Name: in vitro apical-out enteroid model of necrotizing enterocolitis
Uploaded: 2022-06-08T14:45:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vitro Apical-Out Enteroid Model of Necrotizing Enterocolitis at JoVE.com

This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. HC is supported by grant P20GM134973 from the National Institutes of Health. KB is supported by a Children&#39;s Hospital Foundation (CHF) and Presbyterian Health Foundation (PHF) grant. We thank the Laboratory for Molecular Biology and Cytometry Research at OUHSC for the use of the Core Facility, which provided confocal imaging.

All animal procedures in this study were approved by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Small intestine convenience samples from a preterm non-human primate (NHP, 90% gestation, olive baboon, Papio anubis) were obtained following euthanasia for a separate study (Protocol #101523-16-039-I).
1. Establishment of apical-out enteroid NEC-in-a-dish model
<ol>
	<li>Preparation of media and enteroid treatments<br /...

The recent development of enteroid models derived from intestinal epithelial crypts allows for a more physiologically relevant in vitro tissue in which to study necrotizing enterocolitis pathogenesis. Despite including all major differentiated cell types of the intestinal epithelium, 3D enteroids are still subject to several significant limitations. The conventional, basolateral-out enteroids are suspended in 3D ECM hydrogel domes, the composition and density of which may limit normal diffusion within the tissue...

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a severe inflammatory disease of the small intestine occurring in up to 10% of preterm infants, is commonly associated with high morbidity and mortality1,2. Mortality rates approaching 50% in very low birth weight (&#60;1500 g) infants, requiring surgical intervention, are not uncommon3. While the exact etiology of NEC is not currently understood, risk factors, such as formula feeding, are thought to compound with physiological anomalies, such as dysbiosis, an immature intestinal epithelium, and a dysfunctional intestinal barrier, in the development of the disease2,4. Despite significant effort, little progress in the prevention or treatment of NEC has occurred over the last decade5. A novel in vitro method to study NEC and associated intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction is required to advance understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease, as findings from animal models have, thus far, translated poorly to the bedside6.
A number of in vitro models have been utilized to investigate the mechanisms at play during NEC. The human intestinal epithelial cell line, Caco-2, is among the most commonly utilized in vitro models of NEC7,8. Caco-2 cells emulate brush border morphological features of the small intestine, but, as a cell line, do not differentiate into the wide variety of in vivo cell types, including mucus-producing goblet cells, required for a highly translatable model. HT-29-MTX, human colon adenocarcinoma cells, include a mixed enterocyte and goblet cell phenotype, but still lack crypt-based cell types of the intestinal epithelium9. IEC-6 and IEC-18 are non-transformed cell lines with an immature ileal crypt-like morphology but are not derived from human tissue, limiting their translational capacity. FHs 74-Int and H4 intestinal cell lines are derived from human fetal tissue and do not form tight junctions or polarized monolayers10,11, and thus are immature compared with even the most premature infants susceptible to NEC. Typically, NEC in vitro models utilize lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatments to induce toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a major receptor initiating intestinal inflammation in NEC12. Damage mediated through reactive oxygen species (ROS) treatment, typically via hydrogen peroxide, is often used to induce NEC-like oxidative damage and apoptosis13,14. As the main driver of intestinal inflammation, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-&#945;), a downstream component of the inflammatory TLR4 signaling, is also commonly utilized in these in vitro models to mimic in vivo pathogenesis15.
Organoids, generated from inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), have grown in popularity as an in vitro model of the intestine due to their ability to recapitulate the complex in vivo architecture and cell-type composition of the tissue from which they are derived16,17. A related in vitro system, enteroids, are organoids derived from resected intestinal crypts that are more easily established and maintained than iPSC-derived organoids. Enteroids are typically grown in a three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix (ECM) with experimental access limited to the basolateral cell surface. Methods, such as microinjection18,19, have been developed to overcome this barrier to the apical surface, but the buildup of sloughed cellular debris and mucus within the lumen renders microinjection both technically difficult and inconsistent. As custom robotic microinjection platforms are not widely accessible20, lab-to-lab variability in technical ability and general technique become significant variables to overcome with microinjection protocols. Two-dimensional (2D) monolayers derived from dissociated 3D enteroids, still comprising all major cell types of the intestinal epithelium, allow access to the apical surface but have traditionally been difficult to maintain without a feeder layer of mesenchymal myofibroblasts21. While cell culture permeable supports can be used to access both the apical and basolateral sides of enteroid monolayers without the use of underlying myofibroblasts, these inserts require excision and mounting of the membrane before use with modalities such as confocal microscopy, resulting in a more technically demanding and difficult process when using traditional microscopy methods22. NEC has been modeled in vitro using traditional 3D enteroids23,24,25 and permeable supports26,27, and intestinal inflammation has recently been replicated with gut-on-a-chip models28,29. While gut-on-a-chip models incorporating microfluidics are, by far, the most advanced and translatable models, this technology is expensive, complex, and inaccessible to most investigators30.
Recent advances in apical-out enteroid techniques have allowed easier access to the apical surface of 3D enteroids without risking damage to the structural integrity of the in vitro epithelium31,32,33. Apical-out enteroids share the cell type composition and barrier function of in vivo intestinal epithelium, but, unlike typical 3D enteroids, the apical surfaces of these cells face the culture medium, allowing for more physiologically relevant studies on nutrient absorption, microbial infection, and luminal secretion31. An additional advantage of apical-out enteroids is the&#160;ability to homogenously distribute experimental agents to enteroids. Varying treatment volumes based on enteroid size is not required, as it is with microinjection, and the ability to maintain these enteroids in suspension culture negates any ECM interference on experimental agent diffusion32.
Necrotizing enterocolitis is a multifactorial disease involving multiple intestinal epithelial cell types and a variety of environmental and pathophysiological factors34. The varied cell composition of intestinal enteroids is a clear improvement over monocultures in modeling a complex disease such as NEC. Interestingly, while a single inflammatory exposure is often sufficient to induce damage in in vitro monocultures, enteroids, as with mouse models23, appear to require a minimum of two inflammatory components to induce NEC-like damage6. Here, we present an apical-out NEC-in-a-dish model, using apical-out enteroids in combination with hypoxia (an important clinical feature of NEC6) and either LPS or TNF-&#945;, as an improved and more physiologically relevant in vitro model to study epithelial responses to NEC-like inflammation and, potentially, identify therapeutic targets. We describe a protocol for reversing the polarity of small intestinal 3D enteroids, as well as an immunofluorescent staining protocol to identify epithelial barrier disruption and junctional protein expression alterations. Finally, we further demonstrate a simple enteroid viability assay to determine the impact of our dual-hit, apical-out NEC-in-a-dish model.

