NZ would like to thank lab members Subhas Biswas, Andrew Sproul, and Ryan Willet for training her in dissecting and harvesting sympathetic neurons. Supported by grants from the NIH-NINDS.

1.	Preparation for the dissection:
<ol>
<li>Select the appropriate culture dish (10 cm or 6-well or 24-well plates, etc.) depending on the nature of your experiments, and coat them with rat-tail collagen 24 hours before dissection. The methods for preparing rat-tail collagen and using it to coat culture dishes have been described elsewhere (1).</li>
<li>Prepare a 0.25% Trypsin solution in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (no EDTA) and filter sterilize. Prepare 1 ml aliquots and store at -20&ordm;C.</li>
<li>Prepare a solution containing 2.5 mM each of Uridine and 5-FDU in distilled/deionized H2O. Filter-sterilize and prepare 50 &micro;l aliquots. Store at -20&ordm;C.</li>
<li>Prepare Complete Medium: RPMI 1640 culture medium with 10% heat-inactivated horse serum (heat inactivate by incubating in a 56&ordm;C waterbath for 30 minutes) and 5% fetal bovine serum.</li>
<li>Prepare Final Medium: RPMI 1640 culture medium with 1% heat-inactivated horse serum + NGF (100&eta;g/ml final concentration) + penicillin/streptomycin (1/250) + 1/250 uridine/5-FDU solution (10 &micro;M final concentration). Note: this medium should be made up fresh before use every time. For an experiment in a 24-well plate format, one will need to prepare 12 ml of this medium. It is recommended that you prepare a little extra. NGF can be purchased from a variety of commercial sources (see Table at the end of this protocol).</li>
<li>Equipment: One will need a dissecting microscope and light source. A dual gooseneck fiber optic illuminator with focusing tips is preferred. In addition, one will need to clean and sterilize (by autoclaving or soaking in 70% ethanol for at least 20 minutes) the following dissection tools: two pairs of micro-dissecting stainless steel forceps, and a pair of dissecting scissors (also stainless steel and both from Roboz). Two sterile syringe needles (26 gague x 1 &frac12; inches or similar) will also be needed. It is necessary to set up a dissection board, which is a 3&rdquo;x3&rdquo; piece of styrofoam wrapped in aluminum foil and covered with a Kimwipe. Spray the board with 70% ethanol to decontaminate. Finally, prepare a fire-polished glass pasture pipette. In order to fire-polish, take the glass pipette and hold the tip in the flame for a few seconds, while rotating. Upon inspection, the tip will look smoother and the opening will be narrower. This is necessary for the step where the cells will be dissociated. Perform fire-polishing in a cell culture hood so that the pipette remains sterile.</li>
</ol>
2. Dissection of Superior Cervical Ganglia:
<ol>
<li>Collect neonatal rat pups that are of age P0 or P1.</li>
<li>Rapidly wipe the pup for dissection with 70% ethanol to reduce chances of contamination.</li>
<li>Rapidly decapitate pup with a sharp pair of scissors (this step will not be shown in the video). Hold the head using sterile forceps against sterile gauze to briefly drain excess blood.</li>
<li>Place the head on the dissection pad with the ventral side facing up and the caudal end oriented toward you. The severed trachea should be readily visible. Use the sterile syringe needles to secure the severed head to the dissecting pad in the following manner: push one pin though the roof of the mouth into the pad and push the second pin though the severed trachea into the pad. Place the pad under the dissecting microscope and begin dissection.</li>
<li>Using both forceps (one in each hand) clear away skin and fat around the trachea, taking care not to go too deep. Doing this will expose a pair of muscles running almost parallel to each other on either side of the trachea. Note: during dissection, you will need to irrigate with cold sterile PBS or cold, serum free RPMI 1640 medium delivered with a sterile, Pasteur pipette to wash away excess blood and to keep the area clean and moist. This may be done only once or more than once depending on how fast one works. For an experience dissector, it takes only about two to three minutes to dissect out a pair of ganglia.</li>
<li>Use the forceps to cut and remove the muscle on one side first.</li>
<li>Once the muscle is removed, the carotid artery will become visible. Often it is light pinkish and contains blood. It may appear lighter in color than other blood vessels that you may see in the vicinity and for this reason the carotid artery may not be noticeable right away. This artery runs alongside the trachea and bifurcates into what looks like a &ldquo;Y&rdquo;-shaped ribbon. This bifurcation is an important landmark and once it is located, it will be relatively easy to find the SCG.</li>
<li>Sever the artery at the most caudal end and lift it up slightly with the forceps (the other end is still attached). Once you do this, you will see an almond-shaped, glossy looking small mass of tissue that is loosely attached to the artery just at the point of bifurcation and that has thread-like pre- and/or post-ganglionic connectives. This is the superior cervical ganglion. Use a second pair of forceps in the other hand to gently detach it and place in a small culture dish (35 mm) containing cold, serum free RPMI 1640 medium.</li>
<li>Next, extract the ganglion on the other side of the trachea following the same protocol. </li>
</ol>
3.	Cleaning the Ganglia:
<ol>
<li>Once all the ganglia have been dissected out, they should be freed as much as possible of extraneous tissue.</li>
<li>Under the dissection microscope, you may see that the ganglia have attached pieces of carotid artery, fat or other tissue. Work with forceps in each hand to tease away these unwanted materials. Place cleaned ganglia into a sterile 15ml conical, polypropylene tube, containing RPMI 1640 medium.</li>
<li>The pre- and/or post-ganglionic connectives should also be trimmed away. Each ganglion has about 10,000 neurons. Once the neurons are plated, they will regrow their neurites.</li>
</ol>
4. Establishing Sympathetic Neuron culture:
<ol>
<li>Centrifuge the ganglia at 200xg for 2 minutes and discard the supernatant.</li>
<li>Resuspend the ganglia in 0.5 to 1 ml of 0.25% trypsin solution. Place in a 37&#x02DA;C waterbath or incubator for 30 minutes. This will help dissociate the cells in the ganglia.</li>
<li>After 30 minutes, add 10 ml of Complete Medium to dilute out and neutralize the trypsin and centrifuge at 200xg for 2 minutes.</li>
<li>Discard supernatant and resuspend in 2 ml of Final Medium.</li>
<li>Further dissociate the cells by triturating the ganglia up and down with the fire-polished glass pasture pipette. Triturate the ganglia 20 times and place the tube on ice for a few minutes.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, fire-polish the pipette more to make the opening narrower (approximately 2/3 to 1/2 mm in diameter). Wait a few minutes until it cools and triturate the ganglia 20 times more. As you continue, the medium will become progressively cloudier indicating that the cells are being dissociated. Repeat this step once or twice more depending on how well the cells dissociate. After some time, you will notice that all the ganglia have dissociated into neurons and no intact ganglia are visible in the tube. There may be some tissue material that will not dissociate. At this point, let the tube sit in ice for a few minutes so that any undissociated debris can settle to the bottom. Now carefully collect almost all of the medium from the top and place in another tube. To ensure that you do not collect the undissociated debris, leave about 50 &micro;l at the bottom of the tube. Add more of the Final medium to the tube containing dissociated cells: this volume depends on the type of culture plate one is using to culture the neurons. For example: if a 24-well dish is to be employed, then plate 0.5 ganglia per well (~10,000 neurons per well) in 0.5 ml of Final medium per well. A typical rat litter consists of 12 pups, which would give 24 ganglia. This is enough to seed one 24-well plate and the total volume of Final medium is 12 ml. Note: the ganglia also contain a small population of glia and other cell types that will be present in the culture. Using Uridine/5-FDU in the Final medium will prevent their proliferation and promote their death.</li>
<li>Feed cells every 48 hours by replacing 2/3 of the medium with fresh RPMI +1% horse serum + NGF and uridine/5-FDU. Note: At first, the culture contains sympathetic neurons that look round with no neurites. Short neurites become visible 24 hours after dissection and progressively become denser and more branched over time.</li>
</ol>

