Name: isolation of mouse interstitial valve cells to study the calcification of the aortic valve in vitro
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Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation of Mouse Interstitial Valve Cells to Study the Calcification of the Aortic Valve In Vitro at JoVE.com

NOTE: All animal procedures described here have been approved by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai institutional core and use committee.
1. Preparation before valve cell isolation from adult mice
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	<li>Clean and sterilize all the surgical instruments shown in Figure 1A by using 70% v/v ethanol and subsequently autoclaving them for 30 min. clean the surgical workspace with 70% ethanol.</li>
	<li>Add 500 &#181;L of penicillin-streptomycin to 50 mL of 10 ...

<ol>
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C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Mycoplasma+contamination+of+cell+cultures:+Incidence,+sources,+effects,+detection,+elimination,+prevention.">Mycoplasma contamination of cell cultures: Incidence, sources, effects, detection, elimination, prevention.</a> Cytotechnology. 39 (2), 75-90 (2002).</li><li>Richards, 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=Side-specific+endothelial-dependent+regulation+of+aortic+valve+calcification:+interplay+of+hemodynamics+and+nitric+oxide+signaling.">Side-specific endothelial-dependent regulation of aortic valve calcification: interplay of hemodynamics and nitric oxide signaling.</a> American Journal of Pathology. 182 (5), 1922-1931 (2013).</li><li>Bouchareb, 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=Mechanical+strain+induces+the+production+of+spheroid+mineralized+microparticles+in+the+aortic+valve+through+a+RhoA/ROCK-dependent+mechanism.">Mechanical strain induces the production of spheroid mineralized microparticles in the aortic valve through a RhoA/ROCK-dependent mechanism.</a> Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology. 67, 49-59 (2014).</li><li>Lerman, D. 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This article presents a detailed protocol of mouse valve cell isolation for primary culture. Three aortic valves from 8-week-old mice were pooled to obtain an adequate number of cells. In addition, this protocol describes the characterization of VIC phenotype and the in vitro mineralization assay. The method was adapted from the previously described protocol from Mathieu et al.7.
During the isolation of aortic valves, care must be taken to avoid all so...

Calcified aortic valve disease (CAVD) is the most prevalent valvular heart disease in western populations, affecting nearly 2.5% of elderly individuals over 65 years of age1. CAVD affects over six million Americans and is associated with changes in the mechanical properties of the leaflets that impair normal blood flow-through1,2. Currently, there is no pharmacological treatment to stop the progression of the disease or to activate mineral regression. The only effective therapy to treat CAVD is aortic valve replacement by surgery or transcatheter aortic valve replacement3. It is therefore imperative to investigate the molecular mechanisms leading to valve mineralization to identify new pharmacological targets. Indeed, non-treated aortic stenosis has several adverse consequences such as left ventricle dysfunction and heart failure4.
The aortic valve consists of three layers known as fibrosa, spongiosa, and ventricularis, which contain VICs as the predominant cell type5. The fibrosa and the ventricularis are covered by a layer of vascular endothelial cells (VECs)5. The VECs regulate the permeability of inflammatory cells as well as paracrine signals. Increased mechanical stress may affect the integrity of the VECs and disturb the homeostasis of the aortic valve, leading to inflammatory cell invasion6. Scanning electron microscopy analyses showed disrupted endothelium in a human calcified aortic valve7. 
Histological analyses of calcified tissue reveal the presence of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Furthermore, osteogenic differentiation of VICs was observed both in vitro and in human valve tissue8. This process is mainly orchestrated by the Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs)8,9.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>3 mm cutting edge scissors</td>
			<td>F.S.T</td>
			<td>15000-00</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-alpha smooth muscle Actin antibody</td>
			<td>abcam</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Anti-mouse, Alexa Fluor 488 conjugate</td>
			<td>Cell Signaling</td>
			<td>4412</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Arsenazo-III reagent set</td>
			<td>POINT SCIENTIFIC</td>
			<td>C7529-500</td>
			<td>a Kit to measure the concentration of calcium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bonn Scissors</td>
			<td>F.S.T</td>
			<td>14184-09</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Calcium hydroxide</td>
			<td>SIGMA -Aldrich 31219</td>
			<td>31219</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CD31</td>
			<td>Novusbio</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase type I&#160; (125 units/mg)</td>
			<td>Thermofisher Scientific</td>
			<td>17018029</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DMEM</td>
			<td>Tthermofisher</td>
			<td>11965092</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Extra fine graefe forceps</td>
			<td>F.S.T</td>
			<td>11150-10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FBS</td>
			<td>Gibco 16000044</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fine forceps</td>
			<td>F.S.T Dumont</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HCl</td>
			<td>SIGMA-ALDRICH</td>
			<td>H1758</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEPES 1 M solution</td>
			<td>STEMCELLS TECHNOLOGIES</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>L-Glutamine 100x</td>
			<td>Thermofisher Scientific</td>
			<td>25030081</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mycozap</td>
			<td>Lanza</td>
			<td>VZA-2011</td>
			<td>Mycoplasma elimination reagent</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS 10x</td>
			<td>SIGMA-ALDRICH</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>penecillin streptomycin 100x</td>
			<td>Thermofisher Scientific</td>
			<td>10378016</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium Pyruvate 100 mM</td>
			<td>Thermofisher Scientific</td>
			<td>11360070</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Standard pattern forceps</td>
			<td>&#160;F.S.T</td>
			<td>11000-12</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Surgical Scissors - Sharp-Blunt</td>
			<td>F.S.T</td>
			<td>14008-14</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Trypsin 0.05%</td>
			<td>Thermofisher Scientific</td>
			<td>25300054</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vimentin</td>
			<td>abcam</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