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			<td>0.5 M EDTA, pH 8.0</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>15575-020</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1.5 mL microcentrifuge tubes</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>05-408-129</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>15 mL Conical tube</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>89039-666</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>CellTiter-Glo 3D Cell Viability Assay</td>
			<td>Promega</td>
			<td>G9681</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Corning Costar Ultra-Low Attachment 24-Well Microplates</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>07-200-602</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cover Glass 24 mm x 60 mm</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>102460</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Donkey anti-Mouse IgG (H+L) Highly Cross-Adsorbed Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 488</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>A-21202</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Donkey Anti-Rabbit IgG Antibody, Cy3 conjugate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>AP182C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dulbecco&#39;s Modified Eagle&#39;s Medium/Nutrient Ham&#39;s Mixture F-12 (DMEM-F12) with 15 mM HEPES buffer</td>
			<td>STEMCELL Technologies</td>
			<td>36254</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>E-cadherin antibody (7H12)</td>
			<td>Novus Biologicals</td>
			<td>NBP2-19051</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Formaldehyde solution 4%, buffered, pH 6.9</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>1004960700</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>Glycerol</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>56-81-5</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>ImageJ</td>
			<td>Fiji</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>IntestiCult Organoid Growth Medium (Human)</td>
			<td>STEMCELL Technologies</td>
			<td>06010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Leica SP8 Confocal Microscope</td>
			<td>Leica Biosystems</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lipopolysaccharides from Escherichia coli O111:B4, purified by gel filtration chromatography</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td>L3012-10MG</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microscope Slides</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>12-544-7</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Normal Donkey Serum</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>566460</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nunc MicroWell 96-Well, Nunclon Delta-Treated, Flat-Bottom Microplate</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>136101</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PBS (Phosphate Buffered Saline), 1x [-] calcium, magnesium, pH 7.4</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>21-040-CM</td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>Prolong Glass Antifade Mountant with NucBlue</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>P36983</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recombinant Anti-Villin antibody [SP145]</td>
			<td>Abcam</td>
			<td>ab130751</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recombinant Human TNF-&#945; protein 100 &#181;g</td>
			<td>Bio-Techne</td>
			<td>210-TA-100/CF</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SpectraMax iD3 Multi-Mode Microplate Reader</td>
			<td>Molecular Devices</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
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		<tr>
			<td>Thermo Forma Series II Water-Jacketed Tri-Gas Incubator, 184L</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>3140</td>
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			<td>TO-PRO-3 Iodide (642/661)</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>T3605</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Triton X-100</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>9002-93-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tubes, 0.5 mL, flat cap</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>AB0350</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tween-20</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>9005-64-5</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