<ol>
	<li>Banker, G., Goslin, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Culturing Nerve Cells. , (1998).</li><li>Biswas, S. C., Shi, Y., Sproul, A., Greene, L. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Pro-apoptotic+Bim+Induction+in+Response+to+Nerve+Growth+Factor+Deprivation+Requires+Simultaneous+Activation+of+Three+Different+Death+Signaling+Pathways.">Pro-apoptotic Bim Induction in Response to Nerve Growth Factor Deprivation Requires Simultaneous Activation of Three Different Death Signaling Pathways.</a> The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 282 (40), 29368-29374 (2007).</li><li>Bocchini, V., Angeletti, P. U. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+Nerve+Growth+Factor:+purification+as+a+30,000-molecular-weight+protein.">The Nerve Growth Factor: purification as a 30,000-molecular-weight protein.</a> Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. (64), 787-794 (1969).</li><li>Dechant, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chat+in+the+Trophic+Web:+NGF+Activates+Ret+by+Inter-RTK+Signaling.">Chat in the Trophic Web: NGF Activates Ret by Inter-RTK Signaling.</a> Neuron. 33 (2), 156-158 (2002).</li><li>Deckwerth, T., Elliott, J. L., Knudson, C. M., Johnson, E. M., Snider, W. D., Korsmeyer, S. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Bax+is+required+for+neuronal+death+after+trophic+factor+deprivation+and+during+development.">Bax is required for neuronal death after trophic factor deprivation and during development.</a> Neuron. (17), 401-411 (1996).</li><li>Greene, L. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Quantitative+in+Vitro+Studies+on+the+Nerve+Growth+Factor+(NGF)+Requirement+of+Neurons+-+I.+Sympathetic+Neurons.">Quantitative in Vitro Studies on the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) Requirement of Neurons - I. Sympathetic Neurons.</a> Developmental Biology. (58), 96-105 (1977).</li><li>Park, D. S., Morris, E. J., Padmanabhan, J., Shelanski, M. L., Geller, H. M., Greene, L. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cyclin-dependent+kinases+participate+in+death+of+neurons+evoked+by+DNA-damaging+agents.">Cyclin-dependent kinases participate in death of neurons evoked by DNA-damaging agents.</a> The Journal of Cell Biology. 143, 457-467 (1998).</li><li>Pierchala, B. A., Ahrens, R. C., Paden, A. J., Johnson, E. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Nerve+Growth+Factor+Promotes+the+Survival+of+Sympathetic+Neurons+through+the+Cooperative+Function+of+the+Protein+Kinase+C+and+Phosphatidylinositol+3-Kinase+Pathways.">Nerve Growth Factor Promotes the Survival of Sympathetic Neurons through the Cooperative Function of the Protein Kinase C and Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Pathways.</a> The Journal of Cell Biology. 279, 27986-27993 (2004).</li></ol>

