Optical Quantification of Intracellular pH in Drosophila melanogaster Malpighian Tubule Epithelia with a Fluorescent Genetically-encoded pH Indicator

Summary

Cellular ion transport can often be assessed by monitoring intracellular pH (pH_i). Genetically Encoded pH-Indicators (GEpHIs) provide optical quantification of intracellular pH in intact cells. This protocol details the quantification of intracellular pH through cellular ex vivo live-imaging of Malpighian tubules of Drosophila melanogaster with pHerry, a pseudo-ratiometric genetically encoded pH-indicator.

Abstract

Epithelial ion transport is vital to systemic ion homeostasis as well as maintenance of essential cellular electrochemical gradients. Intracellular pH (pH_i) is influenced by many ion transporters and thus monitoring pH_i is a useful tool for assessing transporter activity. Modern Genetically Encoded pH-Indicators (GEpHIs) provide optical quantification of pH_i in intact cells on a cellular and subcellular scale. This protocol describes real-time quantification of cellular pH_i regulation in Malpighian Tubules (MTs) of Drosophila melanogaster through ex vivo live-imaging of pHerry, a pseudo-ratiometric GEpHI with a pK_a well-suited to track pH changes in the cytosol. Extracted adult fly MTs are composed of morphologically and functionally distinct sections of single-cell layer epithelia, and can serve as an accessible and genetically tractable model for investigation of epithelial transport. GEpHIs offer several advantages over conventional pH-sensitive fluorescent dyes and ion-selective electrodes. GEpHIs can label distinct cell populations provided appropriate promoter elements are available. This labeling is particularly useful in ex vivo, in vivo, and in situ preparations, which are inherently heterogeneous. GEpHIs also permit quantification of pH_i in intact tissues over time without need for repeated dye treatment or tissue externalization. The primary drawback of current GEpHIs is the tendency to aggregate in cytosolic inclusions in response to tissue damage and construct over-expression. These shortcomings, their solutions, and the inherent advantages of GEpHIs are demonstrated in this protocol through assessment of basolateral proton (H⁺) transport in functionally distinct principal and stellate cells of extracted fly MTs. The techniques and analysis described are readily adaptable to a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate preparations, and the sophistication of the assay can be scaled from teaching labs to intricate determination of ion flux via specific transporters.

Introduction

The goal of this protocol is to describe quantification of intracellular pH (pH_i) using a Genetically-Encoded pH-Indicator (GEpHI) and demonstrate how this method can be used to assess basolateral H⁺ transport in a model insect (D. melanogaster) renal structure, the Malpighian tubule (MT). MTs serve as the excretory organs of the fruit fly and are functionally similar to the mammalian nephron in several key respects¹. MTs are arranged as 2 pairs of tubules (anterior and posterior) in the thorax and abdomen of the fly. The single-cell epithelial tube of each MT is composed of metabolically active principal cells wi....

Protocol

All steps in this protocol comply with the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) animal use guidelines.

1. Fly Husbandry

1. Raise flies and set crosses according to standard husbandry²⁹.
   NOTE: Fluorescent reporter expression by the GAL4/UAS system is proportional to temperature and thus rearing temperature can be adjusted to alter expression level. While high expression levels often lead to a better signal-to-noise ratio this condition is also associated with increased cytosolic and organellar aggregates when using GFP to Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP) fusion constructs such as pHerry¹⁰

Results

Healthy tissues and proper identification of anterior MTs are vital to the success of this protocol. During dissection, care should be taken to not directly touch the MTs and to only handle them by the ureter as gripping the MTs directly will lead to breakage (Figure 4A - B). When MTs are swept flat onto the slide, the tubules must be touched as little as possible and excess motion avoided as this will damage the single-cell .......

