural killer (NK) cells has been a major challenge. Successful transductions are critical to defining ...

An Efficient and Simple Method to Establish NK and T Cell Lines from Patients with Chronic Active Epstein-Barr Virus Infection

A number of methods have been described to establish NK/T cell lines from patients with lymphoma or lymphoproliferative syndrome. These methods employed feeder cells, purified NK or T cells with as much as 10 mL of blood, or a high-dose of IL-2. This study presents a new method with a powerful and simple strategy to establish NK and T cell lines by culturing the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with the addition of recombinant human IL-2 (rhIL-2), and uses as little as 2 mL of whole blood. The cells can proliferate quickly in two weeks and be maintained for more than 3 months. With this method, 7 NK or T cell lines have been established with a high success rate. This method is simple, reliable, and applicable to establishing cell lines from more cases of CAEBV or NK/T cell lymphoma.

A simple method for obtaining NK and T cell clones from CAEBV patients was developed with high efficiency, a small amount of peripheral blood, and a low-dose of IL-2.

A number of methods have been described to establish NK/T cell lines from patients with lymphoma or lymphoproliferative syndrome. These methods employed ...

Measuring Deformability and Red Cell Heterogeneity in Blood by Ektacytometry

Decreased red cell deformability is characteristic of several disorders. In some cases, the extent of defective deformability can predict severity of disease or occurrence of serious complications. Ektacytometry uses laser diffraction viscometry to measure the deformability of red blood cells subject to either increasing shear stress or an osmotic gradient at a constant value of applied shear stress. However, direct deformability measurements are difficult to interpret when measuring heterogenous blood that is characterized by the presence of both rigid and deformable red cells. This is due to the inability of rigid cells to properly align in response to shear stress and results in a distorted diffraction pattern marked by an exaggerated decrease in apparent deformability. Measurement of the degree of distortion provides an indicator of the heterogeneity of the erythrocytes in blood. In sickle cell anemia, this is correlated with the percentage of rigid cells, which reflects the hemoglobin concentration and hemoglobin composition of the erythrocytes. In addition to measuring deformability, osmotic gradient ektacytometry provides information about the osmotic fragility and hydration status of erythrocytes. These parameters also reflect the hemoglobin composition of red blood cells from sickle cell patients. Ektacytometry measures deformability in populations of red cells and does not, therefore, provide information on the deformability or mechanical properties of individual erythrocytes. Regardless, the goal of the techniques described herein is to provide a convenient and reliable method for measuring the deformability and cellular heterogeneity of blood. These techniques may be useful for monitoring temporal changes, as well as disease progression and response to therapeutic intervention in several disorders. Sickle cell anemia is one well-characterized example. Other potential disorders where measurements of red cell deformability and/or heterogeneity are of interest include blood storage, diabetes, Plasmodium infection, iron deficiency, and the hemolytic anemias due to membrane defects.

Here we present techniques to measure red cell deformability and cellular heterogeneity by ektacytometry. These techniques are applicable to general investigations of red cell deformability and specific investigations of blood diseases characterized by the presence of both rigid and deformable red cells in circulation, such as sickle cell anemia.

Decreased red cell deformability is characteristic of several disorders. In some cases, the extent of defective deformability can predict severity of ...