The authors have nothing to disclose.

We use Sprague Dawley rats for our cultures.
Take time and care when cleaning the ganglia. Remove all debris, blood vessels and fat. This step is important in ensuring a culture that is more or less homogeneous and free of extraneous cell types. The addition of uridine/5-FDU will largely eliminate any remaining non-neuronal (mitotic) cells contaminating the culture or at least suppress their proliferation.
In addition, during the dissociation step, be patient and take the time to separate the neurons so that they are not found in large clumps once they are seeded onto the plates. Having large clumps of cells will not yield good experimental results. For example, large clumps will make it difficult for the neurons to be transfected or infected. Immunostaining may also be hindered and any experiments that require counting the neurons will be difficult to carry out, as well.
It is not necessary to supplement the medium with pen/strep every time the cultures are fed. Addition of pen/strep the very first time the cells are plated is sufficient. Do add fresh uridine/5-FDU to the medium every time the medium is exchanged.
We have used sympathetic neuronal culture to study apoptosis in response to NGF-withdrawal. For example, in Biswas et al. 2007 (2), sympathetic neurons were transfected with shRNA against several molecules that play important roles in promoting apoptosis. Deckwerth et al. 1996 (5) have used sympathetic neurons from wildtype mice and mice lacking the pro-apoptotic gene, Bax. They have looked at how these neurons behave when they are deprived of NGF. Figure 6 from Biswas et al. 2007 (2) and Figure 3 from Deckwerth et al. 1996 (5) show what transfected and non-transfected sympathetic neuronal cultures look like, respectively.

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		<div>
		<table border="1">
		<thead>
		<tr>
		<th>Material Name</th>
		<th>Type</th>
		<th>Company</th>
		<th>Catalogue Number</th>
		<th>Comment</th>
		</tr>
		</thead>
		<tbody>
		
