Derivation of Thymic Lymphoma T-cell Lines from Atm-/- and p53-/- Mice

Summary

In this video we demonstrate a protocol to establish mouse thymic lymphoma cell lines. By following this protocol, we have successfully established several T-cell lines from Atm-/- and p53-/- mice with thymic lymphoma.

Abstract

Established cell lines are a critical research tool that can reduce the use of laboratory animals in research. Certain strains of genetically modified mice, such as Atm^-/- and p53^-/- consistently develop thymic lymphoma early in life ^1,2, and thus, can serve as a reliable source for derivation of murine T-cell lines. Here we present a detailed protocol for the development of established murine thymic lymphoma T-cell lines without the need to add interleukins as described in previous protocols ^1,3. Tumors were harvested from mice aged three to six months, at the earliest indication of visible tumors based on the observation of hunched posture, labored breathing, poor grooming and wasting in a susceptible strain ^1,4. We have successfully established several T-cell lines using this protocol and inbred strains ofAtm^-/- [FVB/N-Atm^tm1Led/J] ² and p53^-/- [129/S6-Trp53^tm1Tyj/J] ⁵ mice. We further demonstrate that more than 90% of the established T-cell population expresses CD3, CD4 and CD8. Consistent with stably established cell lines, the T-cells generated by using the present protocol have been passaged for over a year.

Protocol

1. Dissection of Tumor

1. For tumor dissection, a clean paper towel or disposable surgical drape is placed on the dissection pad and sprayed with 70% ethanol.
2. Mice for this protocol are routinely euthanized with CO₂.Place the euthanized mouse on the dissection pad and spray both sides of the animal with ethanol. The mouse is held in place onto the dissection pad by using four or more push pins inserted through the legs and sprayed thoroughly with 70% ethanol.
3. The skin over the midline is cut from the pubis to the base of the head by using sterile scissors, while avoiding the underlying muscles and penetrating into the body cavi....

Discussion

In this protocol, we provide detailed procedures to establish murine T-cell lines from two different mouse genotypes; Atm^-/- [FVB/N-Atm^tm1Led/J] and p53^-/- [129/S6-Trp53^tm1Tyj/J]. By using this protocol, a total of 6 (out of 7 attempts) Atm^-/- and three (out of 5 attempts) p53^-/- murine T-cell lines have been established in our laboratory. Representative data demonstrating that cell line DWJ-Atm-1, an

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Ice bucket 70% ethanol Dissection pad consisting of foam block covered with aluminum foil and pins Two sets of small sterile scissors and forceps Sterile 150 mm2 Petri dish (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA; cat. #08-757-13) Sterile 18 gauge needles 50 mL conical tubes (Corning Inc., Corning NY; cat # 430829) 10% buffered formalin Tissue culture flasks T-25 (TPP, Trasadingen, Switzerland; cat # 90025) T-75 (TPP, Trasadingen, Switzerland; cat # 90075) 6-well plates (Corning Inc., Corning NY; cat # 3506) Sterile phosphate buffered saline pH 7.2 (PBS) Culture medium RPMI 1640 with 25 mM HEPES, 200 mM L-glutamine (Lonza, Walkersville, MD; cat#12-115F) supplemented with the following: 10% heat inactivated (56°C, 30 min) fetal bovine serum (FBS; Hyclone, Logan, UT; cat# SH30088.03) 1% penicillin and streptomycin (Mediatech, Manassas,VA; cat# 30-002-CI) 1% nonessential amino acids (Mediatech; cat#25-025-CI) 55 mM 2β-mercapt–thanol (Sigma, St Louis, MO; cat#M752) Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; Calbiochem, La Jolla, CA; cat # 317275) Antibodies (eBioScience, San Diego, CA) anti-CD3-FITC (cat. #11-0031-85) anti-CD4-APC (cat. #17-0041-83) anti-CD8-PE (cat.#12-081-85) Bovine serum albumin (BSA; Life Technologies, Grand Island, NY; cat #. 11018-017) Concanavalin A (Sigma cat# C5275) 1.8 mL freezing vials (Nunc, Roskilde, Denmark; cat# 368632)