isolation of mouse interstitial valve cells to study the calcification of the aortic valve in vitro

The calcification of aortic valve cells is the hallmark of aortic stenosis and is associated with valve cusp fibrosis. Valve interstitial cells (VICs) play an important role in the calcification process in aortic stenosis through the activation of their dedifferentiation program to osteoblast-like cells. Mouse VICs are a good in vitro tool for the elucidation of the signaling pathways driving the mineralization of the aortic valve cell. The method described herein, successfully used by these authors, explains how to obtain freshly isolated cells. A two-step collagenase procedure was performed with 1 mg/mL and 4.5 mg/mL. The first step is crucial to remove the endothelial cell layer and avoid any contamination. The second collagenase incubation is to facilitate the migration of VICs from the tissue to the plate. In addition, an immunofluorescence staining procedure for the phenotype characterization of the isolated mouse valve cells is discussed. Furthermore, the calcification assay was performed in vitro by using the calcium reagent measurement procedure and alizarin red staining. The use of mouse valve cell primary culture is essential for testing new pharmacological targets to inhibit cell mineralization in vitro.

As murine aortic valves are typically 1 mm in diameter, at least three valves must be pooled to collect a million viable cells for different experimental procedures. The different steps of the VIC isolation process are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. As it is difficult to manually scrape the valve tissue, it is preferable to use shear stress created by vortexing to remove the VECs. Indeed, the CD31 immunofluorescence staining results showed the absence of endoth...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation of Mouse Interstitial Valve Cells to Study the Calcification of the Aortic Valve In Vitro at JoVE.com

Isolation of Mouse Interstitial Valve Cells to Study the Calcification of the Aortic Valve In Vitro

This article describes the isolation of mouse aortic valve cells by a two-step collagenase procedure. Isolated mouse valve cells are important for performing different assays, such as this in vitro calcification assay, and for investigating the molecular pathways leading to aortic valve mineralization.

Isolation of Mouse Interstitial Valve Cells to Study the Calcification of the Aortic Valve In Vitro

The calcification of aortic valve cells is the hallmark of aortic stenosis and is associated with valve cusp fibrosis. Valve interstitial cells (VICs) ...

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