This study is supported by University of Central Florida College of Medicine start-up grant (to HN), the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center start-up grant (to HL), the United States NIH Grant #1P20CA210300-01 and Vietnamese Ministry of Health Grant #4694/QD-BYT (to PTH). We thank Dr. Xue-zhong Yu at Medical University of South Carolina for providing materials for the study.

The experimental procedures were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of University of Central Florida.
1. GVHD Induction
NOTE: Allogeneic bone marrow (BM) cell transplantation (step 1.2) is performed within 24 h after irradiation. All procedures described below are performed in a sterile environment. Perform the procedure in a tissue culture hood and use filtered reagents.
<ol>
	<li>Day 0: Prepare the recipient mice.
	<ol>
		<li>Use female ...

<ol>
	<li>Shlomchik, W. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Graft-versus-host+disease.">Graft-versus-host disease.</a> Nature Reviews Immunology. 7, 340-352 (2007).</li><li>Appelbaum, F. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Haematopoietic+cell+transplantation+as+immunotherapy.">Haematopoietic cell transplantation as immunotherapy.</a> Nature. 411, 385-389 (2001).</li><li>Blazar, B. R., Murphy, W. J., Abedi, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Advances+in+graft-versus-host+disease+biology+and+therapy.">Advances in graft-versus-host disease biology and therapy.</a> Nature Reviews Immunology. 12, 443-458 (2012).</li><li>Pasquini, M. C., Wang, Z., Horowitz, M. M., Gale, R. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=2010+report+from+the+Center+for+International+Blood+and+Marrow+Transplant+Research+(CIBMTR):+current+uses+and+outcomes+of+hematopoietic+cell+transplants+for+blood+and+bone+marrow+disorders.">2010 report from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR): current uses and outcomes of hematopoietic cell transplants for blood and bone marrow disorders.</a> Clinical Transplantation. , 87-105 (2010).</li><li>Schroeder, M. A., DiPersio, J. F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Mouse+models+of+graft-versus-host+disease:+advances+and+limitations.">Mouse models of graft-versus-host disease: advances and limitations.</a> Disease Model &amp; Mechanism. 4, 318-333 (2011).</li><li>Graves, S. S., Parker, M. H., Storb, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Animal+Models+for+Preclinical+Development+of+Allogeneic+Hematopoietic+Cell+Transplantation.">Animal Models for Preclinical Development of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.</a> ILAR Journal. , ily006 (2018).</li><li>Sprent, J., Schaefer, M., Korngold, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Role+of+T+cell+subsets+in+lethal+graft-versus-host+disease+(GVHD)+directed+to+class+I+versus+class+II+H-2+differences.+II.+Protective+effects+of+L3T4++cells+in+anti-class+II+GVHD.">Role of T cell subsets in lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) directed to class I versus class II H-2 differences. II. Protective effects of L3T4+ cells in anti-class II GVHD.</a> Journal of Immunology. 144, 2946-2954 (1990).</li><li>Rolink, A. G., Radaszkiewicz, T., Pals, S. T., van der Meer, W. G., Gleichmann, E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Allosuppressor+and+allohelper+T+cells+in+acute+and+chronic+graft-vs-host+disease.+I.+Alloreactive+suppressor+cells+rather+than+killer+T+cells+appear+to+be+the+decisive+effector+cells+in+lethal+graft-vs.-host+disease.">Allosuppressor and allohelper T cells in acute and chronic graft-vs-host disease. I. Alloreactive suppressor cells rather than killer T cells appear to be the decisive effector cells in lethal graft-vs.-host disease.</a> The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 155, 1501-1522 (1982).</li><li>Lu, Y., Waller, E. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dichotomous+role+of+interferon-gamma+in+allogeneic+bone+marrow+transplant.">Dichotomous role of interferon-gamma in allogeneic bone marrow transplant.</a> Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 15, 1347-1353 (2009).</li><li>Abdollahi, A., 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=Inhibition+of+platelet-derived+growth+factor+signaling+attenuates+pulmonary+fibrosis.">Inhibition of platelet-derived growth factor signaling attenuates pulmonary fibrosis.