in vitro apical-out enteroid model of necrotizing enterocolitis

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating disease affecting preterm infants, characterized by intestinal inflammation and necrosis. Enteroids have recently emerged as a promising system to model gastrointestinal pathologies. However, currently utilized methods for enteroid manipulation either lack access to the apical surface of the epithelium (three-dimensional [3D]) or are time-consuming and resource-intensive (two-dimensional [2D] monolayers). These methods often require additional steps, such as microinjection, for the model to become physiologically translatable. Here, we describe a physiologically relevant and inexpensive protocol for studying NEC in vitro by reversing enteroid polarity, resulting in the apical surface facing outward (apical-out). An immunofluorescent staining protocol to examine enteroid barrier integrity and junctional protein expression following exposure to tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-&#945;) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) under normoxic or hypoxic conditions is also provided. The viability of 3D apical-out enteroids exposed to normoxic or hypoxic LPS or TNF-&#945; for 24 h is also evaluated. Enteroids exposed to either LPS or TNF-&#945;, in combination with hypoxia, exhibited disruption of epithelial architecture, a loss of adherens junction protein expression, and a reduction in cell viability. This protocol describes a new apical-out NEC-in-a-dish model which presents a physiologically relevant and cost-effective platform to identify potential epithelial targets for NEC therapies and study the preterm intestinal response to therapeutics.

The use of enteroids to model intestinal inflammation, even within the context of necrotizing enterocolitis, is now common. However, most methods currently utilized either lack access to the apical surface of enteroids, negating the physiological relevance of compounds intended for eventual use as oral therapeutics, or are technically difficult and time-consuming, as with enteroid-derived monolayers. To increase the utility of current in vitro enteroid models of NEC, we reversed the polarity of enteroids, and, i...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vitro Apical-Out Enteroid Model of Necrotizing Enterocolitis at JoVE.com

In Vitro Apical-Out Enteroid Model of Necrotizing Enterocolitis

This protocol describes an apical-out necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)-in-a-dish model utilizing small intestinal enteroids with reversed polarity, allowing access to the apical surface. We provide an immunofluorescent staining protocol to detect NEC-related epithelial disruption and a method to determine the viability of apical-out enteroids subjected to the NEC-in-a-dish protocol.

In Vitro Apical-Out Enteroid Model of Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating disease affecting preterm infants, characterized by intestinal inflammation and necrosis. Enteroids have ...

