Name: single-cell photoconversion in living intact zebrafish
Uploaded: 2018-03-19T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Single-cell Photoconversion in Living Intact Zebrafish at JoVE.com

We thank Bernard Kulemaka and members of the Smith lab for their helpful comments and reagent guidance, Sam Connell and Brent Redford of 3i for fielding imaging questions and Deborah Bang, Karen Heed and Kay Stewart for zebrafish care. This work was supported by the University of Notre Dame, the Elizabeth and Michael Gallagher Family, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Center for Zebrafish Research at the University of Notre and Center of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Notre Dame. All animal studies were done in compliance with University of Notre Dame IACUC to Dr. Cody Smith.

All animal studies were approved by the University of Notre Dame Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
1. Preparation of Zebrafish Specimen
<ol>
	<li>Place one adult male and one adult female Tg(convertible protein) into a mating chamber per standard procedures13. In this manuscript, use Tg(sox10:eos) fish9 because of access but other transgenic lines with photoconvertible protein can be equally used. Set up more than one chamber in case...

<ol>
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In complex tissues, distinct cell-types organize into specific domains. Recently techniques have been utilized to label individual cells within these large tissue structures1,2,3. Here we demonstrate two techniques that can similarly be utilized to visualize both single cell interactions and cell population interactions within complex tissues. The advantage of the photoconversion technique is the spatial control the scientist ha...

Multiple distinct cells interact to build and maintain complex animal and plant tissues. These cells are often intercalated and difficult to distinguish from neighbors at a single cell level without high resolution microscopy that require fixation of tissue. However, to understand how these tissues form, are maintained, and become diseased, it has been essential to investigate how single cells within the tissue are interacting over time. Ideally, these experiments require the labeling of single cells within a tissue in a non-invasive manner without the requirement of fixation. Scientists have now developed numerous techniques to accomplish this task1,2,3,4.
The discovery and implementation of the jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP) was one exciting approach that allowed for labeling of distinct cells in a tissue environment1. Using cell-specific promoters, it is possible to genetically select a subset of cells that are labeled1. Alternatively, viral induced expression of GFP can be utilized for user-selected expression of GFP3,4. Although quite useful, genetic mediated expression of GFP does not allow user-selected expression within a subset of cells in the tissue; and viral expression of GFP, although advantageous, can be invasive. With the advent of GFP derivatives and clever techniques like Brainbow to express distinct fluorescent proteins more sparsely within tissues, it has become possible to visualize single cells and the interactions among them in complex tissue2,5. However, these approaches label cells in a random fashion. If the desired experiment requires visualization of a single cell or population of cells that is defined by the experimenter, they are therefore limited. With such experiments, it would be advantageous to have a genetically expressed fluorescent protein that can be manipulated to distinguish, in a single cell fashion, it from other fluorescent and non-fluorescent cells.
To achieve this goal and visualize the cell biology of single cells within a complex living tissue, the scientific community uses single cell photoconversion of distinct fluorescent proteins6,7,8. Using genetically controlled expression of a photoconvertible protein (i.e., eos, kaede, etc.) that transitions from a green to red fluorescent state when exposed to UV (488 nm) light, we can distinguish a single cell from its fluorescently labeled neighbors6,7,8. This approach utilizes an apparatus attached to our confocal microscope which can direct light from a laser stack to a diffraction-limited region of interest. With this technique, we can either label single cells or larger populations in a user-defined manner9,10,11. The technique is minimally invasive compared to single cell injections of viral GFP. As a proof of concept, we show that we can photoconvert single cells within a ganglion in the peripheral nervous system and photoconvert larger populations like cells located on the ventral side of the spinal cord9,10,11,12. We then can visualize these photoconverted cell populations 24 h later to gain insight into their movement and differentiation during development.

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	<tbody>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt;width:320pt" width="427">Tg(sox10:eos) zebrafish animals</td>
			<td style="width:125pt" width="167"></td>
			<td style="width:85pt" width="113"></td>
			<td style="width:854pt" width="1139">Fish were obtained and crossed from the fish facility at the University of Notre Dame</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">100 X 15 mm petri dish</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>25384-302</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">Embryo medium</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Embryo medium is made weekly and provided by the fish facility at the University of Notre Dame containing 5L RO water, 30uL methylene blue, and 200mL salt stock.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">0.8% Low Melting Point Agarose</td>
			<td>dot scientific inc</td>
			<td>9012-36-6</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">35 X 10 mm glass-coverslip bottom petri dish</td>
			<td>Ted Pella Inc.</td>
			<td>14021-20</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">Needle dissecting probe</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">0.002% 3-aminobenzoic acid ester (Tricaine)</td>
			<td>Fluka analytical</td>
			<td>A5040-250G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">Fluorescent Dissecting Microscope with GFP filters</td>
			<td>Zeiss Axiozoom</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">Confocal microscope with lasers to excite GFP and RFP filter sets</td>
			<td>3i spinning disk confocal</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">UV light source (laser) for photoconversion</td>
			<td>405 nm laser</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">Slidebook software</td>
			<td>3i</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21" style="height:15.75pt">
			<td height="21" style="height:15.75pt">Methylene blue</td>
			<td>Kordon</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

single-cell photoconversion in living intact zebrafish

Animal and plant tissue is composed of distinct populations of cells. These cells interact over time to build and maintain the tissue and can cause disease when disrupted. Scientists have developed clever techniques to investigate characteristics and natural dynamics of these cells within intact tissue by expressing fluorescent proteins in subsets of cells. However, at times, experiments require more selected visualization of cells within the tissue, sometimes at the single-cell or population-of-cells manner. To achieve this and visualize single cells within a population of cells, scientists have utilized single-cell photoconversion of fluorescent proteins. To demonstrate this technique, we show here how to direct UV light to an Eos-expressing cell of interest in an intact, living zebrafish. We then image those photoconverted Eos+ cells 24 h later to determine how they changed in the tissue. We describe two techniques: single cell photoconversion and photoconversions of populations of cell. These techniques can be used to visualize cell-cell interactions, cell-fate and differentiation, and cell migrations, making it a technique that is applicable in numerous biological questions.

Photoconversion of fluorescent proteins can be used to label distinct cells within a tissue6. To demonstrate this, Tg(sox10:eos) fish9 were used to express the photoconvertible protein Eos under the regulatory sequences of sox10. The Tg(sox10:eos) animals at 48 hpf were first mounted, and then imaged to detect any non-specific photoconversion that may have occurred. The Eos unconverted fluorescent signal with littl...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Single-cell Photoconversion in Living Intact Zebrafish at JoVE.com

Single-cell Photoconversion in Living Intact Zebrafish

Here, we present a protocol to show how cell photoconversion is achieved through UV exposure to specific areas expressing the fluorescent protein, Eos, in living animals.

Animal and plant tissue is composed of distinct populations of cells. These cells interact over time to build and maintain the tissue and can cause ...

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