</a> The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 201, 925-935 (2005).</li><li>Banchereau, J., Steinman, R. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dendritic+cells+and+the+control+of+immunity.">Dendritic cells and the control of immunity.</a> Nature. 392, 245-252 (1998).</li><li>Stenger, E. O., Turnquist, H. R., Mapara, M. Y., Thomson, A. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Dendritic+cells+and+regulation+of+graft-versus-host+disease+and+graft-versus-leukemia.">Dendritic cells and regulation of graft-versus-host disease and graft-versus-leukemia.</a> Blood. 119, 5088-5103 (2012).</li><li>Ullmann, A. J., 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=Posaconazole+or+fluconazole+for+prophylaxis+in+severe+graft-versus-host+disease.">Posaconazole or fluconazole for prophylaxis in severe graft-versus-host disease.</a> New England Journal of Medicine. 356, 335-347 (2007).</li><li>Dittel, B. N. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Depletion+of+specific+cell+populations+by+complement+depletion.">Depletion of specific cell populations by complement depletion.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. , (2010).</li><li>Nguyen, H. D., 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=Metabolic+reprogramming+of+alloantigen-activated+T+cells+after+hematopoietic+cell+transplantation.">Metabolic reprogramming of alloantigen-activated T cells after hematopoietic cell transplantation.</a> Journal of Clinical Investigation. 126, 1337-1352 (2016).</li><li>Cooke, K. R., 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=An+experimental+model+of+idiopathic+pneumonia+syndrome+after+bone+marrow+transplantation:+I.+The+roles+of+minor+H+antigens+and+endotoxin.">An experimental model of idiopathic pneumonia syndrome after bone marrow transplantation: I. The roles of minor H antigens and endotoxin.</a> Blood. 88, 3230-3239 (1996).</li><li>Nguyen, H., 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=Complement+C3a+and+C5a+receptors+promote+GVHD+by+suppressing+mitophagy+in+recipient+dendritic+cells.">Complement C3a and C5a receptors promote GVHD by suppressing mitophagy in recipient dendritic cells.</a> Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight. 3, (2018).</li><li>McNutt, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cancer+immunotherapy.">Cancer immunotherapy.</a> Science. 342, 1417 (2013).</li><li>Negrin, R. S., Contag, C. H. <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+using+bioluminescence:+a+tool+for+probing+graft-versus-host+disease.">In vivo imaging using bioluminescence: a tool for probing graft-versus-host disease.</a> Nature Reviews in Immunology. 6, 484-490 (2006).</li><li>Roy, D. C., Perreault, C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Major+vs+minor+histocompatibility+antigens.">Major vs minor histocompatibility antigens.</a> Blood. 129, 664-666 (2017).</li><li>Gendelman, 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=Host+conditioning+is+a+primary+determinant+in+modulating+the+effect+of+IL-7+on+murine+graft-versus-host+disease.">Host conditioning is a primary determinant in modulating the effect of IL-7 on murine graft-versus-host disease.</a> Journal of Immunology. 172, 3328-3336 (2004).</li><li>Li, J., 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=HY-Specific+Induced+Regulatory+T+Cells+Display+High+Specificity+and+Efficacy+in+the+Prevention+of+Acute+Graft-versus-Host+Disease.">HY-Specific Induced Regulatory T Cells Display High Specificity and Efficacy in the Prevention of Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease.</a> Journal of Immunology. 195, 717-725 (2015).</li><li>Zeiser, R., 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=Early+CD30+signaling+is+critical+for+adoptively+transferred+CD4+CD25++regulatory+T+cells+in+prevention+of+acute+graft-versus-host+disease.">Early CD30 signaling is critical for adoptively transferred CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease.</a> Blood. 109, 2225-2233 (2007).</li><li>Sadeghi, B., 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=GVHD+after+chemotherapy+conditioning+in+allogeneic+transplanted+mice.">GVHD after chemotherapy conditioning in allogeneic transplanted mice.</a> Bone Marrow Transplant. 42, 807-818 (2008).</li></ol>