This protocol describes the first apical-out in-a-dish model and is a critical improvement over basal lateral out enteroid in-a-dish models when establishing in vitro modeling of potential therapeutics intended for oral administration. This method allows access to the apical surface of enteroids. Compounds can be added to cell media and the compounds are taken up apically as they would be in vivo.Investigators interested in establishing an in vitro system of intestinal inflammation to test potential oral therapeutics may find this technique especially useful. Tissue sourced from different ages and species may require further standardization. So patients while establishing polarity reversal times may be required.For reversing the polarity of 3D enteroids aspirate media from each well of a 24 well plate of established 3D basolateral out enteroids. Add 500 microliters of five millimolar ice cold, EDTA or PBS to each well of a 24 well plate and gently mechanically disrupt the basement membrane extract or extracellular matrix dome by pipetting up and down five to six times with a P 200 pipette. Transfer the contents of four wells to a 15 milliliter chronicled tube.Then add eight milliliters of ice cold EDTA slash PBS to the tube. Transfer the remaining 20 wells in the same manner. Incubate the tubes at four degrees Celsius for one hour on a rotating platform or shaker at 330 RPM.After incubation centrifuge the tubes and discard the supernatant from each tube. Combine and wash the pellets with five milliliters of DMEM F12. Then centrifuge the cells suspension and remove the supernatant before adding 12 milliliters of antibiotic free medium to the tube ensuring that the cell pellets are resuspended.Pippet 500 microliters of the enteroid suspension into each well of a 24 well ultra-low attachment plate. Incubate the plate at 37 degrees Celsius and 5%carbon dioxide for two to five days or until the enteroids have reversed polarity. On day one abstaining, transfer the contents of four wells of a 24 well plate to a 1.5 milliliter micro centrifuge tube.Repeat for all desired wells with each treatment in a separate tube. Centrifuge the tubes and resuspend the pellet in 300 microliters of 4%from aldehyde fixative at room temperature. After 30 minutes wash the pellets with 500 microliters of PBS.Add 500 microliters of 0.1%Triton X 100 to the tubes. Incubate the tubes for one hour at room temperature. Next, place the tubes on a rotator or shaker at 200 RPM for 15 minutes at two to eight degrees Celsius.After the last incubation, add 500 microliters of 10%NDS in PBS T and incubate at room temperature for 45 minutes. During incubation, prepare primary antibody solution. The next day add 250 to 500 microliters PBS T to the tubes depending on the size of the pellet, and place them on the rotator or shaker at 200 RPM for one hour at two to eight degrees Celsius.Add 200 microliters of the secondary antibody solution and incubate the tubes at two to eight degrees Celsius in the dark. The next day, proceed for mounting stained apical out enteroids by spinning the tubes and removing 100 microliters of supernatant. Resuspend the cells in the remaining 100 microliters of supernatant and transfer the cell suspension to 500 microliter tubes.Centrifuge the tubes in a mini centrifuge for 20 seconds. Remove the supernatant and resuspend the pellets in 100 microliters of room temperature far red nucleic acid stain. After 20 minutes of incubation, centrifuge the cells and resuspend the pellets in 100 microliters of PBS.After the second wash and centrifugation remove 70 microliters of the supernatant and resuspend the pellets in the remaining volume of PBS. Then transfer the cell suspension to a labeled 24 by 60 millimeter cover slip. Apply 75 microliters of mountant directly onto the specimen and remove any bubbles with a pipette tip.After overnight curing in the dark, apply a thin layer of glycerol to the cover slips, then mount the cover slips onto the glass slide and gently press it into place. Tap to remove any bubbles between the cover slip and the slide. Allow the cover slip to set at room temperature in the dark for two hours before imaging the enteroids at 20 times magnification with a confocal microscope.For enteroid treatments, establish an apical out necrotizing enterocolitis in a dish model for 24 hours as described in the text manuscript. Before performing the assay, remove 100 microliters of media from each well leaving the remaining 400 microliters. Add 400 microliters of cell viability assay reagent to each well.Vigorously mix the contents on a plate shaker for five minutes at 200 RPM to induce cell lysis. Next, transfer 200 microliters to a single well of a 96 well clear bottomed plate. Repeat for the remaining 600 microliters creating four technical replicates per well.Using a plate reader capable of luminescence, record values at 0.25 milliseconds integration and compare the relative values among treatments. The representative immunofluorescence staining of control confirmed the apical out localization of nuclei toward the lumen and the detection of villain at the outer edge of the epithelium. Compared to the control, exposure to lipo polysaccharide, tumor necrosis alpha, or hypoxia alone did not induce overt changes in gross cell morphology E-cadherin or villain localization or fluorescent intensity.Treatment with lipo polysaccharide or tumor necrosis alpha in combination with hypoxia disrupted epithelial architecture and demonstrated a significant loss of adherence junction and brush border protein expression revealed by the loss of ECA hearing and villain staining. The apical out cell viability was determined under normoxic or hypoxic conditions. Under normoxic conditions compared to the control lipo polysaccharide or tumor necrosis alpha did not significantly affect the cell viability of enteroids.However, significant reductions in viability were observed in lipo polysaccharide or tumor necrosis alpha in combination with hypoxia compared to hypoxia alone. While establishing apical out in-a-dish model. Remember to keep EDTA in the cell suspension ice cold.This will enhance polarity reversal and ensure all ECM is properly liquified and removed. Other downstream applications such as QPCR, RNA-seq, western blotting or functional evaluations of barrier permeability can be performed further to characterize the response to inflammatory signaling in hypoxia.

