Name: isolation of cardiac and vascular smooth muscle cells from adult, juvenile, larval and embryonic zebrafish for electrophysiological studies
Uploaded: 2022-02-09T14:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation of Cardiac and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells from Adult, Juvenile, Larval and Embryonic Zebrafish for Electrophysiological Studies at JoVE.com

This work was supported by NIH grants HL140024 to CGN and HL150277 to CMC. Figure 1 and Figure 2 were created with BioRender.com.

All zebrafish (wild type strain AB, both male and female) were raised, maintained, and handled for the experiments following the guidelines of the Washington University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
1. Isolation of atrium, ventricle, and bulbous arteriosus from adult, juvenile, and larval zebrafish
<ol>
	<li>Euthanize fish using cold-shock, i.e., by immersing in 4 &#176;C water, for ~10 s.</li>
	<li>Using curved forceps, transfer fish into a large Petr...

<ol>
	<li>Vascotto, S. G., Beckham, Y., Kelly, G. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+zebrafish's+swim+to+fame+as+an+experimental+model+in+biology.">The zebrafish's swim to fame as an experimental model in biology.</a> Biochemistry and Cell Biology. 75 (5), 479-485 (1997).</li><li>Love, D. R., Pichler, F. B., Dodd, A., Copp, B. R., Greenwood, D. 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G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Heart+dissection+in+larval,+juvenile+and+adult+zebrafish,+Danio+rerio.">Heart dissection in larval, juvenile and adult zebrafish, Danio rerio.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. (55), e3165 (2011).</li><li>Brette, F., 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=Characterization+of+isolated+ventricular+myocytes+from+adult+zebrafish+(Danio+rerio).">Characterization of isolated ventricular myocytes from adult zebrafish (Danio rerio).</a> Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 374 (1), 143-146 (2008).</li><li>Sander, V., Sune, G., Jopling, C., Morera, C., Izpisua Belmonte, J. 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An electrophysiological study.</a> Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology. 48 (1), 161-171 (2010).</li><li>Huang, Y., 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=Cardiovascular+consequences+of+KATP+overactivity+in+Cantu+syndrome.">Cardiovascular consequences of KATP overactivity in Cantu syndrome.</a> JCI insight. 3 (15), 137799 (2018).</li><li>Singareddy, S. S., 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=ATP-sensitive+potassium+channels+in+zebrafish+cardiac+and+vascular+smooth+muscle.">ATP-sensitive potassium channels in zebrafish cardiac and vascular smooth muscle.</a> The Journal of Physiology. , (2021).</li><li>Burns, C. G., MacRae, C. 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Y., 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=Whole+amount+in+situ+hybridization+and+transgene+via+microinjection+in+zebrafish.">Whole amount in situ hybridization and transgene via microinjection in zebrafish.</a> Shi Yan Sheng Wu Xue Bao. 36 (3), 243-247 (2003).</li><li>Kompella, S. N., Brette, F., Hancox, J. C., Shiels, H. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Phenanthrene+impacts+zebrafish+cardiomyocyte+excitability+by+inhibiting+IKr+and+shortening+action+potential+duration.">Phenanthrene impacts zebrafish cardiomyocyte excitability by inhibiting IKr and shortening action potential duration.</a> The Journal of General Physiology. 153 (2), 202012733 (2021).</li><li>Jou, C. J., Spitzer, K. W., Tristani-Firouzi, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Blebbistatin+effectively+uncouples+the+excitation-contraction+process+in+zebrafish+embryonic+heart.">Blebbistatin effectively uncouples the excitation-contraction process in zebrafish embryonic heart.</a> Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry. 25 (4-5), 419-424 (2010).</li></ol>

Previous methods for isolating zebrafish ventricular myocytes5,6, aimed at generating myocytes for culture or electrophysiological studies, provided cells of lower yield and involved lengthy steps of multiple centrifugations that adversely affected the cell quality and viability. The protocols described here are reliable, cover each of the significant cardiovascular tissues (ventricle, atria, and VSM), and importantly are quite practical for acute isolation of li...