The use of stem cells to suit a particular individual is an effective approach to treat advanced and resistant cancers18. Small molecule pharmaceuticals, however, have long remained a primary focus of personalized cancer therapy. On the other hand, in cellular therapy a multitude of interactions between donor and host can decisively influence the treatment outcomes, such as the development of GVHD after BMT1.
Major MHC-mismatched mouse models of ...

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (BMT) is an effective therapy to treat hematological malignancies1,2 through the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect3. However, donor lymphocytes always mount unwanted immunological attacks against recipient tissues, a process called graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)4.
Murine models of GVHD are an effective tool to study the biology of GVHD and the GVL response5. Mice are a cost-effective research animal model. They are small and efficiently dosed with molecules and biologics at early phases of development6. Mice are ideal research animals for genetic manipulation studies because they are genetically well defined, which is ideal for studying biological pathways and mechanisms6. Several mouse major histocompatibility complex (MHC) MHC-mismatched models of GVHD have been well established, such as C57BL/6 (H2b) to BALB/c (H2d) and FVB (H2q)&#8594;C57BL/6 (H2b)5,7. These are particularly valuable models to determine the role of individual cell types, genes, and factors that affect GVHD. Transplantation from C57/BL/6 (H2b) parental donors to recipients with mutations in MHC I (B6.C-H2bm1) and/or MHC II (B6.C-H2bm12) revealed that a mismatch in both MHC class I and class II is an important requirement for the development of acute GVHD. This suggests that both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells are required for disease development7,8. GVHD is also involved in an inflammatory cascade known as the &#39;pro-inflammatory cytokine storm&#39;9. The most common conditioning method in murine models is total body irradiation (TBI) by X-ray or 137Cs. This leads to the recipient&#39;s bone marrow ablation, thereby allowing donor stem cell engraftment and preventing rejection of the graft. This is done by limiting the proliferation of recipient T-cells in response to donor cells. Additionally, genetic disparities play an important role in disease induction, which also depends on minor MHC-mismatch10. Therefore, myeloablative irradiation dose varies in different mouse strains (e.g., BALB/c&#8594;C57BL/6).
Activation of donor T-cells by host antigen presenting cells (APCs) is essential for GVHD development. Among the APCs, dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent. They are inheritably capable of inducing GVHD due to their superior antigen uptake, expression of T-cell co-stimulatory molecules, and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that polarize T-cells into pathogenic subsets. Recipient DCs are critical for facilitating T-cell priming and GVHD induction after transplantation11,12. Accordingly, DCs have become interesting targets in the treatment of GVHD12.
TBI is required to enhance the donor cell engraftment. Due to the TBI effect, recipient DCs are activated and survive for a short time after the transplantation12. Despite major advancements in the usage of bioluminescence or fluorescence, establishing an effective model to study the role of recipient DCs in GVHD is still challenging.
Because donor T-cells are the driving force for GVL activity, treatment strategies using immunosuppressive drugs such as steroids to suppress T-cell alloreactivity often cause tumor relapse or infection13. Therefore, targeting recipient DCs may provide an alternative approach to treat GVHD while preserving the GVL effect and avoiding infection.
In brief, the current study provides a platform to understand how different types of signaling in recipient DCs regulates GVHD development and the GVL effect after BMT.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>0.5 M EDTA pH 8.0 100ML</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP2482100</td>
			<td>MACS buffer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10X PBS</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP3994</td>
			<td>MACS buffer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>A20 B-cell lymphoma</td>
			<td>University of Central Florida</td>
			<td>In house</td>
			<td>GVL experiment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ACC1 fl/fl</td>
			<td>Jackson Lab</td>
			<td>30954</td>
			<td>GVL experiment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ACC1 fl/fl CD4cre</td>
			<td>University of Central Florida</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>GVL experiment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-Biotin MicroBeads</td>
			<td>Miltenyi Biotec</td>
			<td>130-090-485</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-Human/Mouse CD45R (B220)</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-0452-85</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-mouse B220 FITC</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>10452-85</td>
			<td>Flow cytometry analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-mouse CD11c- AF700</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>117319</td>
			<td>Flow cytometry analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-Mouse CD25 PE</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>12-0251-82</td>
			<td>Flow staining</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-Mouse CD4 Biotin</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-0041-86</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-Mouse CD4 eFluor&#174; 450 (Pacific Blue&#174; replacement)</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>48-0042-82</td>
			<td>Flow staining</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-mouse CD45.1 PE</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>12-0900-83</td>
			<td>Flow cytometry analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-Mouse CD8a APC</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>17-0081-83</td>
			<td>Flow cytometry analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-mouse H-2Kb PerCP-Fluor 710</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>46-5958-82</td>
			<td>Flow cytometry analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-mouse MHC Class II-antibody APC</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>17-5320-82</td>
			<td>Flow cytometry analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-Mouse TER-119 Biotin</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-5921-85</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-Thy1.2</td>
			<td>Bio Excel</td>
			<td>BE0066</td>
			<td>BM generation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>B6 fB-/- mice</td>
			<td>University of Central Florida</td>
			<td>In house</td>
			<td>Recipients</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>B6.Ly5.1 (CD45.1+) mice</td>
			<td>Charles River</td>
			<td>564</td>
			<td>Donors</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BALB/c mice</td>
			<td>Charles River</td>
			<td>028</td>
			<td>Transplant recipients</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>C57BL/6 mice</td>
			<td>Charles River</td>
			<td>027</td>
			<td>Donors/Recipients</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CD11b</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-0112-85</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CD25-biotin</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-0251-82</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CD45R</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-0452-82</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CD49b Monoclonal Antibody (DX5)-biotin</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-5971-82</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell strainer 40 uM</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>22363547</td>
			<td>Cell preparation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell strainer 70 uM</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>22363548</td>
			<td>Cell preparation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>D-Luciferin</td>
			<td>Goldbio</td>
			<td>LUCK-1G</td>
			<td>Live animal imaging</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)</td>
			<td>Atlanta Bilogicals R&#38;D system</td>
			<td>D17051</td>
			<td>Cell Culture</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Flow cytometry tubes</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>352008</td>
			<td>Flow cytometry analysis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FVB/NCrl</td>
			<td>Charles River</td>
			<td>207</td>
			<td>Donors</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lipopolysacharide (LPS)</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>L4391-1MG</td>
			<td>DC mature</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LS column</td>
			<td>Mitenyi Biotec</td>
			<td>130-042-401</td>
			<td>Cell preparation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MidiMACS</td>
			<td>Miltenyi Biotec</td>
			<td>130-042-302</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>New Brunswick Galaxy 170R incubator</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>Galaxy 170 R</td>
			<td>Cell Culture</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Penicilin+streptomycinPenicillin/Streptomycin (10,000 units penicillin / 10,000 mg/ml strep)</td>
			<td>GIBCO</td>
			<td>15140</td>
			<td>Media</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RPMI 1640</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scienctific</td>
			<td>11875-093</td>
			<td>Media</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TER119</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-5921-82</td>
			<td>T-cell enrichment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Xenogen IVIS-200</td>
			<td>Perkin Elmer</td>
			<td>Xenogen IVIS-200</td>
			<td>Live animal imaging</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>X-RAD 320 Biological Irradiator</td>
			<td>Precision X-RAY</td>
			<td>X-RAD 320</td>
			<td>Total Body Irradiation</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

bone marrow transplantation platform to investigate the role of dendritic cells in graft-versus-host disease

