Measuring Phagosome pH by Ratiometric Fluorescence Microscopy

Summary

Phagosomal pH influences phagosome maturation, oxidant production, phagosomal killing as well as antigen presentation. Here we describe a ratiometric method for measuring time-course and endpoint pH changes in individual phagosomes in living phagocytes using fluorescence microscopy.

Abstract

Phagocytosis is a fundamental process through which innate immune cells engulf bacteria, apoptotic cells or other foreign particles in order to kill or neutralize the ingested material, or to present it as antigens and initiate adaptive immune responses. The pH of phagosomes is a critical parameter regulating fission or fusion with endomembranes and activation of proteolytic enzymes, events that allow the phagocytic vacuole to mature into a degradative organelle. In addition, translocation of H⁺ is required for the production of high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are essential for efficient killing and signaling to other host tissues. Many intracellular pathogens subvert phagocytic killing by limiting phagosomal acidification, highlighting the importance of pH in phagosome biology. Here we describe a ratiometric method for measuring phagosomal pH in neutrophils using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled zymosan as phagocytic targets, and live-cell imaging. The assay is based on the fluorescence properties of FITC, which is quenched by acidic pH when excited at 490 nm but not when excited at 440 nm, allowing quantification of a pH-dependent ratio, rather than absolute fluorescence, of a single dye. A detailed protocol for performing in situ dye calibration and conversion of ratio to real pH values is also provided. Single-dye ratiometric methods are generally considered superior to single wavelength or dual-dye pseudo-ratiometric protocols, as they are less sensitive to perturbations such as bleaching, focus changes, laser variations, and uneven labeling, which distort the measured signal. This method can be easily modified to measure pH in other phagocytic cell types, and zymosan can be replaced by any other amine-containing particle, from inert beads to living microorganisms. Finally, this method can be adapted to make use of other fluorescent probes sensitive to different pH ranges or other phagosomal activities, making it a generalized protocol for the functional imaging of phagosomes.

Introduction

Phagocytosis, the process through which innate immune cells engulf large particles, evolved from the eating mechanism of single-celled organisms, and involves binding to a target, enveloping it with a membrane and pinching the membrane off to form a vacuole within the cytosol called a phagosome. While the phagosomal membrane is derived from the plasma membrane, active protein and lipid sorting, as well as fusion with endomembranes during phagosome formation, transform the phagosome into a distinct organelle within the cell with degradative properties that allow the killing, neutralization and breakdown of the ingested material^1-3. This process, called phago....

Protocol

Ethics Statement: All animal manipulations were performed in strict accordance with the guidelines of the Animal Research Committee of the University of Geneva.

1. Preparation of Phagocytic Targets

1. Add 20 mg of dried zymosan to 10 ml sterile phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Vortex and heat in a boiling water bath for 10 min. Cool and centrifuge at 2,000 x g for 5 min.
2. Remove the supernatant, resuspend in 1 ml PBS and sonicate for 10 min in a water bath sonicator. Transfer 500 µl to two 1.5 ml tubes. Centrifuge at 11,000 x g for 5 min.
3. Repeat the wash with 500 µl PBS. The boiled zymo....

Results

The following are representative results for an experiment where the phagosomal pH of primary mouse neutrophils isolated from the bone-marrow of wild-type or Hvcn1^-/- mice were compared. For a successful experiment, it is important to obtain enough phagosomes within the field of view during the whole duration of the time-lapse movie, while avoiding too many phagosomes, which will later be more difficult to segment during the image analysis. Figure 1 shows examples of.......

Discussion

Although more time consuming than alternative methods, such as spectroscopy and FACS, which employ a similar strategy of using a pH sensitive dye coupled to targets but measure the average pH of a population of phagosomes, microscopy offers several advantages. First is that internal and external bound, but not internalized, particles can easily be distinguished without having to add other chemicals, such as trypan blue or antibodies, to quench or label external particles, respectively. Second is that following the cells .......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Zymosan A powder	Sigma-Aldrich	Z4250	Various providers exist
Fluorescein isothiocyanate	Sigma-Aldrich	F7250	Various providers exist
Anti-zymosan antibody (Zymosan A Bioparticles opsonizing reagent)	Life Technologies	Z2850	Sigma-Aldrich O6637 is an equivalent product. Alternatively 25% serum can be used as an opsonizing reagent.
4-Aminobenzoic hydrazide (4-ABH)	Santa Cruz	sc-204107	Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist
Diphenyleneiodonium chloride (DPI)	Sigma-Aldrich	D2926	Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist
Concanamycin A (ConcA)	Sigma-Aldrich	27689	Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist
Nigericin	Sigma-Aldrich	N7143	Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist
Monensin	Enzo	ALX-380-026-G001	Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist
Phosphate buffered saline (PBS)	Life Technologies	14200-075	Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist
Hank's balance salt solution	Life Technologies	14025092	Ringer's balanced salt solution or other clear physiological buffers may be substituted.
Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3)	Sigma-Aldrich	S7795	Various providers exist
2-(N-Morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES)	Sigma-Aldrich	M3671	Various providers exist
4-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES)	Sigma-Aldrich	H3375	Various providers exist
N-Methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG)	Sigma-Aldrich	M2004	Various providers exist
Ethylene glycol-bis(2-aminoethylether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA)	Sigma-Aldrich	3777	Various providers exist
Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris)	Sigma-Aldrich	T1503	Various providers exist
Potassium chloride (KCl)	Sigma-Aldrich	P9333	Various providers exist
Sodium chloride (NaCl)	Sigma-Aldrich	S7653	Various providers exist
Magnesium chloride (MgCl2)	Sigma-Aldrich	M8266	Various providers exist
Absolute Ethanol (EtOH)	Sigma-Aldrich	2860	Various providers exist
Glass-bottom 35 mm petri dishes (Fluorodish)	World Precision Instruments	FD35-100	Ibidi µ-clear dishes or coverslips with appropriate imaging chambers may be sustituted
Sonicating water bath	O. Kleiner AG		A sonicator may be used instead, various instrument providers exist
Heamocytometer	Marienfeld GmbH		Various instrument providers exist
Widefield live imaging microscope	Carl Zeiss AG		Various instrument providers exist, but the microscope must be able to image 440/535 and 490/535 excitation/emission respective. Spinning disk confocal set-ups with brightfield capabilities may substituted, but zymosan tend to go out of focus more often.
Peristaltic pump (Dynamax RP-1)	Rainin		Various instrument providers exist
pH meter	Schott Gerate GmbH		Various instrument providers exist
Manual Counter	Milian SA		Various instrument providers exist