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Medicine

Stem Cell Transplantation in an in vitro Simulated Ischemia/Reperfusion Model

Stem cell transplantation protocols are finding their way into clinical practice1,2,3. Getting better results, making the protocols more robust, and finding new sources for implantable cells are the focus of recent research4,5. Investigating the effectiveness of cell therapies is not an easy task and new tools are needed to investigate the mechanisms involved in the treatment process6. We designed an experimental protocol of ischemia/reperfusion in order to allow the observation of cellular connections and even subcellular mechanisms during ischemia/reperfusion injury and after stem cell transplantation and to evaluate the efficacy of cell therapy. H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells were placed onto cell culture plates7,8. Ischemia was simulated with 150 minutes in a glucose free medium with oxygen level below 0.5%. Then, normal media and oxygen levels were reintroduced to simulate reperfusion. After oxygen glucose deprivation, the damaged cells were treated with transplantation of labeled human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells by adding them to the culture. Mesenchymal stem cells are preferred in clinical trials because they are easily accessible with minimal invasive surgery, easily expandable and autologous. After 24 hours of co-cultivation, cells were stained with calcein and ethidium-homodimer to differentiate between live and dead cells. This setup allowed us to investigate the intercellular connections using confocal fluorescent microscopy and to quantify the survival rate of postischemic cells by flow cytometry. Confocal microscopy showed the interactions of the two cell populations such as cell fusion and formation of intercellular nanotubes. Flow cytometry analysis revealed 3 clusters of damaged cells which can be plotted on a graph and analyzed statistically. These populations can be investigated separately and conclusions can be drawn on these data on the effectiveness of the simulated therapeutical approach.

Stem Cell Transplantation in an in vitro Simulated Ischemia/Reperfusion Model

We demonstrate how to set up an in vitro ischemia/reperfusion model and how to evaluate the effect of stem cell therapy on postischemic cardiac cells.

Stem cell transplantation protocols are finding their way into clinical practice1,2,3. Getting better results, making the protocols more robust, and ...

Assessing Teratogenic Changes in a Zebrafish Model of Fetal Alcohol Exposure

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a severe manifestation of embryonic exposure to ethanol. It presents with characteristic defects to the face and organs, including mental retardation due to disordered and damaged brain development. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a term used to cover a continuum of birth defects that occur due to maternal alcohol consumption, and occurs in approximately 4% of children born in the United States. With 50% of child-bearing age women reporting consumption of alcohol, and half of all pregnancies being unplanned, unintentional exposure is a continuing issue2. In order to best understand the damage produced by ethanol, plus produce a model with which to test potential interventions, we developed a model of developmental ethanol exposure using the zebrafish embryo. Zebrafish are ideal for this kind of teratogen study3-8. Each pair lays hundreds of eggs, which can then be collected without harming the adult fish. The zebrafish embryo is transparent and can be readily imaged with any number of stains. Analysis of these embryos after exposure to ethanol at different doses and times of duration and application shows that the gross developmental defects produced by ethanol are consistent with the human birth defect. Described here are the basic techniques used to study and manipulate the zebrafish FAS model.

In order to understand the molecular mechanisms of the ethanol-induced developmental damage, we have developed a zebrafish model of ethanol exposure and are exploring the physical, cellular, and genetic alterations that occur after ethanol exposure1. We then seek to find potential interventions and rapidly test them in this animal model.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a severe manifestation of embryonic exposure to ethanol. It presents with characteristic defects to the face and organs, ...

Stretch in Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells (cEND) as an In Vitro Traumatic Brain Injury Model of the Blood Brain Barrier

Due to the high mortality incident brought about by traumatic brain injury (TBI), methods that would enable one to better understand the underlying mechanisms involved in it are useful for treatment. There are both in vivo and in vitro methods available for this purpose. In vivo models can mimic actual head injury as it occurs during TBI. However, in vivo techniques may not be exploited for studies at the cell physiology level. Hence, in vitro methods are more advantageous for this purpose since they provide easier access to the cells and the extracellular environment for manipulation.
Our protocol presents an in vitro model of TBI using stretch injury in brain microvascular endothelial cells. It utilizes pressure applied to the cells cultured in flexible-bottomed wells. The pressure applied may easily be controlled and can produce injury that ranges from low to severe. The murine brain microvascular endothelial cells (cEND) generated in our laboratory is a well-suited model for the blood brain barrier (BBB) thus providing an advantage to other systems that employ a similar technique. In addition, due to the simplicity of the method, experimental set-ups are easily duplicated. Thus, this model can be used in studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in TBI at the BBB.