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is an effective therapy for hematological malignancies due to the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect to eradicate tumors. However, its application is limited by the development of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a major complication of BMT. GVHD is evoked when T-cells in the donor grafts recognizealloantigen expressed by recipient cells and mount unwanted immunological attacks against recipient healthy tissues. Thus, traditional therapies are designed to suppress donor T-cell alloreactivity. However, these approaches substantially impair the GVL effect so that the recipient&#39;s survival is not improved. Understanding the effects of therapeutic approaches on BMT, GVL, and GVHD, is thus essential. Due to the antigen-presenting and cytokine-secreting capacities to stimulate donor T-cells, recipient dendritic cells (DCs) play a significant role in the induction of GVHD. Therefore, targeting recipient DCs becomes a potential approach for controlling GVHD. This work provides a description of a novel BMT platform to investigate how host DCs regulate GVH and GVL responses after transplantation. Also presented is an effective BMT model to study the biology of GVHD and GVL after transplantation.

The major MHC-mismatched B6 (H2kb)-BALB/C (H2kd) model closely corresponded to GVHD development after the transplantation (Figure 2). All six GVHD clinical signs established previously by Cooke et al.16 occurred in the recipients transplanted with WT-B6 T-cells but not in the recipients transplanted with BM alone (step 1.5), which represented the GVHD-negative group. There are two phases in GVHD development in thi...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Bone Marrow Transplantation Platform to Investigate the Role of Dendritic Cells in Graft-versus-Host Disease at JoVE.com

Bone Marrow Transplantation Platform to Investigate the Role of Dendritic Cells in Graft-versus-Host Disease

Graft-versus-host disease is a major complication after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Dendritic cells play a critical role in the pathogenesis of graft-versus-host disease. The current article describes a novel bone marrow transplantation platform to investigate the role of dendritic cells in the development of graft-versus-host disease and the graft-versus-leukemia effect.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is an effective therapy for hematological malignancies due to the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect to ...

This novel bone marrow transplant protocol can be used to investigate how host dendritic cells regulate graft-versus-host and graft-versus-leukemia responses after transplantation. Ex vivo cell regenerations allows this protocol to be adapted to test the role of other immune cell population such as macrophage and neutrophils simply by modifying the culture condition. Demonstrating the procedure with me will be lab manager Krystal Hossack and undergraduate Sanjeev Gurshaney.For donor T-cell-depleted C57BL/6 bone marrow preparation, harvest the femur and tibia according to standard protocols from euthanized donor mice and transfer the bones into a 92 millimeter diameter Petri dish containing 1%RPMI medium. Using scissors, remove the ends from each bone and fill a three milliliter syringe equipped with a 26 gauge needle with fresh 1%RPMI medium. Insert the needle into one end of one bone and depress the plunger to flush the bone marrow out of the cavity and into a collection cell strainer.When all of the bone marrow has been collected, strain the bone marrow pieces through a 75 micrometer mesh filter and transfer the single-cell suspension into a new 50 milliliter tube. Sediment the cells by centrifugation and resuspend the pellet at a 20 times 10 to the six cells per milliliter concentration in PBS supplemented with 0.5%BSA. Next, add 0.05 micrograms of THI1 antibody per one times 10 to the six cells for a 30-minute incubation at four degrees Celsius.At the end of the incubation, wash the cells twice with 10 milliliters of ice cold PBS and resuspend the pellet at a two times 10 to the seven cells per milliliter concentration in 0.5%BSA supplemented with 10%young rabbit complement and 2%DNAse in sterile water for a 45-minute incubation at 37 degrees Celsius. At the end of the incubation, wash the cells twice with 15 milliliters of fresh PBS per wash and resuspend the pellet in 20 milliliters of PBS containing 0.5%BSA. Pool the lymph nodes and the spleen in a 40 micrometer pore strainer and use a syringe plunger to macerate the tissues through the filters to release the cells.Wash the strainer and plunger with RPMI medium supplemented with 1%FBS to collect all of the cells and sediment the cells by centrifugation. Add five milliliters of ACK lysis buffer to the cell pellet. After five minutes at room temperature, stop the reaction with five milliliters of medium supplemented with 1%FBS and pellet the white blood cells by centrifugation.Resuspend the pellet in five milliliters of MACS buffer for counting and dilute the cells to a concentration of two times 10 to the eight cells per milliliter in fresh MACS buffer. Add the appropriate concentration of anti-erythroid, anti-granulocyte, anti-B-cell, and anti-NK-cell depletion antibodies per one times 10 to the six cells for a 15-minute incubation at four degrees Celsius. At the end of the incubation, wash the cells with 10 milliliters of ice cold MACS buffer and resuspend the pellet at a one times 10 to the eight cells per milliliter concentration in fresh MACS buffer.Next, add 0.22 microliters of Anti-Biotin MicroBeads per one times 10 to the six cells with mixing for a 15-minute incubation at four degrees Celsius. At the end of the incubation, wash the cells with 10 milliliters of ice cold MACS buffer and collect the unbound enriched T-cells by magnetic bead separation using MACSxpress separator according to standard bead isolation protocols. At the end of the separation, sediment the T-cells by centrifugation and resuspend the pellet in five milliliters of fresh MACS buffer for counting.To generate bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, isolate the bone marrow from the femurs of wild type or factor B knockout mice as demonstrated and lyse the red blood cells in five milliliters of ACK lysis buffer, stopping the reaction with 10 milliliters of RPMI supplemented with 1%FBS after five minutes. After collecting the whole blood cells by centrifugation, resuspend the pellet in 10 milliliters of culture medium to a two times 10 to the sixth cells per milliliter concentration and add 20 nanograms per milliliter of GM-CSF to the cells before seeding 10 milliliters of cells onto individual 100 by 15 millimeter Petri dishes at 37 degrees Celsius and 5%carbon dioxide for six days. On day six, activate the bone marrow-derived dendritic cell cultures with 25 micrograms per milliliter of LPS per plate.At least 85%of the cultured bone marrow cells differentiate into dendritic cells. The T-cell purity after magnetic bead enrichment is 90%The major MHC mismatched C57BL/6 BALB/c model closely corresponds to GVHD development after transplantation. The peak of severity occurs approximately 11 days after cell transfer followed by a reduction in the clinical scores and body weight recovery up to day 16.The recipients uniformly succumbed to GVHD by 30 to 40 days posttransplant. Interestingly, transplantation with factor B knockout dendritic cells improves recipient survival and GVHD clinical scores. Luciferase-transduced A20 B-cell lymphoma allows the monitoring of tumor growth in live animals.In this representative experiment, all of the wild type BALB/c recipients that received bone marrow alone plus A20 died of a tumor relapse. Wild type BALB/c recipients transplanted with bone marrow-derived ACC1-depleted donor T-cells died of GVHD. In addition, animals that received donor bone marrow and ACC1-depleted T-cells died of both GVHD and tumor relapse.To generate enough bone marrow cell, the collected tibia and femur bones must be completely free of muscle tissue before the bone marrow correction. Negative purification of the bone marrow cells with biotinylase anti-CD3 and Anti-Biotin MicroBeads can also per performed to deplete the lymphocyte from the bone marrow.