<tr>
<td>Forceps, Stainless steel #5</td>
<td>Tool</td>
<td>Roboz</td>
<td>RS4976</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Scissors, DEAVER straight sharp-blunt- 43mm blades - 5.5</td>
<td>Tool</td>
<td>Roboz</td>
<td>RS6760</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>RPMI 1640 w/ L-Glutamin</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>Cellgro, Mediatech, Inc.</td>
<td>10-040-CV</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Fetal Bovine Serum</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>SAFC Biosciences</td>
<td>12103c</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Donor Horse Serum</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>JRH Biosciences</td>
<td>12449</td>
<td>Heat-inactivate by incubating in 56&deg;C waterbath for 30 minutes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Penicillin/streptomycin</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>Gibco, Invitrogen</td>
<td>15140-122</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Trypsin without EDTA</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>Difco</td>
<td>MT 25-050-CI</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Uridine</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>U3003</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>5-Fluoro-5' deoxyuridine</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>F-8791</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>NGF</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>Harlan Bioproduct</td>
<td>BT-5025</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Dissection Microscope and light source</td>
<td>Microscope</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>15 ml polypropylene tubes</td>
<td>Tool</td>
<td>BD Falcon</td>
<td>352096</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Cell culture dishes</td>
<td>Tool</td>
<td>Corning, Nunclone</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>		</tbody>
		</table>
		</div>

protocol for culturing sympathetic neurons from rat superior cervical ganglia (scg)

The superior cervical ganglia (SCG) in rats are small, glossy, almond-shaped structures that contain sympathetic neurons.  These neurons provide sympathetic innervations for the head and neck regions and they constitute a well-characterized and relatively homogeneous population (4).  Sympathetic neurons are dependent on nerve growth factor (NGF) for survival, differentiation and axonal growth and the wide-spread availability of NGF facilitates their culture and experimental manipulation (2, 3, 6).  For these reasons, cultured sympathetic neurons have been used in a wide variety of studies including neuronal development and differentiation, mechanisms of programmed and pathological cell death, and signal transduction (1, 2, 5, and 6).  Dissecting out the SCG from newborn rats and culturing sympathetic neurons is not very complicated and can be mastered fairly quickly.  In this article, we will describe in detail how to dissect out the SCG from newborn rat pups and to use them to establish cultures of sympathetic neurons.  The article will also describe the preparatory steps and the various reagents and equipment that are needed to achieve this.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Protocol for Culturing Sympathetic Neurons from Rat Superior Cervical Ganglia SCG at JoVE.com

Protocol for Culturing Sympathetic Neurons from Rat Superior Cervical Ganglia SCG

This is a protocol describing how to isolate and culture primary sympathetic neurons from superior cervical ganglia (SCG) of newborn rat pups.

Protocol for Culturing Sympathetic Neurons from Rat Superior Cervical Ganglia (SCG)

The superior cervical ganglia (SCG) in rats are small, glossy, almond-shaped structures that contain sympathetic neurons.  These neurons provide ...

protocol-for-culturing-sympathetic-neurons-from-rat-superior-cervical

Nanyang Technological University

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22.8K Views.  Columbia University. This is a protocol describing how to isolate and culture primary sympathetic neurons from superior cervical ganglia (SCG) of newborn rat pups.

Video: Protocol for Culturing Sympathetic Neurons from Rat Superior Cervical Ganglia SCG

Protocol for Mosquito Rearing (A. gambiae)

This protocol describes mosquito rearing in the insectary. The insectary rooms are maintained at 28&deg;C and ~80% humidity, with a 12 hr. day/night cycle. For this procedure, you'll need mosquito cages, 10% sterile sucrose solution, paper towels, beaker, whatman filter paper, glass feeders, human blood and serum, water bath, parafilm, distilled water, clean plastic trays, mosquito food (described below), mosquito net to cover the trays, vacuum, and a collection chamber to collect adults.

Protocol for Mosquito Rearing A. gambiae

This video illustrates the general techniques used to rear Anopheles gambiae in the laboratory. The methods for caring for laboratory mosquitoes are demonstrated through all stages of the organism's life cycle from larvae to pupae to blood-feeding adults.

This protocol describes mosquito rearing in the insectary. The insectary rooms are maintained at 28&deg;C and ~80% humidity, with a 12 hr. day/night ...