Stretch in Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells cEND as an In Vitro Traumatic Brain Injury Model of the Blood Brain Barrier

In vitro traumatic brain injury models are being developed to reproduce in vivo brain deformation. Stretch-induced injury has been employed for astrocytes, neurons, glial cells, aortic, and brain endothelial cells. However, our system uses a blood brain barrier (BBB) model that possesses properties constituting a legitimate model of the BBB to establish an in vitro&#160;TBI model.

Due to the high mortality incident brought about by traumatic brain injury (TBI), methods that would enable one to better understand the underlying ...

Excitotoxic Stimulation of Brain Microslices as an In vitro Model of Stroke

Examining molecular mechanisms involved in neuropathological conditions, such as ischemic stroke, can be difficult when using whole animal systems. As such, primary or &#39;neuronal-like&#39; cell culture systems are commonly utilized. While&#160;these systems are relatively easy to work with, and are useful model systems in which various functional outcomes (such as cell death) can be readily quantified, the examined outcomes and pathways in cultured immature neurons (such as excitotoxicity-mediated cell death pathways) are not necessarily the same as those observed in mature brain, or in intact tissue. Therefore, there is the need to develop models in which cellular mechanisms in mature neural tissue can be examined. We have developed an in vitro technique that can be used to investigate a variety of molecular pathways in intact nervous tissue. The technique described herein utilizes rat cortical tissue, but this technique can be adapted to use tissue from a variety of species (such as mouse, rabbit, guinea pig, and chicken) or brain regions (for example, hippocampus, striatum, etc.). Additionally, a variety of stimulations/treatments can be used (for example, excitotoxic, administration of inhibitors, etc.). In conclusion, the brain slice model described herein can be used to examine a variety of molecular mechanisms involved in excitotoxicity-mediated brain injury.

Excitotoxic Stimulation of Brain Microslices as an In vitro Model of Stroke

We have developed a brain slice model which can be used to examine molecular mechanisms involved in excitotoxicity-mediated brain injury.&#160;This technique generates viable mature brain tissue and reduces animal numbers required for experimentation, whilst keeping the neuronal circuitry, cellular interactions, and postsynaptic compartments partly intact.

Examining molecular mechanisms involved in neuropathological conditions, such as ischemic stroke, can be difficult when using whole animal systems. As ...

Assessing Specificity of Anticancer Drugs In Vitro

A procedure for assessing specificity of anticancer drugs in vitro using cultures containing both tumor and non-tumor cells is demonstrated. The key element is the quantitative determination of a tumor-specific genetic alteration in relation to a universal sequence using a dual-probe digital PCR assay and the subsequent calculation of the proportion of tumor cells. The assay is carried out on a culture containing tumor cells of an established line and spiked-in non-tumor cells. The mixed culture is treated with a test drug at various concentrations. After the treatment, DNA is prepared directly from the survived adhesive cells in wells of 96-well plates using a simple and inexpensive method, and subjected to a dual-probe digital PCR assay for measuring a tumor-specific genetic alteration and a reference universal sequence. In the present demonstration, a heterozygous deletion of the NF1 gene is used as the tumor-specific genetic alteration and a RPP30 gene as the reference gene. Using the ratio NF1/RPP30, the proportion of tumor cells was calculated. Since the dose-dependent change of the proportion of tumor cells provides an in vitro indication for specificity of the drug, this genetic and cell-based in vitro assay will likely have application potential in drug discovery. Furthermore, for personalized cancer-care, this genetic- and cell-based tool may contribute to optimizing adjuvant chemotherapy by means of testing efficacy and specificity of candidate drugs using primary cultures of individual tumors.

Assessing Specificity of Anticancer Drugs In Vitro

The goal of this protocol is to assess specificity of anticancer drugs in vitro using mixed cultures containing both tumor and non-tumor cells.

A procedure for assessing specificity of anticancer drugs in vitro using cultures containing both tumor and non-tumor cells is demonstrated. The key ...

Isometric Contractility Measurement of the Mouse Mesenteric Artery Using Wire Myography