bone-marrow-transplantation-platform-to-investigate-role-dendritic

Research

JoVE Journal

Immunology and Infection

Generation and Labeling of Murine Bone Marrow-derived Dendritic Cells with Qdot Nanocrystals for Tracking Studies

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) found in peripheral tissues and in immunological organs such as thymus, bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes and Peyer's patches 1-3. DCs present in peripheral tissues sample the organism for the presence of antigens, which they take up, process and present in their surface in the context of major histocompatibility molecules (MHC). Then, antigen-loaded DCs migrate to immunological organs where they present the processed antigen to T lymphocytes triggering specific immune responses. One way to evaluate the migratory capabilities of DCs is to label them with fluorescent dyes 4.
Herewith we demonstrate the use of Qdot fluorescent nanocrystals to label murine bone marrow-derived DC. The advantage of this labeling is that Qdot nanocrystals possess stable and long lasting fluorescence that make them ideal for detecting labeled cells in recovered tissues. To accomplish this, first cells will be recovered from murine bone marrows and cultured for 8 days in the presence of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor in order to induce DC differentiation. These cells will be then labeled with fluorescent Qdots by short in vitro incubation. Stained cells can be visualized with a fluorescent microscopy. Cells can be injected into experimental animals at this point or can be into mature cells upon in vitro incubation with inflammatory stimuli. In our hands, DC maturation did not determine loss of fluorescent signal nor does Qdot staining affect the biological properties of DCs. Upon injection, these cells can be identified in immune organs by fluorescent microscopy following typical dissection and fixation procedures.

Dendritic cells uptake antigens and migrate towards immune organs to present processed antigens to T cells. Qdot nanocrystal labeling provides a long-lasting and stable fluorescent signal. This allows tracking of dendritic cells to different organs by fluorescent microscopy.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) found in peripheral tissues and in immunological organs such as thymus, bone ...

