Isolation of Primary Murine Skeletal Muscle Microvascular Endothelial Cells

Summary

Microvascular endothelial cells of skeletal muscles (MMEC) shape the inner wall of muscle capillaries and regulate both, exchange of fluids/molecules and migration of (immune) cells between muscle tissue and blood. Isolation of primary murine MMEC, as described here, enables comprehensive in vitro investigations of the "myovascular unit".

Abstract

The endothelial cells of skeletal muscle capillaries (muscle microvascular endothelial cells, MMEC) build up the barrier between blood stream and skeletal muscles regulating the exchange of fluids and nutrients as well as the immune response against infectious agents by controlling immune cell migration. For these functions, MMEC form a functional "myovascular unit" (MVU), with further cell types, such as fibroblasts, pericytes and skeletal muscle cells. Consequently, a dysfunction of MMEC and therefore the MVU contributes to a vast variety of myopathies. However, regulatory mechanisms of MMEC in health and disease remain insufficiently understood and their elucidation precedes more specific treatments for myopathies. The isolation and in-depth investigation of primary MMEC functions in the context of the MVU might facilitate a better understanding of these processes.

This article provides a protocol to isolate primary murine MMEC of the skeletal muscle by mechanical and enzymatic dissociation including purification and culture maintenance steps.

Introduction

Via bloodstream, cells and organs are supplied with oxygen, substrates and other necessary molecules. This interchange takes place in capillaries, the smallest vessels. Capillaries are formed by an inner endothelial cell (EC) layer whose integrity remains a prerequisite to successful regulation of muscle homeostasis between the intravascular and interstitial space. To ensure a selective transition of soluble factors and cells, EC constitute a monolayer interconnected by tight and adherens junctions ¹. Besides its role as barrier for nutrients or metabolic products, EC regulate the recruitment of leukocytes in inflammatory processes. In....

Protocol

All animal experiments were approved by the local authorities and conducted according to the German animal welfare act (84-02.05.20.13.097).

1. General Remarks on Animal Experiments

1. Perform all mouse experiments in accordance with the guidelines of the respective institutional animal care and use committee.
2. Keep mice under standardized conditions and according to international guidelines such as the Federation for Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA).
   NOTE: In general this isolation technique can be used for mice independent of age, gender or genetic background. To obtain a sufficient....

Results

One day after isolation, primary murine MMEC and residual other cells form conglomerates and adhere to the bottom of culture dishes (Figure 1A day 1). From day 7 on, flat and elongated cells can be observed. However, contamination of other, mostly spheroid cells, is still visible (Figure 1A day 7). Thus, another cycle of CD31 positive selection via MCS is required. Hereafter, primary murine MMEC proliferate to a density .......

Discussion

Microvascular endothelial cells provide barrier functions in all tissues and their dysfunction results in disease of the associated organs ³. Moreover, organ-specific studies of microvascular EC could pave the way for new therapeutic strategies. Therefore, a deeper understanding of microvascular EC function under physiological and pathophysiological conditions is of great scientific interest. Modulation of leukocyte/endothelium interaction is successfully used to treat multiple sclerosis patients .......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.25% Trypsin-EDTA	Thermo Fisher	25200-056	ready to use
ACK buffer			150 mM NH4Cl, 10 mM KHCO3, 0.1 mM EDTA in water at a pH of 7.3
Anti-mouse CD31-FITC (clone MEC13.3)	Biolegend	102506	Isotype control: FITC Rat IgG2a, κ Isotype Ctrl
Anti-mouse CD45-PE (clone 30-F11)	Biolegend	103106	Isotype control: PE Rat IgG2b, κ Isotype Ctrl
bFGF	Peprotech	100-18B	Basic fibroblast growth factor
BSA	Sigma Aldrich	A4503
CD31 MicroBeads mouse	Miltenyi Biotec	130-097-418
CD45 MicroBeads mouse	Miltenyi Biotec	130-052-301
Collagenase-Dispase	Roche	10269638001	Collagenase from V. alginolyticus, Dispase from B. polymyxa
Corning Costar TC-Treated Multiple 6-Well Plates	Corning	3516
Cy3-conjugated anti-rat IgG antibody	dianova	712-166-153
DAPI (ProLong Gold antifade reagent with DAPI)	Thermo Fisher	P36935
Desoxyribonuclease	Sigma Aldrich	D4513	Deoxyribonuclease I from bovine pancreas
Diethylpyrocarbonat treated water	Thermo Fisher	AM9916
DMEM, containing Glutamin Supplement and pyruvate	Thermo Fisher	31966-021	warm up to 37 °C before use
dNTP Mix (10 mM)	Thermo Fisher	R0192	1 mL
EDTA	Sigma Aldrich	E5134
FACS tubes	Sarstedt	551,579
Falcon 70 μm Cell Strainer	Corning	352350
FC buffer			0.1% BSA, 0.2% NaN3, 2 mM EDTA
Fetal calf serum	Sigma Aldrich	F6178	Fetal calf serum
Fixable Viability Dye eFluor780	Thermo Fisher	65-0865-14
Forceps (serrated, straight, 12 cm)	Fine Science Tools	11002-12
Forceps (serrated, straight, 12 cm)	Fine Science Tools	11009-13
Insulin syringe 100 Solo 1 mL (Omnifix)	Braun	9161708V
large magnetiv columns (LS columns)	Miltenyi Biotec	130-042-401	for CD45-MACS-step
MCS buffer			0.5% BSA, 2 mM EDTA in PBS at a pH of 7.2
Medium magnetic column (MS column)	Miltenyi Biotec	130-042-201	for CD31-MACS-step
Nuclease free water	Thermo Fisher	R0581
PBS	Sigma Aldrich		Phosphate buffered saline, ready to use
PCR buffer (5x)	Thermo Fisher	EP0742	in a kit with the reverse transcriptase
Pecam1 rat α-mouse	SantaCruz	Sc-52713	100 µg/mL
Penicillin-Streptomycin	Sigma Aldrich	P4333
primary murine muscle cells	celprogen	66066-01
Primer Cdh15 (M-Cadherin)	Thermo Fisher	Mm00483191_m1	FAM labeled
Primer Cldn5 (claudin-5)	Thermo Fisher	Mm00727012_s1	FAM labeled
Primer Ocln (occludin)	Thermo Fisher	Mm00500912_m1	FAM labeled
Primer Pax-7	Thermo Fisher	Mm01354484_m1	FAM labeled
Primer Tjp-1 (Zonula occludens 1)	Thermo Fisher	Mm00493699_m1	FAM labeled
Primer 18s rRNA (Eukaryotic endogenous control)	Thermo Fisher	4310893E	VIC labeled
qPCR buffer (Maxima Probe/ROX qPCR Master Mix (2X)	Thermo Fisher	K0231	2 x 1,25 mL; for 200 reactions each
Random mixture of single-stranded primer	Thermo Fisher	SO142	Random Hexamer Primer
Reverse Transcriptase (200 U/μL) + PCR buffer (5x)	Thermo Fisher	EP0742
Rnase Inhibitor (40 U/μL)	Thermo Fisher	EO0381
Scissor (cutting edge 23 mm, sharp/sharp)	Fine Science Tools	14088-10
Scissor (cutting edge 42 mm, sharp/blunt)	Fine Science Tools	14001-13
Speed Coating solution	PeloBiotech	PB-LU-000-0002-00