The wire myograph technique is used to assess the contractility of vascular smooth muscles in response to depolarization, GPCR agonists/inhibitors and drugs. It is widely used in many studies on the physiological functions of vascular smooth muscle, the pathogenesis of vascular diseases such as hypertension, and the development of smooth muscle relaxant drugs. The mouse is a widely used model animal with a large pool of disease models and genetically modified strains. We introduced this method to measure the isometric contraction of mouse mesenteric artery in detail. A 1.4-mm segment of mouse mesenteric resistance artery was isolated and mounted on a myograph chamber by passing two steel wires through its lumen. After equilibration and normalization steps, the vessel segment was potentiated by a high-K+ solution twice prior to the contraction assay. As an example of the application of this method in drug development, we measured the relaxant effect of a novel natural substance, neoliensinine, isolated from a Chinese herb, embryos of the lotus seed (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) on mouse mesenteric arteries. The vessel segments mounted on the myograph chamber were stimulated with a high-K+ solution. When the force tension reached a stable sustained phase, cumulative doses of neoliensinine were added to the chamber. We found that neoliensinine had a dose-dependent relaxant effect on smooth muscle contraction, thus suggesting that it bears potential activity against hypertension. In addition, as the vessel segment can survive at least 4 hours after mounting and maintain contractility induced by the high-K+ solution for many times, we suggest that the wire myograph system may be used for the time-consuming process of drug screening.

The wire myograph technique is used to investigate vascular smooth muscle functions and screen new drugs. We report a detailed protocol for measuring the isometric contractility of the mouse mesenteric artery and for screening new relaxants of vascular smooth muscle.

The wire myograph technique is used to assess the contractility of vascular smooth muscles in response to depolarization, GPCR agonists/inhibitors and ...

In Vitro Model of Coronary Angiogenesis

Here, we describe an in vitro culture assay to study coronary angiogenesis. Coronary vessels feed the heart muscle and are of clinical importance. Defects in these vessels represent severe health risks such as in atherosclerosis, which can lead to myocardial infarctions and heart failures in patients. Consequently, coronary artery disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Despite its clinical importance, relatively little progress has been made on how to regenerate damaged coronary arteries. Nevertheless, recent progress has been made in understanding the cellular origin and differentiation pathways of coronary vessel development. The advent of tools and technologies that allow researchers to fluorescently label progenitor cells, follow their fate, and visualize progenies in vivo have been instrumental in understanding coronary vessel development. In vivo studies are valuable, but have limitations in terms of speed, accessibility, and flexibility in experimental design. Alternatively, accurate in vitro models of coronary angiogenesis can circumvent these limitations and allow researchers to interrogate important biological questions with speed and flexibility. The lack of appropriate in vitro model systems may have hindered the progress in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of coronary vessel growth. Here, we describe an in vitro culture system to grow coronary vessels from the sinus venosus (SV) and endocardium (Endo), the two progenitor tissues from which many of the coronary vessels arise. We also confirmed that the cultures accurately recapitulate some of the known in vivo mechanisms. For instance, we show that the angiogenic sprouts in culture from SV downregulate COUP-TFII expression similar to what is observed in vivo. In addition, we show that VEGF-A, a well-known angiogenic factor in vivo, robustly stimulates angiogenesis from both the SV and Endo cultures. Collectively, we have devised an accurate in vitro culture model to study coronary angiogenesis.

In vitro models of coronary angiogenesis can be utilized for the discovery of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of coronary angiogenesis. In vitro explant cultures of sinus venosus and endocardium tissues show robust growth in response to VEGF-A and display a similar pattern of COUP-TFII expression as in vivo.

Here, we describe an in vitro culture assay to study coronary angiogenesis. Coronary vessels feed the heart muscle and are of clinical importance. Defects ...

An In Vitro Hemodynamic Loop Model to Investigate the Hemocytocompatibility and Host Cell Activation of Vascular Medical Devices

In this study, the hemocompatibility of tubes with an inner diameter of 5 mm made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and coated with different bioactive conjugates was compared to uncoated PVC tubes, latex tubes, and a stent for intravascular application that was placed inside the PVC tubes. Evaluation of hemocompatibility was done using an in vitro hemodynamic loop model that is recommended by the ISO standard 10993-4. The tubes were cut into segments of identical length and closed to form loops avoiding any gap at the splice, then filled with human blood and rotated in a water bath at 37 &#176;C for 3 hours. Thereafter, the blood inside the tubes was collected for the analysis of whole blood cell count, hemolysis (free plasma hemoglobin), complement system (sC5b-9), coagulation system (fibrinopeptide A), and leukocyte activation (polymorphonuclear elastase, tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6). Host cell activation was determined for platelet activation, leukocyte integrin status and monocyte platelet aggregates using flow cytometry. The effect of inaccurate loop closure was examined with x-ray microtomography and scanning electron microscopy, that showed thrombus formation at the splice. Latex tubes showed the strongest activation of both plasma and cellular components of the blood, indicating a poor hemocompatibility, followed by the stent group and uncoated PVC tubes. The coated PVC tubes did not show a significant decrease in platelet activation status, but showed an increased in complement and coagulation cascade compared to uncoated PVC tubes. The loop model itself did not lead to the activation of cells or soluble factors, and the hemolysis level was low. Therefore, the presented in vitro hemodynamic loop model avoids excessive activation of blood components by mechanical forces and serves as a method to investigate in vitro interactions between donor blood and vascular medical devices.