Preparing E18 Cortical Rat Neurons for Compartmentalization in a Microfluidic Device

In this video, we demonstrate the preparation of E18 cortical rat neurons. E18 cortical rat neurons are obtained from E18 fetal rat cortex previously dissected and prepared. The E18 cortex is, upon dissection, immediately dissociated into individual neurons. It is possible to store E18 cortex in Hibernate E buffer containing B27 at 4&deg;C for up to a week before the dissociation is performed. However, there will be a drop in cell viability. Typically we obtain our E18 Cortex fresh. It is transported to the lab in ice cold Calcium free Magnesium free dissection buffer (CMFM). Upon arrival, trypsin is added to the cortex to a final concentration of 0.125%. The cortex is then incubated at 37&deg;C for 8 minutes. DMEM containing 10% FBS is added to the cortex to stop the reaction. The cortex is then centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 2 minutes. The supernatant is removed and 2 ml of Neural Basal Media (NBM) containing 2% B27 (vol/vol) and 0.25% Glutamax (vol/vol) is added to the cortex which is then re-suspended by pipetting up and down. Next, the cortex is triturated with previously fire polished glass pipettes, each with a successive smaller opening. After triturating, the cortex is once again centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 2 minutes. The supernatant is then removed and the cortex pellet re-suspended with 2 ml of NBM containing B27 and Glutamax. The cell suspension is then passed through a 40 um nylon cell strainer. Next the cells are counted. The neurons are now ready for loading into the neuron microfluidic device.

In this video we demonstrate the preparation of E18 Cortical Rat Neurons.

In this video, we demonstrate the preparation of E18 cortical rat neurons. E18 cortical rat neurons are obtained from E18 fetal rat cortex previously ...

Neutrophil Isolation Protocol

Neutrophil polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMN) are the most abundant leukocytes in humans and among the first cells to arrive on the site of inflammatory immune response. Due to their key role in inflammation, neutrophil functions such as locomotion, cytokine production, phagocytosis, and tumor cell combat are extensively studied. To characterize the specific functions of neutrophils, a clean, fast, and reliable method of separating them from other blood cells is desirable for in vitro studies, especially since neutrophils are short-lived and should be used within 2-4 hours of collection. Here, we demonstrate a standard density gradient separation method to isolate human neutrophils from whole blood using commercially available separation media that is a mixture of sodium metrizoate and Dextran 500. The procedure consists of layering whole blood over the density gradient medium, centrifugation, separation of neutrophil layer, and lysis of residual erythrocytes. Cells are then washed, counted, and resuspended in buffer to desired concentration. When performed correctly, this method has been shown to yield samples of >95% neutrophils with >95% viability.

Neutrophils are among the first cells to arrive on the site of inflammatory immune response, and their functions and mechanisms have been studied extensively in vitro. We demonstrate a standard density gradient separation method to isolate human neutrophils from whole blood using commercially available separation media.

Neutrophil polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMN) are the most abundant leukocytes in humans and among the first cells to arrive on the site of inflammatory ...

Preparation and Maintenance of Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons in Compartmented Cultures

Neurons extend axonal processes that are far removed from the cell body to innervate target tissues, where target-derived growth factors are required for neuronal survival and function. Neurotrophins are specifically required to maintain the survival and differentiation of innervating sensory neurons but the question of how these target-derived neurotrophins communicate to the cell body of innervating neurons has been an area of active research for over 30 years. The most commonly accepted model of how neurotrophin signals reach the cell body proposes that signaling endosomes carry this signal retrogradely along the axon. In order to study retrograde transport, a culture system was originally devised by Robert Campenot, in which cell bodies are isolated from their axons. The technique of preparing these compartmented chambers for culturing sensory neurons recapitulates the selective stimulation of neuron terminals that occurs in vivo following release of target-derived neurotrophins. Retrograde signaling events that require long-range microtubule dependent retrograde transport have important implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Here we describe the technique of preparing and maintaining compartmented chambers for culturing sensory neurons of the dorsal root ganglia.

Neurons extend axonal processes that are far removed from the cell body to innervate target tissues, where target-derived growth factors are required for ...

An Introduction to Worm Lab: from Culturing Worms to Mutagenesis

This protocol describes procedures to maintain nematodes in the laboratory and how to mutagenize them using two alternative methods: ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) and 4, 5', 8-trimethylpsoralen combined with ultraviolet light (TMP/UV). Nematodes are powerful biological systems for genetics studies because of their simple body plan and mating system, which is composed of self-fertilizing hermaphrodites and males that can generate hundreds of progeny per animal. Nematodes are maintained in agar plates containing a lawn of bacteria and can be easily transferred from one plate to another using a pick. EMS is an alkylating agent commonly used to induce point mutations and small deletions, while TMP/UV mainly induces deletions. Depending on the species of nematode being used, concentrations of EMS and TMP will have to be optimized. To isolate recessive mutations of the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, animals of the F2 generation were visually screened for phenotypes. To illustrate these methods, we mutagenized worms and looked for Uncoordinated (Unc), Dumpy (Dpy) and Transformer (Tra) mutants.