Zebrafish are small teleost fish that have long been used as a model vertebrate organism1 and have recently come to prominence as a viable vertebrate system for high throughput screening of genes and drugs2,3. However, physiological analysis of zebrafish tissues is not well developed. In the cardiovascular system, methods have been described for dissection of zebrafish hearts4 and isolation of ventricular cardiac myocytes5,6,7. There are few detailed descriptions of the effective isolation of atrial myocytes and no reports of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) preparations for patch-clamp studies.
The current work describes methodology for the isolation of zebrafish cardiac and vascular myocytes, viable for electrophysiological and functional studies. This approach includes modifications of previously reported protocols for zebrafish ventricular myocyte isolation5,6 and adapts methods from mammalian VSM cell isolations8, allowing for the isolation of zebrafish vascular smooth muscle cells from the bulbous arteriosus (BA). The protocols result in efficient yields of isolated atrial, ventricular, and VSM cells from zebrafish that can be reliably used in patch-clamp studies for up to 8 h9.
Despite their nearly transparent larvae that develop entirely outside the parental organism, exploring their promised ontogenetic potential in studying cardiovascular development has been limited by challenges in extracting and analyzing tissues at a young&#160;age. The current article addresses this limitation by demonstrating patch-clamp experiments on zebrafish hearts isolated as early as 3 days post-fertilization (dpf), using an adapted, published extraction method10.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1.5 mL Centrifuge Tubes</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>22364111</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10 mL Syringe</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>14-955-459</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>19 Guage Needle</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>305187</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2,3-Butanedione Monoxime (BDM)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>B0753</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5 mL Centrifuge Tubes</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>EP0030119479</td>
			<td>For embryonic heart isolation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Axopatch 200B amplifier and Digidata 1200 digitizer</td>
			<td>Molecular Devices</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Used for action potential recordings</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Benchtop Mini Centrifuge</td>
			<td>Southern Labware</td>
			<td>MLX-106</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Blebbistatin</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>203390</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A9418</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Calcium Chloride</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>C4901</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell-Strainer Sieve</td>
			<td>Cole-Parmer</td>
			<td>EW-06336-71</td>
			<td>100 &#956;m sieve for embryonic heart isolation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase Type H</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>C8051</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase Type II</td>
			<td>Worthington</td>
			<td>LS004176</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase Type IV</td>
			<td>Worthington</td>
			<td>LS004188</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Curved Forceps</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>16-100-110</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DTT</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>D0632</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>EGTA</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>324626</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Elastase</td>
			<td>Worthington</td>
			<td>LS003118</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>F2442</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fine Forceps</td>
			<td>Dumont</td>
			<td>Style #5</td>
			<td>Ceramic-coated forceps for adult and juvenile CV tissue isolation (Need two)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glucose</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>G8270</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEPES</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>H3375</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Insulin</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>I2643</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>K2ATP</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A8937</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Large Petri Dish</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P5981</td>
			<td>For dissociation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Magnesium Chloride</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>M8266</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Micro-Hematocrit Capillary Tubes</td>
			<td>Kimble Chase</td>
			<td>41A2502</td>
			<td>Soda lime glass for patch pipettes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Papain</td>
			<td>Worthington</td>
			<td>LS003118</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pasteur Pipettes</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13-678-6A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Petri Dish</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P5606</td>
			<td>100 mm x 20 mm, for embryonic heart isolation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phosphate-Buffered Saline (PBS)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>806552</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Potassium Chloride</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P3911</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Scissors</td>
			<td>Fine Science Tools</td>
			<td>14090-09</td>
			<td>For adult and juvenile zebrafish decapitation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium Chloride</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S9888</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium Hydroxide</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S8045</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Super Fine Forceps</td>
			<td>Dumont</td>
			<td>Style #SF</td>
			<td>For isolating larval CV tissues (Need two)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Taurine</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>T0625</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Thermoshaker</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher Scientific</td>
			<td>13687711</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tricaine Methanesulfonate (MS222)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>For anaesthetizing zebrafish larvae</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Trypsin Inhibitor</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>T6522</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

isolation of cardiac and vascular smooth muscle cells from adult, juvenile, larval and embryonic zebrafish for electrophysiological studies

Zebrafish have long been used as a model vertebrate organism in cardiovascular research. The technical difficulties of isolating individual cells from the zebrafish cardiovascular tissues have been limiting in studying their electrophysiological properties. Previous methods have been described for dissection of zebrafish hearts and isolation of ventricular cardiac myocytes. However, the isolation of zebrafish atrial and vascular myocytes for electrophysiological characterization was not detailed. This work describes new and modified enzymatic protocols that routinely provide isolated juvenile and adult zebrafish ventricular and atrial cardiomyocytes, as well as vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells from the bulbous arteriosus, suitable for patch-clamp experiments. There has been no literary evidence of electrophysiological studies on zebrafish cardiovascular tissues isolated at embryonic and larval stages of development. Partial dissociation techniques that allow patch-clamp experiments on individual cells from larval and embryonic hearts are demonstrated.

The above protocols reliably and routinely provide sufficient cardiac and vascular myocytes of consistent quality amenable for patch-clamp studies as recently reported in extensive studies of ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels in wild-type and mutant zebrafish cardiovasculature9. Representative traces of recordings of such KATP channel activity from isolated cardiomyocytes are shown in Figure 3A-C. In the case of cells isola...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Isolation of Cardiac and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells from Adult, Juvenile, Larval and Embryonic Zebrafish for Electrophysiological Studies at JoVE.com

Isolation of Cardiac and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells from Adult, Juvenile, Larval and Embryonic Zebrafish for Electrophysiological Studies

The present protocol describes the acute isolation of viable cardiac and vascular smooth muscle cells from adult, juvenile, larval, and embryonic zebrafish (Danio rerio), suitable for electrophysiological studies.

Zebrafish have long been used as a model vertebrate organism in cardiovascular research. The technical difficulties of isolating individual cells from the ...

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