Name: tissue preparation and immunostaining of mouse craniofacial tissues and undecalcified bone
Uploaded: 2019-05-10T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Tissue Preparation and Immunostaining of Mouse Craniofacial Tissues and Undecalcified Bone at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01DE020843 to Y.M.), the International FOP Association (Y.M.), and a grant-in-aid from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31500788 to J.Y.).

All mouse experiments were carried out in accordance with University of Michigan guidelines covering the humane care and use of animals in research. All animal procedures used in this study were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at the University of Michigan (Protocol #PRO00007715).
1. Tissue Preparation
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	<li>Preparation of embryonic tissues 
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		<li>Prepare one 10 cm dish and several 3.5 cm dishes containing phosphate buffered sali...

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Here we provide a detailed protocol for preparation of mouse head and undecalcified bone tissues, and cryosectioning for immunostaining of cell proliferation, cell death, and BMP signaling markers. We also detail the strategy for obtaining quantitative data from immunofluorescent images. Those methods can also be applicable to other tissues with appropriate modifications.
Conditions for tissue preparation vary by the size and type of tissues. The fixation and cryoprotection time usually need s...

The face is a key part of human identity, and is composed of several different types of tissues, such as epithelium, muscle, bone, cartilage, tooth. Those tissues are derived from all three germ layers: ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm1,2. For proper patterning and development of craniofacial tissues, cell proliferation, death and differentiation need to be highly coordinated and regulated by specific signaling pathways, such as Wnt, Fgf, Hh and Bmp pathways3,4,5. Defects in proliferation, survival or differentiation of cells will lead to craniofacial malformations, which are among the most frequently occurring congenital birth defects. Transgenic mice are useful tools to study mechanisms of craniofacial morphogenesis and pathogenesis1,2,3,4,5. Understanding the changes in craniofacial structures during development and pathogenesis will help to clarify key developmental principles as well as the mechanisms of craniofacial malformations1,2,3,4,5.
The staining of whole mount or sectioned tissues with specific antibodies is an invaluable technique for determining spatial distribution of proteins of interest 6. Formally, tissue immunostaining can rely either upon immunohistochemistry (IHC) or immunofluorescence (IF). Compared with the opaque reaction product generated with a chromogenic substrate such as 3,3&#8217;-Diaminobenzidine (DAB) by IHC, IF involves the use of fluorescent conjugates visible by fluorescence microscopy. Therefore, IF may clearly differentiate positive cells from background noise, and allows images to be quantitatively analyzed and enhanced in a straightforward fashion by software such as ImageJ and Adobe Photoshop7,8. The whole mount staining approach works on small blocks of tissue (less than 5 mm thick), which can provide three-dimensional information about the location of proteins/antigens without the need for reconstruction from sections9,10. However, compared with tissue sections, whole mount immunostaining is time consuming and requires large volumes of antibody solutions. Not all antibodies are compatible with the basic whole mount approach. In addition, the incomplete penetration of antibodies will result in uneven staining or false negative staining. Here we will focus on the immunofluorescence detection of proteins/antigens on sectioned tissues. For hard tissues (eg, head, tooth, long bone), calcium deposition during development/pathogenesis makes the sample difficult to section and easily rinsed off during immunostaining treatment11,12. Most of the currently available protocols decalcify hard tissues before embedding to make sectioning easier, which is time consuming and can destroy morphology and antigens of samples if handled improperly11,12. To overcome the issues, we optimized an approach for cryosectioning of hard tissues without decalcification, leading to improved visualization of their morphology and distribution of signaling proteins.
The protocol described here is being used to determine morphometric and histological changes in the craniofacial tissues of BMP transgenic mice. Specifically, the protocol includes (1) harvesting and dissecting head tissues, (2) section and immunostaining of experimental markers (Ki67, pSmad1/5/9) along with TUNEL staining, (3) imaging the sections using fluorescence microscope, and finally (4) analyzing and quantifying the results. The protocol to prepare and cryosection hard tissues without decalcification is also described13. Those methods are optimized for craniofacial tissues. They are also applicable to other tissues from various ages of samples with appropriate modifications.

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			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Adhesive tape</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Leica</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">#39475214</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
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		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:296px;">Alexa fluor 488-goat anti-Rabbit secondary antibody</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">A-11034</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Antifade Mountant with DAPI</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">P36931</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Bovine serum albumin</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">A2153</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Coverslips</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Fisher Brand</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">12-545-E</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Cryostat</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Leica</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">CM1850</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">EDTA</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">E6758</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Fluorescence microscope</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Olympus</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">BX51</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Gelatin</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">G1890</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">In Situ&#160;Cell Death Detection Kit</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Millipore</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">S7165</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Microscope slides</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Fisher Brand</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">12-550-15</td>
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			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">OCT Compound</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Fisher Healthcare</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">23-730-571</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Paraformaldehyde (PFA)</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">P6148&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Phosphate buffered saline (PBS)</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">P4417</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Polyethylene glycol&#160;tert-octylphenyl ether</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">T9284</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Triton X-100</td>
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		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Proteinase K</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">AM2542</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:296px;">Rabbit anti-Ki67 antibody</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Cell Signaling Technology</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">9129</td>
			<td>Lot#:3; RRID:AB_2687446</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:296px;">Rabbit anti-pSmad1/5/9 antibody</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Cell Signaling Technology</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">13820</td>
			<td>Lot#:3; RRID:AB_2493181</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Sodium citrate</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">1613859</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Sucrose</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">S9378</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:296px;">Tris</td>
			<td style="width:171px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">10708976001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
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tissue preparation and immunostaining of mouse craniofacial tissues and undecalcified bone

Tissue immunostaining provides highly specific and reliable detection of proteins of interest within a given tissue. Here we describe a complete and simple protocol to detect protein expression during craniofacial morphogenesis/pathogenesis using mouse craniofacial tissues as examples. The protocol consists of preparation and cryosectioning of tissues, indirect immunofluorescence, image acquisition, and quantification. In addition, a method for preparation and cryosectioning of undecalcified hard tissues for immunostaining is described, using craniofacial tissues and long bones as examples. Those methods are key to determine the protein expression and morphological/anatomical changes in various tissues during craniofacial morphogenesis/pathogenesis. They are also applicable to other tissues with appropriate modifications. Knowledge of the histology and high quality of sections are critical to draw scientific conclusions from experimental outcomes. Potential limitations of this methodology include but are not limited to specificity of antibodies and difficulties of quantification, which are also discussed here.

Embryonic craniofacial tissue sections 
Following the above steps, heads were dissected from control (P0-Cre) or mutant (constitutively activated Bmpr1a in neural crest cells, P0-Cre; caBmpr1a) embryos at embryonic day (E) 16.5 or 18.5. After fixing in 4% PFA for 4 h, samples were embedded in OCT and cryosectioned coronally. Resulted sections were immunostained with antibodies against pSmad1/5/9 (downstream BMP signaling factors) or Ki67 (a cell pro...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Tissue Preparation and Immunostaining of Mouse Craniofacial Tissues and Undecalcified Bone at JoVE.com

Tissue Preparation and Immunostaining of Mouse Craniofacial Tissues and Undecalcified Bone

Here, we present a detailed protocol to detect and quantify protein levels during craniofacial morphogenesis/pathogenesis by immunostaining using mouse craniofacial tissues as examples. In addition, we describe a method for preparation and cryosectioning of undecalcified hard tissues from young mice for immunostaining.

Tissue immunostaining provides highly specific and reliable detection of proteins of interest within a given tissue. Here we describe a complete and ...

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