Screening for mutants with phenotypic defects is a straightforward method for identifying genes that function in a given biological process. In this article we describe how to culture free living worms (e.g., Pristionchus pacificus) in the laboratory and show two different mutagenesis methods, EMS and TMP/UV.

This protocol describes procedures to maintain nematodes in the laboratory and how to mutagenize them using two alternative methods: ethyl methane ...

A Simple Protocol for Extracting Hemocytes from Wild Caterpillars

Insect hemocytes (equivalent to mammalian white blood cells) play an important role in several physiological processes throughout an insect's life cycle 1. In larval stages of insects belonging to the orders of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) and Diptera (true flies), hemocytes are formed from the lymph gland (a specialized hematopoietic organ) or embryonic cells and can be carried through to the adult stage. Embryonic hemocytes are involved in cell migration during development and chemotaxis regulation during inflammation. They also take part in cell apoptosis and are essential for embryogenesis 2. Hemocytes mediate the cellular arm of the insect innate immune response that includes several functions, such as cell spreading, cell aggregation, formation of nodules, phagocytosis and encapsulation of foreign invaders 3. They are also responsible for orchestrating specific insect humoral defenses during infection, such as the production of antimicrobial peptides and other effector molecules 4, 5. Hemocyte morphology and function have mainly been studied in genetic or physiological insect models, including the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster 6, 7, the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae 8, 9 and the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta 10, 11. However, little information currently exists about the diversity, classification, morphology and function of hemocytes in non-model insect species, especially those collected from the wild 12.
Here we describe a simple and efficient protocol for extracting hemocytes from wild caterpillars. We use penultimate instar Lithacodes fasciola (yellow-shouldered slug moth) (Figure 1) and Euclea delphinii (spiny oak slug) caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) and show that sufficient volumes of hemolymph (insect blood) can be isolated and hemocyte numbers counted from individual larvae. This method can be used to efficiently study hemocyte types in these species as well as in other related lepidopteran caterpillars harvested from the field, or it can be readily combined with immunological assays designed to investigate hemocyte function following infection with microbial or parasitic organisms 13.

Insect hemocytes carry out many important functions, both immune and non-immune, throughout all stages of insect development. Our present knowledge of hemocyte types and function comes from studies on insect genetic models. Here, we present a method for extracting, quantifying and visualizing hemocytes from wild caterpillars.

Insect hemocytes (equivalent to mammalian white blood cells) play an important role in several physiological processes throughout an insect's life cycle ...

Culturing Primary Rat Inner Medullary Collecting Duct Cells

Arginine-vasopressin (AVP) facilitates water reabsorption by renal collecting duct principal cells and thereby fine-tunes body water homeostasis. AVP binds to vasopressin V2 receptors (V2R) on the surface of the cells and thereby induces synthesis of cAMP. This stimulates cellular signaling processes leading to changes in the phosphorylation of the water channel aquaporin-2 (AQP2). Protein kinase A phoshorylates AQP2 and thereby triggers the translocation of AQP2 from intracellular vesicles into the plasma membrane facilitating water reabsorption from primary urine. Aberrations of AVP release from the pituitary or AVP-activated signaling in principal cells can cause central or nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, respectively; an elevated blood plasma AVP level is associated with cardiovascular diseases such as chronic heart failure and the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion.
Here, we present a protocol for cultivation of primary rat inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) cells, which express V2R and AQP2 endogenously. The cells are suitable for elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying the control of AQP2 and thus to discover novel drug targets for the treatment of diseases associated with dysregulation of AVP-mediated water reabsorption. IMCD cells are obtained from rat renal inner medullae and are used for experiments six to eight days after seeding. IMCD cells can be cultured in regular cell culture dishes, flasks and micro-titer plates of different formats, the procedure only requires a few hours, and is appropriate for standard cell culture laboratories.

Arginine-vasopressin (AVP) controls fine-tuning of body water homeostasis through facilitating water reabsorption by renal principal cells. Here, we present a protocol for the cultivation of primary rat inner medullary collecting duct cells suitable for the elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying AVP-mediated water reabsorption.

Arginine-vasopressin (AVP) facilitates water reabsorption by renal collecting duct principal cells and thereby fine-tunes body water homeostasis. AVP ...