Presented here is a protocol for a standardized in vitro hemodynamic loop model. This model allows to test the hemocompatibility of perfusion tubes or vascular stents to be in accordance with ISO (International Organization for Standardization) standard 10993-4.

In this study, the hemocompatibility of tubes with an inner diameter of 5 mm made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and coated with different bioactive ...

In vitro Assessment of Myocardial Protection following Hypothermia-Preconditioning in a Human Cardiac Myocytes Model

Ischemia/reperfusion-derived myocardial dysfunction is a common clinical scenario in patients after cardiac surgery. In particular, the sensitivity of cardiomyocytes to ischemic injury is higher than that of other cell populations. At present, hypothermia affords considerable protection against an expected ischemic insult. However, investigations into complex hypothermia-induced molecular changes remain limited. Therefore, it is essential to identify a culture condition similar to in vivo conditions that can induce damage similar to that observed in the clinical condition in a reproducible manner. To mimic ischemia-like conditions in vitro, the cells in these models were treated by oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD). In addition, we applied a standard time-temperature protocol used during cardiac surgery. Furthermore, we propose an approach to use a simple but comprehensive method for the quantitative analysis of myocardial injury. Apoptosis and expression levels of apoptosis-associated proteins were assessed by flow cytometry and using an ELISA kit. In this model, we tested a hypothesis regarding the effects of different temperature conditions on cardiomyocyte apoptosis in vitro. The reliability of this model depends on strict temperature control, controllable experimental procedures, and stable experimental results. Additionally, this model can be used to study the molecular mechanism of hypothermic cardioprotection, which may have important implications for the development of complementary therapies for use with hypothermia.

The distinct effects of different degrees of hypothermia on myocardial protection have not been thoroughly evaluated. The goal of the present study was to quantify the levels of cell death following different hypothermia treatments in a human cardiomyocyte-based model, laying the foundation for future in-depth molecular research.

Ischemia/reperfusion-derived myocardial dysfunction is a common clinical scenario in patients after cardiac surgery. In particular, the sensitivity of ...

A Model of Experimental Steatosis In Vitro: Hepatocyte Cell Culture in Lipid Overload-Conditioned Medium

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is the most prevalent liver disease worldwide due to its relationship with obesity, diabetes type 2, and dyslipidemia. Hepatic steatosis, the accumulation of lipid droplets in the liver parenchyma, is a key feature of the disease preceding the inflammation observed in steatohepatitis, fibrosis, and end-stage liver disease. Lipid accumulation in hepatocytes might interfere with proper metabolism of xenobiotics and endogenous molecules, as well as to induce cellular processes leading to the advance of the disease. Although the experimental study of steatosis can be performed in vivo, in vitro approaches to the study of steatosis are complementary tools with different advantages. Hepatocyte culture in lipid overload-conditioned medium is an excellent reproducible option for the study of hepatic steatosis allowing the identification of cellular processes related to lipid accumulation, such as oxidative and reticular stresses, autophagia, proliferation, cell death, etcetera, as well as other testing including drug effectiveness, and toxicological testing, among many other possible applications. Here, it was aimed to describe the methodology of hepatocyte cell culture in lipid overload-conditioned medium. HepG2 cells were cultured in RMPI 1640 medium conditioned with sodium palmitate and sodium oleate. Importantly, the ratio of these two lipids is crucial to favor lipid droplet accumulation, while maintaining cell proliferation and a moderate mortality rate, as occurs in the liver during the disease. The methodology, from the preparation of the lipid solution stocks, mixture, addition to the medium, and hepatocyte culture is shown. With this approach, it is possible to identify lipid droplets in the hepatocytes that are readily observable by Oil-red O staining, as well as curves of proliferation/mortality rates.

A Model of Experimental Steatosis In Vitro: Hepatocyte Cell Culture in Lipid Overload-Conditioned Medium

This protocol is intended to be a tool to study steatosis and the molecular, biochemical, cellular changes produced by the over exposure of hepatocytes to lipids in vitro.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is the most prevalent liver ...