Induction of Graft-versus-host Disease and In Vivo T Cell Monitoring Using an MHC-matched Murine Model

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the limiting barrier to the broad use of bone marrow transplant as a curative therapy for a variety of hematological deficiencies. GVHD is caused by mature alloreactive T cells present in the bone marrow graft that are infused into the recipient and cause damage to host organs. However, in mice, T cells must be added to the bone marrow inoculum to cause GVHD. Although extensive work has been done to characterize T cell responses post transplant, bioluminescent imaging technology is a non-invasive method to monitor T cell trafficking patterns in vivo. 
Following lethal irradiation, recipient mice are transplanted with bone marrow cells and splenocytes from donor mice. T cell subsets from L2G85.B6 (transgenic mice that constitutively express luciferase) are included in the transplant. By only transplanting certain T cell subsets, one is able to track specific T cell subsets in vivo, and based on their location, develop hypotheses regarding the role of specific T cell subsets in promoting GVHD at various time points. At predetermined intervals post transplant, recipient mice are imaged using a Xenogen IVIS CCD camera. Light intensity can be quantified using Living Image software to generate a pseudo-color image based on photon intensity (red = high intensity, violet = low intensity). 
Between 4-7 days post transplant, recipient mice begin to show clinical signs of GVHD. Cooke et al.1 developed a scoring system to quantitate disease progression based on the recipient mice fur texture, skin integrity, activity, weight loss, and posture. Mice are scored daily, and euthanized when they become moribund. Recipient mice generally become moribund 20-30 days post transplant. 
Murine models are valuable tools for studying the immunology of GVHD. Selectively transplanting particular T cell subsets allows for careful identification of the roles each subset plays. Non-invasively tracking T cell responses in vivo adds another layer of value to murine GVHD models.

Induction of Graft-versus-host Disease and In Vivo T Cell Monitoring Using an MHC-matched Murine Model

Murine bone marrow transplantation is a widely used technique to study immunological mechanisms governing graft-versus-host disease in humans. The ability to monitor T cell trafficking patterns in vivo allows for detailed analysis of the development and perpetuation of T cell responses during graft-versus-host disease.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the limiting barrier to the broad use of bone marrow transplant as a curative therapy for a variety of hematological ...

Differentiating Functional Roles of Gene Expression from Immune and Non-immune Cells in Mouse Colitis by Bone Marrow Transplantation

To understand the role of a gene in the development of colitis, we compared the responses of wild-type mice and gene-of-interest deficient knockout mice to colitis. If the gene-of-interest is expressed in both bone marrow derived cells and non-bone marrow derived cells of the host; however, it is possible to differentiate the role of a gene of interest in bone marrow derived cells and non- bone marrow derived cells by bone marrow transplantation technique. To change the bone marrow derived cell genotype of mice, the original bone marrow of recipient mice were destroyed by irradiation and then replaced by new donor bone marrow of different genotype. When wild-type mice donor bone marrow was transplanted to knockout mice, we could generate knockout mice with wild-type gene expression in bone marrow derived cells. Alternatively, when knockout mice donor bone marrow was transplanted to wild-type recipient mice, wild-type mice without gene-of-interest expressing from bone marrow derived cells were produced. However, bone marrow transplantation may not be 100% complete. Therefore, we utilized cluster of differentiation (CD) molecules (CD45.1 and CD45.2) as markers of donor and recipient cells to track the proportion of donor bone marrow derived cells in recipient mice and success of bone marrow transplantation. Wild-type mice with CD45.1 genotype and knockout mice with CD45.2 genotype were used. After irradiation of recipient mice, the donor bone marrow cells of different genotypes were infused into the recipient mice. When the new bone marrow regenerated to take over its immunity, the mice were challenged by chemical agent (dextran sodium sulfate, DSS 5%) to induce colitis. Here we also showed the method to induce colitis in mice and evaluate the role of the gene of interest expressed from bone-marrow derived cells. If the gene-of-interest from the bone derived cells plays an important role in the development of the disease (such as colitis), the phenotype of the recipient mice with bone marrow transplantation can be significantly altered. At the end of colitis experiments, the bone marrow derived cells in blood and bone marrow were labeled with antibodies against CD45.1 and CD45.2 and their quantitative ratio of existence could be used to evaluate the success of bone marrow transplantation by flow cytometry. Successful bone marrow transplantation should show a vast majority of donor genotype (in term of CD molecule marker) over recipient genotype in both the bone marrow and blood of recipient mice.

Bone marrow transplantation provides a way to change the genotype of the bone marrow derived cells. If the gene of interest is expressed in both bone marrow derived cells and non-bone marrow derived cells, bone marrow transplantation can change the bone marrow derived cells to a different genotype without changing the non-bone marrow derived cell genotype.

To understand the role of a gene in the development of colitis, we compared the responses of wild-type mice and gene-of-interest deficient knockout mice ...

Generation and Identification of GM-CSF Derived Alveolar-like Macrophages and Dendritic Cells From Mouse Bone Marrow

Macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) are innate immune cells found in tissues and lymphoid organs that play a key role in the defense against pathogens. However, they are difficult to isolate in sufficient numbers to study them in detail, therefore, in vitro models have been developed. In vitro cultures of bone marrow-derived macrophages and dendritic cells are well-established and valuable methods for immunological studies. Here, a method for culturing and identifying both DCs and macrophages from a single culture of primary mouse bone marrow cells using the cytokine granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is described. This protocol is based on the established procedure first developed by Lutz et al. in 1999 for bone marrow-derived DCs. The culture is heterogeneous, and MHCII and fluoresceinated hyaluronan (FL-HA) are used to distinguish macrophages from immature and mature DCs. These GM-CSF derived macrophages provide a convenient source of in vitro derived macrophages that closely resemble alveolar macrophages in both phenotype and function.