A Method for Culturing Embryonic C. elegans Cells

C. elegans is a powerful model system, in which genetic and molecular techniques are easily applicable. Until recently though, techniques that require direct access to cells and isolation of specific cell types, could not be applied in C. elegans. This limitation was due to the fact that tissues are confined within a pressurized cuticle which is not easily digested by treatment with enzymes and/or detergents. Based on early pioneer work by Laird Bloom, Christensen and colleagues 1 developed a robust method for culturing C. elegans embryonic cells in large scale. Eggs are isolated from gravid adults by treatment with bleach/NaOH and subsequently treated with chitinase to remove the eggshells. Embryonic cells are then dissociated by manual pipetting and plated onto substrate-covered glass in serum-enriched media. Within 24 hr of isolation cells begin to differentiate by changing morphology and by expressing cell specific markers. C. elegans cells cultured using this method survive for up 2 weeks in vitro and have been used for electrophysiological, immunochemical, and imaging analyses as well as they have been sorted and used for microarray profiling.

A Method for Culturing Embryonic C. elegans Cells

We describe here a revised protocol for large-scale culture of embryonic C. elegans cells. Embryonic C. elegans cells cultured in vitro using this method, appear to differentiate and recapitulate the expression of genes in a cell specific manner. Techniques that require direct access to the cells or isolation of specific cell types from the other tissues can be applied on C. elegans cultured cells.

C. elegans is a powerful model system, in which genetic and molecular techniques are easily applicable. Until recently though, techniques that require ...

Sampling Blood from the Lateral Tail Vein of the Rat

Blood samples are commonly obtained in many experimental contexts to measure targets of interest, including hormones, immune factors, growth factors, proteins, and glucose, yet the composition of the blood is dynamically regulated and easily perturbed. One factor that can change the blood composition is the stress response triggered by the sampling procedure, which can contribute to variability in the measures of interest. Here we describe a procedure for blood sampling from the lateral tail vein in the rat. This procedure offers significant advantages over other more commonly used techniques. It permits rapid sampling with minimal pain or invasiveness, without anesthesia or analgesia. Additionally, it can be used to obtain large volume samples (upwards of 1 ml in some rats), and it may be used repeatedly across experimental days. By minimizing the stress response and pain resulting from blood sampling, measures can more accurately reflect the true basal state of the animal, with minimal influence from the sampling procedure itself.

Blood samples are useful for assessing biomarkers of physiological states or disease in vivo. Here we describe the methodology to sample blood from the lateral tail vein in the rat. This method provides rapid samples with minimal pain and invasiveness.

Blood samples are commonly obtained in many experimental contexts to measure targets of interest, including hormones, immune factors, growth factors, ...

Isolation of CD146+ Resident Lung Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from Rat Lungs

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic potential in a wide range of diseases, including lung diseases. Besides the use of bone marrow and umbilical cord MSCs for exogenous cell therapy, there is also increasing interest in the repair and regenerative potential of resident tissue MSCs. Moreover, they likely have a role in normal organ development, and have been attributed roles in disease, particularly those with a fibrotic nature. The main hurdle for the study of these resident tissue MSCs is the lack of a clear marker for the isolation and identification of these cells. The isolation technique described here applies multiple characteristics of lung resident MSCs (L-MSCs). Upon sacrifice of the rats, lungs are removed and rinsed multiple times to remove blood. Following mechanical dissociation by scalpel, the lungs are digested for 2-3 hr using a mix of collagenase type I, neutral protease and DNase type I. The obtained single cell suspension is subsequently washed and layered over density gradient medium (density 1.073 g/ml). After centrifugation, cells from the interphase are washed and plated in culture-treated flasks. Cells are cultured for 4-7 days in physiological 5% O2, 5% CO2 conditions. To deplete fibroblasts (CD146-) and to ensure a population of only L-MSCs (CD146+), positive selection for CD146+ cells is performed through magnetic bead selection. In summary, this procedure reliably produces a population of primary L-MSCs for further in vitro study and manipulation. Because of the nature of the protocol, it can easily be translated to other experimental animal models.

Isolation of CD146+ Resident Lung Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from Rat Lungs

This protocol describes an isolation technique for obtaining primary lung resident mesenchymal stromal cells from rats, through the use of enzymatic digestion, density gradient separation, plastic adherence and CD146+ magnetic bead selection.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic potential in a wide range of diseases, including lung diseases. Besides ...