Name: isolation and genetic manipulation of adult cardiac myocytes for confocal imaging
Uploaded: 2009-09-17T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation and Genetic Manipulation of Adult Cardiac Myocytes for Confocal Imaging at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the German National Science Foundation (DFG) and by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR, Germany).

The over all design of the protocol containing four major steps is depicted in Figure 1. All steps are described in full detail. Cell isolation, transduction and culture, followed by confocal imaging about 24 hours later is a consecutive and compulsory timescale. The virus construction should be done ahead of the cell isolation and is then used for the genetic transduction.
 1. Isolation of adult cardiac myocytes from rat heart
 <ol>
 <li>Adult male Wistar rats approximately 250 g in w...

<ol>
	<li>Kaestner, L., Ruppenthal, S., S, ., Licha, K., Lin, C. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Molecular Imaging II. Vol. 7370, 737008-737008 (2009).</li><li>Viero, C., Kraushaar, U., Ruppenthal, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=In+vivo+imaging+of+Drosophila+melanogaster+pupae+with+mesoscopic+fluorescence+tomography.">In vivo imaging of Drosophila melanogaster pupae with mesoscopic fluorescence tomography.</a> Cell Calcium. 43 (1), 59-59 (2008).</li><li>Kaestner, L., Lipp, P., Shorte, S. L., Frischknecht, F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Imaging Cellular and Molecular Biological Functions. , 289-289 (2007).</li><li>Kaestner, L., Lipp, P., Popp, J., von Bally, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Optics in Life Science. Vol. 6633, 66330K-66330K (2007).</li><li>Rinne, A., Littwitz, C., Bender, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Adenovirus-mediated+delivery+of+short+hairpin+RNA+(shRNA)+mediates+efficient+gene+silencing+in+terminally+differentiated+cardiac+myocytes.">Adenovirus-mediated delivery of short hairpin RNA (shRNA) mediates efficient gene silencing in terminally differentiated cardiac myocytes.</a> Methods Mol Biol. 515, 107-107 (2009).</li></ol>

The procedure described for the isolation of rat cardiomyocytes can be adapted to other species, e.g. mouse4, if necessary. A parameter that needs adaptation is the enzyme mix for digestion (see below) and also the duration of digestion. Be aware that the cells of some species (e.g. mouse) might be more fragile than others (e.g. rat).
The choice of collagenase is probably the most crucial step in the isolation procedure. We choose Liberase Blendzyme because it is a synthetic enzyma...

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		<table border="1">
		<thead>
		<tr>
		<th>Material Name</th>
		<th>Type</th>
		<th>Company</th>
		<th>Catalogue Number</th>
		<th>Comment</th>
		</tr>
		</thead>
		<tbody>
		