Discussion

The success of quantification of pH_i in Drosophila MTs depends entirely on the health of extracted MTs and the quality of mounting and dissection (Figure A - C). Thus, the careful handling of tissue as described is imperative. Slides freshly coated in PLL substantially aid MT mounting as they tend to be much more adhesive than slides which have previously been exposed to solution. Careful mounting will also aid in identification of distinct .......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Poly-L-Lysine (PLL) Solution	Sigma-Aldrich	P4832	Store at 4 °C, can be reused.
Nigericin Sodium Salt	Sigma-Aldrich	N7143	CAUTION: Handle with gloves. Store as aliquots of 20 mM stock solution in DMSO at 4 °C.
Adhesive Perfusion Chamber Covers, adhesive size 1 mm, chamber diameter × thickness 9 mm × 0.9 mm, ports diameter 1.5 mm	Sigma-Aldrich	GBL622105	Can be substituted as needed to match perfusion system.
Sylgard 184 Silicone Elastomer Kit	Ellsworth Adhesives	184 SIL ELAST KIT 0.5KG	Available from multiple vendors.
Helping Hands Soldering Stands	Harbor Freight Tools	60501	Available from multiple vendors.
Open Gravity-fed Perfusion System with Valve Controller, 8 to 1 Manifold and Reserviors	Bioscience Tools	PS-8S	Any comparable perfusion system can be used.
Flow Regulator	Warner Instruments	64-0221	Can be substituted as needed to match perfusion system.
Schneider's Medium	Fisher Scientific	21720024	Store at 4 °C in sterile aliquots.
#5 Inox Steel Forceps	Fine Science Tools	11252-20	Can be substituted based on experimenter comfort.
35 x 10 mm polystyrene Petri dish	Corning Life Sciences	Fisher Scientific 08-757-100A	Exact brand and size are unimportant.
75 x 25 mm Microscope Slides	Corning Life Sciences	2949-75X25	Exact brand and size can vary as long as perfusion wells are compatible.
Filimented Borosilicate Capillary Glass, ID 1.5 mm, OD 0.86 mm, thickness 0.32 mm	Warner Instruments	64-0796	Filiment not necessary, glass can be substituted to match perfusion tubing and perfusion wells.
Tygon Tubing, ID 1/16", OD 1/8", thickness 1/32"	Fisher Scientific	14-171-129	Available from multiple vendors, can be substituted to match perfusion system.
Vacuum Silicone Grease	Sigma-Aldrich	Z273554	Available from multiple vendors.
Plastic Flow Control Clamp	Fisher Scientific	05-869	Available from multiple vendors, sterility not required
Glass rods, 5 mm diameter	delphiglass.com	9198	Exact size is personal preference, multiple vendors available
PAP Hydrophobic Pen	Sigma-Aldrich	Z377821	Available from multiple vendors.
Sealing Film	Sigma-Aldrich	P7668	Available from multiple vendors.
15 mL Falcon tube	BD Falcon	352096	Available from multiple vendors.
50 mL Falcon tube	BD Falcon	352070	Available from multiple vendors.
HEPES; 4-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1-ethanesulfonic acid	Sigma-Aldrich	H3375	Available from multiple vendors.
MES; 4-Morpholineethanesulfonic acid monohydrate	Sigma-Aldrich	69892	Available from multiple vendors.
TAPS; N-[Tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]-3-aminopropanesulfonic acid	Sigma-Aldrich	T5130	Available from multiple vendors.
10X/0.45 Air Objective	Zeiss	000000-1063-139	Comparable objectives can be substituted. 40X objectives can be used for single cell imaging.
Dissecting Stereoscope	Zeiss	Discovery.V8	Any dissecting stereoscope can be used.
UAS-pHerry transgenic Drosophila melagnogaster	Available from Romero Lab		First published: Citation 10
capaR-GAL4 driver line Drosophila melagnogaster	Available from Romero Lab		First published: Citation 32
c724-GAL4 driver line Drosophila melagnogaster	Available from Romero Lab		First published: Citation 2
Monochromatic High Sensitivity Digital Camera	Zeiss	Axiocam 506 mono	Exact brand and model can vary, can be replaced with any monochromatic high-sensitivity camera suited to live cellular imaging.
GFP/FITC filter set, 470/40 nm ex., 515 nm longpass em., 500 nm dichroic	Chroma	CZ909	Any GFP/FITC filer set can be substituted.
RFP/TRITC filter set, 546/10 nm ex., 590 nm longpass em., 565 nm dichroic	Chroma	CZ915	Any GFP/FITC filer set can be substituted.
Inverted Epifluoescent Microscope	Zeiss	Axio Observer Z.1	Any comparable microscope with motorized filter switching can be used. Upright microscopes can be used with open perfusion baths and water-immersion objectives.
Statistical Analysis Software	Microcal	Origin 6.0	Any software with comparable functionality can be substituted
Image Analysis Software	National Institutes of Health	ImageJ 1.50i	Any software with comparable functionality can be substituted
Image Acquisition Software	Zeiss	Zen 1.1.2.0	Any software with comparable functionality can be substituted
Single-edged Carbon Steel Razor Blade	Electron Microscopy Sciences	71960	Available from multiple vendors.
Microscopy Slide Folder	Fisher Scientific	16-04	Available from multiple vendors.
Bunsen Burner	Fisher Scientific	50-110-1231	Available from multiple vendors.
Polystrene Drosophila Rearing Vials with Flugs	Genesee Scientific	32-109BF	Comparable items can be substituted.
2.5 L Laboratory Ice Bucket	Fisher Scientific	07-210-129	Available from multiple vendors.
NMDG; N-Methyl-D-glucamine	Sigma-Aldrich	M2004	Available from multiple vendors.
200 uL barrier pipette tips	MidSci	AV200	Available from multiple vendors.
200 μL variable volume pipette	Gilson Incorporated	PIPETMAN P200	Available from multiple vendors.