Derivation of Stem Cell Lines from Mouse Preimplantation Embryos

Summary

This article describes a protocol to efficiently derive and culture pluripotent stem cell lines from mouse embryos at the blastocyst stage.

Abstract

Mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) derivation is the process by which pluripotent cell lines are established from preimplantation embryos. These lines retain the ability to either self-renew or differentiate under specific conditions. Due to these properties, mESC are a useful tool in regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and tissue engineering studies. This article describes a simple protocol to obtain mESC lines with high derivation efficiencies (60-80%) by culturing blastocysts from permissive mouse strains on feeder cells in defined medium supplemented with leukemia inhibitory factor. The protocol can also be applied to efficiently derive mESC lines from non-permissive mouse strains, by the simple addition of a cocktail of two small-molecule inhibitors to the derivation medium (2i medium). Detailed procedures on the preparation and culture of feeder cells, collection and culture of mouse embryos, and derivation and culture of mESC lines are provided. This protocol does not require specialized equipment and can be carried out in any laboratory with basic mammalian cell culture expertise.

Introduction

Embryonic stem cells (ESC) are pluripotent cells derived from preimplantation embryos, which retain the ability to either self-renew or differentiate under specific conditions¹. Based on these properties, ESC have become a useful tool for regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and tissue engineering studies².

ESC were derived for the first time from preimplantation mouse embryos, originating mouse ESC (mESC) lines with low success^3,4. For years, the derivation efficiency remained low due to the difficulty of maintaining pluripotency ....

Protocol

The use of the animals described in the sections below has been approved by the Ethics Committee on Animal and Human Research of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and by the Departament d'Agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca i Alimentació of the Generalitat de Catalunya (protocol #8741).

1. Feeder Cell Inactivation and Storage

NOTE: Human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF-1) were previously frozen in 1 mL of freezing solution consisting of 90% Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) and 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and stored in liquid nitrogen until use.

1. Thaw a cryogenic vial of HFF-1 (1 mL) by immersing the vi....

Results

Following this protocol, over 95% of outgrowth formation should be achieved after the first week of culture (Figure 1A). Establishment of mESC lines after six passages is variable among experimental replicates, with an average success of 60-80%. The addition of 2i does not significantly improve the results when working with permissive mouse strains, such as those with a 129S2 background, but it is necessary when working with non-permissive strains.

Discussion

Although mESC line derivation is a well-known procedure routinely used in many laboratories, its efficiency is not always as high as expected due to the multiple factors that can disturb pluripotency maintenance. In the present article we show, step by step, how to establish mESC lines with high efficiencies using a simple and reliable protocol. These efficiencies are similar to those reported in the literature.

To ensure maximum efficiency, it is important to control the cells daily or every.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
1 mL sryringe	BD	309628
2-β-mercaptoethanol	Life Technologies	31350-010
4-well plate	Thermo Scientific Nunc	176740
Acidic Tyrode's solution	Home-made		See recipe in Nagy et al, 2003. For short-term storage (up to 1 month) keep it at 4ºC. Alternatively, for long-term storage keep it at -20ºC. If the efficiency of the solution diminishes, it should be acidified by the adition of a small drop of HCl 1M.
BSA	Sigma	A3311
Chicken anti-Mouse IgG, Alexa Fluor 488	Molecular Probes - Invitrogen	A-21200	1:500 dilution. Secondary antibody for Oct4, Tuj1, αSMA and AFP mouse antibodies.
CHIR990212	Axon Medchem	1386	Reconstitute with 2.15 ml DMSO for each mg of powder, to obtain a 1 mM stock solution. Aliquot at desired volume and store at -20ºC. Avoid freeze and thaw cycles.
CryoTube	Thermo Scientific Nunc	3754518
DMSO	Sigma	41640
DMEM	BioWest	L0107
FBS	BioWest	S1810	Inactivate it prior to use by heating for 30 mins at 56ºC. Aliquot and store at -20ºC
Flushing needle	BD	304000	Cut the end of the needle and ground to a blunt tip on an abrasive stone
Gelatin from porcine skin	Fluka	48724	Dilute at 0,2% in destilled water and autoclave it. Each dilution can be used for a month.
Goat anti-Rabbit IgG, Alexa Fluor 594	Molecular Probes - Invitrogen	A-11037	1:500 dilution. Secondary antibody for Sox2 rabbit antibody.
HBSS	BioWest	L0611
Hepes-buffered CZB	Home-made		See composition in Chatot et al, 1989
Human chorionic gonadotropin	Divasa-Farmavic	Veterin-Corion 3000 UI	Dilute in NaCl 0.9% at 50 IU/ml. Aliquot it in 1 ml and store at -20ºC for up to two months. Once thawed do not freeze again.
Human foreskin fibroblasts	ATCC	ATCCSCRC-1041	For long term storage it is recommended to store them in liquid nitrogen.
KnockOut Serum Replacement	Life Technologies	10828-028	Photosensitive. It is recommended to aliquot it in small volumes such as 10 ml and store it at -20ºC (check the expiration date). Avoid freeze and thaw cycles.
KSOMaag Evolve	Zenith Biotech	ZEKS-050	Supplement with 4 mg/ml BSA. Equilibrate at 37ºC and 5% CO2 a day prior to use.
Leukemia Inhibitory Factor	Merk Millipore	ESG1106
Mice	Charles River/Harlan		It is recommended to use mice from a permissive strain in terms of mESC derivation (such as 129S2 or C57BL). However, inbreed strains are less efficient producing embryos. Therefore, it is recomended to use a hybrid strain, such as 129S2 x C57BL or B6CBAF1 to take advantage of the hybrid vigor.
Mineral oil	Sigma	M8410	Embryo tested. Photosensitive.
Mitomycin C	Serva	2980501	Reconstitute the powder with MilliQ water at 0.5 mg/ml. Store at 4ºC protected from light. Attention, it is harmful and suspected of causing cancer.
Mouse anti-tubulin β III (Tuj1)	Biolegend	MMS-435P	1:500 dilution
Mouse monoclonal anti-αSMA	Sigma	A5228	1:200 dilution
Mouse monoclonal anti-AFP	R&D Systems	MAB1368	1:50 dilution
Mouse monoclonal anti Oct3/4	Santa cruz	Sc-5279	1:50 dilution
Non-Essential Amino Acids	Life Technologies	11140-035
PD0325901	Axon Medchem	1408	Reconstitute with 2.08 ml DMSO for each mg of powder, to obtain a 1 mM stock solution. Aliquot at desired volume and store at -20ºC. Avoid freeze and thaw cycles.
Petri dish (35mm)	Thermo Scientific Nunc	153066
Petri dish (60mm)	Thermo Scientific Nunc	150288
Pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin	Foligon	Foligon-1000 UI	Dilute in NaCl 0.9% at 50 IU/ml. Aliquot it in 1 ml and store at -20ºC for up to two months. Once thawed do not freeze again.
Rabbit policlonal anti-Sox2	Merck Millipore	AB5603	1:200 dilution
T75 falcon	Thermo Scientific	130190
Trypsin-EDTA 10x	BioWest	X0930	Dilute 1:10 in HBSS to obtain a 1x solution