<tr>
<td>Anesthesia solution</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Serumwerk Bernburg GmbH (Ursotamin), Bayer Health Care (Rompun)</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Mixture of 1 ml Ursotamin (100 mg/ml Ketaminhydrochlorid) and 240 &mu;l Rompun (2% Xylazinhydrochlorid)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Citrate solution</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>117,64 mg sodium citrate in 10 ml 0.9% NaCl solution</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Solution A</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>134 mM NaCl, 4 mM KCl, 11 mM glucose, 1.2 mM MgSO4, 1.2 mM Na2HPO4, 10 mM HEPES, pH adjusted to 7.35 using 10 M NaOH, sterile filtered</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Solution A+</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Content of solution A plus 0.2 mM EGTA, pH adjusted to 7.35 using 10 M NaOH, sterile filtered</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Liberase solution</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>F. Hoffmann&#x2010; La Roche Ltd.</td>
<td>11988476 001</td>
<td>500 &mu;l stock solution in 15 ml solution A (stock solution:
10 mg/ml Liberase Blendzyme 4 in aqua dest.)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Solution B</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Content of solution A plus 200 &mu;M CaCl2 and 0.1% DNase solution</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Solution B1/2</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>1:1 mixture of solution A and solution B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DNase solution</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma&#x2010; Aldrich Co.</td>
<td>D4527</td>
<td>Deoxyribonuclease I, Type 2 from bovine pancreas, 40 KU (15 mg) are dissolved in 5 ml of 10 mM Tris&#x2010;HCl buffer, adjusted to pH=7.35, additional content: 50 mM NaCl, 10 mM MgCl2, 1 mM dithioerythritol; this solution is mixed with 5 ml glycerol</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Extracellular matrix protein (ECM) solution</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Extracellular matrix protein (ECM) solution</td>
<td>E1270</td>
<td>1 ml stock solution as purchased is diluted with 6 mL
medium M199</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Culture medium M199</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>PAA</td>
<td>E15&#x2010;834</td>
<td>Medium M199 supplemented with 1 &mu;l/ml ITS solution and 20 &mu;l/ml penicillin&#x2010;streptomycin solution (5000 units/ml)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ITS solution</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>25 mg Insulin, 25 mg Transferrin and 50 &#x03BC;l Selenite stock solution are dissolved in 5 ml aqua dest. (stock solution: 0.5 mg/ml Sodiumselenite in aqua dest.). Add a few drops of 1 M HCl until one should get a clear
solution. Aliquots can be frozen.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Tyrode</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>135 mM NaCl, 5.4 mM KCl, 1.8 mM CaCl2, 2mM MgCl2, 10 mM glucose, 10 mM HEPES, pH adjusted to 7.35 using 10 M NaOH, sterile filtered</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Master mix</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>5 &mu;l 10&#215;PCR&#x2010;Buffer, 5 &mu;l MgCl2 (25 mM), 2 &mu;l forward primer, 2 &mu;l reverse primer, 1 &mu;l dNTP&#180;s (10 mM each), 33 &mu;l H2O, 1 &mu;l DMSO, 1 &mu;l Taq&#x2010;DNA polymerase for each sample</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>LB&#x2010;Medium</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>10 g/l Tryptone, 5 g/l Yeast extract, 5 g/l NaCl (and 15 g/l Agar if used as solid medium), pH 7.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pac I</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>New England Biolabs</td>
<td>R0547L</td>
<td>preparation: 50 &mu;g DNA, 5 &mu;l 10&#215;buffer, 0.5 &mu;l 100&#215;BSA,
0.75 &mu;l Pac I, fill with H2O up to final volume of 50&mu;l</td>
</tr>		</tbody>
		</table>
		</div>

isolation and genetic manipulation of adult cardiac myocytes for confocal imaging

Cardiac myocytes isolated from adult hearts are widely accepted as a model somewhere half way between embryonic and neonatal muscle cells on one side and a working heart on the other. Thus, cardiomyocytes serve as good models for cardiac cellular physiology and pathophysiology, for pharmaceutical investigations as well as for the exploration of transgenic animal models. Here we describe a method of isolating the cells from the heart. Furthermore we show how a genetic manipulation on cardiac myocytes can be performed without breeding a transgenic animal: This is the combination of long term culture (1 week) and adenoviral gene transfer. The latter one is described from the construction of the virus to the transduction of the cells. It can be used for the expression of genetically encoded biosensors (GEBs), fluorescent fusion proteins, but also for protein over expression and down regulation, e.g. using RNAi. Here we provide an example for the expression of a fusion protein staining a subcellular structure (Golgi). Such protein expression can be visualized by confocal imaging of z-stacks for a 3D-reconstruction of subcellular structures. The protocol comprises state-of-the-art in cell culture, molecular biology and biophysics and thus provides an approach for exploring new horizons in cellular cardiology.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation and Genetic Manipulation of Adult Cardiac Myocytes for Confocal Imaging at JoVE.com

Isolation and Genetic Manipulation of Adult Cardiac Myocytes for Confocal Imaging

Adult cardiac myocytes are primary cells that can be isolated from animal hearts and cultured for several days. Within this culture period adenoviral gene transfer can be used to express genetically encoded biosensors (GEBs) or fluorescent fusion proteins. Both approaches allow cellular investigations by means of confocal microscopy.

Cardiac myocytes isolated from adult hearts are widely accepted as a model somewhere half way between embryonic and neonatal muscle cells on one side and ...

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