Bone marrow cells cultured with granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) generate a heterogeneous culture containing macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs). This method highlights using MHCII and hyaluronan (HA) binding to differentiate macrophages from the DCs in the GM-CSF culture. Macrophages in this culture have many similarities to alveolar macrophages.

Macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) are innate immune cells found in tissues and lymphoid organs that play a key role in the defense against pathogens. ...

Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorting for Purification of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells from the Mouse Bone Marrow

Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) is a technique to purify specific cell populations based on phenotypes detected by flow cytometry. This method enables researchers to better understand the characteristics of a single cell population without the influence of other cells. Compared to other methods of cell enrichment, such as magnetic-activated cell sorting (MCS), FACS is more flexible and accurate for cell separation due to the ability of phenotype detection by flow cytometry. In addition, FACS is usually capable of separating multiple cell populations simultaneously, which improves the efficiency and diversity of experiments. Although FACS has some limitations, it has been broadly used to purify cells for functional studies in both in vitro and in vivo settings. Here we report a protocol using fluorescence-activated cell sorting to isolate a very rare population of immune cells, plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC), with high purity from the bone marrow of lupus-prone mice for in vitro functional studies of pDC.

We report a protocol using fluorescence-activated cell sorting to isolate plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) with high purity from the bone marrow of lupus-prone mice for functional studies of pDC.

Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) is a technique to purify specific cell populations based on phenotypes detected by flow cytometry. This method ...

Precision-cut Mouse Lung Slices to Visualize Live Pulmonary Dendritic Cells

Inhalation of allergens and pathogens elicits multiple changes in a variety of immune cell types in the lung. Flow cytometry is a powerful technique for quantitative analysis of cell surface proteins on immune cells, but it provides no information on the localization and migration patterns of these cells within the lung. Similarly,&#160;chemotaxis assays can be performed to study the potential of cells to respond to chemotactic factors in vitro, but these assays do not reproduce the complex environment of the intact lung. In contrast to these aforementioned techniques, the location of individual cell types within the lung can be readily visualized by generating Precision-cut Lung Slices (PCLS), staining them with commercially available, fluorescently tagged antibodies, and visualizing the sections by confocal microscopy. PCLS can be used for both live and fixed lung tissue, and the slices can encompass areas as large as a cross section of an entire lobe. We have used this protocol to successfully visualize the location of a wide variety of cell types in the lung, including distinct types of dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, T cells and B cells, as well as structural cells such as lymphatic, endothelial, and epithelial cells. The ability to visualize cellular interactions, such as those between dendritic cells and T cells, in live, three-dimensional lung tissue, can reveal how cells move within the lung and interact with one another at steady state and during inflammation. Thus, when used in combination with other procedures, such as flow cytometry and quantitative PCR, PCLS can contribute to a comprehensive understanding of cellular events that underlie allergic and inflammatory diseases of the lung.

We describe a method for generating Precision-cut Lung Slices (PCLS) and immunostaining them to visualize the localization of various immune cell types in the lung. Our protocol can be extended to visualize the location and function of many different cell types under a variety of conditions.

Inhalation of allergens and pathogens elicits multiple changes in a variety of immune cell types in the lung. Flow cytometry is a powerful technique for ...

An In Vivo Mouse Model to Measure Na&#239;ve CD4 T Cell Activation, Proliferation and Th1 Differentiation Induced by Bone Marrow-derived Dendritic Cells

Quantification of na&#239;ve CD4 T cell activation, proliferation, and differentiation to T helper 1 (Th1) cells is a useful way to assess the role played by T cells in an immune response. This protocol describes the in vitro differentiation of bone marrow (BM) progenitors to obtain granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) derived-dendritic cells (DCs). The protocol also describes the adoptive transfer of ovalbumin peptide (OVAp)-loaded GM-CSF-derived DCs and na&#239;ve CD4 T cells from OTII transgenic mice in order to analyze the in vivo activation, proliferation, and Th1 differentiation of the transferred CD4 T cells. This protocol circumvents the limitation of purely in vivo methods imposed by the inability to specifically manipulate or select the studied cell population. Moreover, this protocol allows studies in an in vivo environment, thus avoiding alterations to functional factors that may occur in vitro and including the influence of cell types and other factors only found in intact organs. The protocol is a useful tool for generating changes in DCs and T cells that modify adaptive immune responses, potentially providing important results to understand the origin or development of numerous immune associated diseases.

An &lt;em&gt;In Vivo&lt;/em&gt; Mouse Model to Measure Na&amp;#239;ve CD4 T Cell Activation, Proliferation and Th1 Differentiation Induced by Bone Marrow-derived Dendritic Cells

Here, we present a protocol for the in vivo determination of na&#239;ve CD4 T cell (T cell) activation, proliferation, and Th1 differentiation induced by GM-CSF bone marrow (BM)-derived dendritic cells (DCs). In addition, this protocol describes BM and T-cell isolation, DC generation, and DC and T-cell adoptive transfer.

Quantification of na&#239;ve CD4 T cell activation, proliferation, and differentiation to T helper 1 (Th1) cells is a useful way to assess the role played ...

Induction of Intestinal Graft-versus-host Disease and Its Mini-endoscopic Assessment in Live Mice

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) represents the most severe complication that patients previously undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) face and is frequently associated with a poor clinical outcome. While, for instance, GvHD manifestations of the skin are usually responsive to established immune-suppressive therapies and are, hence, not taking a fatal course, the presence and the intensity of intestinal GvHD, especially of the mid-to-lower parts of the gut, strongly influence the outcome and overall survival of patients with acute GvHD. Therapeutic options are essentially limited to the classic immune-suppressive agents yielding only moderate disease-mitigating effects. Hence, detailed knowledge about the tissue-resident immune cascade, changes in the intestinal microbiota, and the stromal response prior, upon, and after intestinal GvHD onset are urgently needed to understand the events and mechanisms underlying its pathogenesis and to develop innovative therapeutic options. Murine models of GvHD are frequently employed to identify and functionally assess molecules and pathways putatively driving intestinal GvHD. However, means to specifically monitor and evaluate intestinal inflammation over time are essentially lacking since established scores to assess and grade acute GvHD are routinely comprised of various parameters which rather reflect&#160;systemic GvHD manifestations. The detailed evaluation of intestinal GvHD has been restricted to studies using euthanized mice, thereby essentially excluding longitudinal (i.e., kinetic) analyses of the colonic compartment under a given experimental condition (e.g., antibody-mediated blockade of a proinflammatory cytokine) in live mice (i.e., in vivo). The mini-endoscopic in situ assessment of the distal colon of allo-HCT-treated mice described here allows a) a detailed macroscopic evaluation of different aspects of intestinal inflammation and b) the option to collect tissue samples for downstream analyses at various time points over the course of the observation period. Overall, the mini-endoscopic approach provides a major advance in preclinical noninvasive monitoring and assessment of intestinal GvHD.

Here, we present a protocol that describes allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and allows repetitive mini-endoscopic evaluations of the distal colon in situ for the presence, characteristics, and severity of colonic inflammation within live mice suffering from intestinal graft-versus-host disease.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) represents the most severe complication that patients previously undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell ...

Induction and Scoring of Graft-Versus-Host Disease in a Xenogeneic Murine Model and Quantification of Human T Cells in Mouse Tissues using Digital PCR

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a significant limitation for patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplant as therapy for hematological deficiencies and malignancies. Acute GVHD occurs when donor T cells recognize host tissues as a foreign antigen and mount an immune response to the host. Current treatments involve toxic immunosuppressive drugs that render patients susceptible to infection and recurrence. Thus, there is ongoing research to provide an acute GVHD therapy that can effectively target donor T cells and reduce side effects. Much of this pre-clinical work uses the xenogenic GVHD (xenoGVHD) murine model that allows for testing of immunosuppressive therapies on human cells rather than murine cells in an in vivo system. This protocol outlines how to induce xenoGVHD and how to blind and standardize clinical scoring to ensure consistent results. Additionally, this protocol describes how to use digital PCR to detect human T cells in mouse tissues, which can subsequently be used to quantify efficacy of tested therapies. The xenoGVHD model not only provides a model to test GVHD therapies but any therapy that can suppress human T cells, which could then be applied to many inflammatory diseases.

Here, we present a protocol to induce and score disease in a xenogeneic graft-versus-host disease (xenoGVHD) model. xenoGVHD provides an in vivo model to study immunosuppression of human T cells. Additionally, we describe how to detect human T cells in tissues with digital PCR as a tool to quantify immunosuppression.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a significant limitation for patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplant as therapy for hematological ...

Isolation of Lamina Propria Mononuclear Cells from Murine Colon Using Collagenase E

The intestine is the home to the largest number of immune cells in the body. The small and large intestinal immune systems police exposure to exogenous antigens and modulate responses to potent microbially derived immune stimuli. For this reason, the intestine is a major target site of immune dysregulation and inflammation in many diseases including but, not limited to inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn&#8217;s disease and ulcerative colitis, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after bone marrow transplantation (BMT), and many allergic and infectious conditions. Murine models of gastrointestinal inflammation and colitis are heavily used to study GI complications and to pre-clinically optimize strategies for prevention and treatment. Data gleaned from these models via isolation and phenotypic analysis of immune cells from the intestine is critical to further immune understanding that can be applied to ameliorate gastrointestinal and systemic inflammatory disorders. This report describes a highly effective protocol for the isolation of mononuclear cells (MNC) from the colon using a mixed silica-based density gradient interface. This method reproducibly isolates a significant number of viable leukocytes while minimizing contaminating debris, allowing subsequent immune phenotyping by flow cytometry or other methods.

The goal of this protocol is to isolate mononuclear cells that reside in the lamina propria of the colon by enzymatic digestion of the tissue using collagenase. This protocol allows for the efficient isolation of mononuclear cells resulting in a single cell suspension which in turn can be used for robust immunophenotyping.

The intestine is the home to the largest number of immune cells in the body. The small and large intestinal immune systems police exposure to exogenous ...