FACS-Isolation and Culture of Fibro-Adipogenic Progenitors and Muscle Stem Cells from Unperturbed and Injured Mouse Skeletal Muscle

Summary

The precise identification of fibro-adipogenic progenitor cells (FAPs) and muscle stem cells (MuSCs) is critical to studying their biological function in physiological and pathological conditions. This protocol provides guidelines for the isolation, purification, and culture of FAPs and MuSCs from adult mouse muscles.

Abstract

Fibro-adipogenic progenitor cells (FAPs) are a population of skeletal muscle-resident mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) capable of differentiating along fibrogenic, adipogenic, osteogenic, or chondrogenic lineage. Together with muscle stem cells (MuSCs), FAPs play a critical role in muscle homeostasis, repair, and regeneration, while actively maintaining and remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM). In pathological conditions, such as chronic damage and muscular dystrophies, FAPs undergo aberrant activation and differentiate into collagen-producing fibroblasts and adipocytes, leading to fibrosis and intramuscular fatty infiltration. Thus, FAPs play a dual role in muscle regeneration, either by sustaining MuSC turnover and promoting tissue repair or contributing to fibrotic scar formation and ectopic fat infiltrates, which compromise the integrity and function of the skeletal muscle tissue. A proper purification of FAPs and MuSCs is a prerequisite for understanding the biological role of these cells in physiological as well as in pathological conditions. Here, we describe a standardized method for the simultaneous isolation of FAPs and MuSCs from limb muscles of adult mice using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). The protocol describes in detail the mechanical and enzymatic dissociation of mononucleated cells from whole limb muscles and injured tibialis anterior (TA) muscles. FAPs and MuSCs are subsequently isolated using a semi-automated cell sorter to obtain pure cell populations. We additionally describe an optimized method for culturing quiescent and activated FAPs and MuSCs, either alone or in coculture conditions.

Introduction

The skeletal muscle is the largest tissue in the body, accounting for ~40% of adult human weight, and is responsible for maintaining posture, generating movement, regulating basal energy metabolism, and body temperature¹. Skeletal muscle is a highly dynamic tissue and possesses a remarkable ability to adapt to a variety of stimuli, such as mechanical stress, metabolic alterations, and daily environmental factors. In addition, skeletal muscle regenerates in response to acute injury, leading to complete restoration of its morphology and functions². Skeletal muscle plasticity mainly relies upon a population of resident musc....

Protocol

All animal experiments performed were conducted in compliance with institutional guidelines approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) of the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). Investigators performing this protocol must adhere to their local animal ethics guidelines.

NOTE: This protocol describes in detail how to isolate FAPs and MuSCs from hind limb and injured tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of adult male and female mice (3-6 months) and provides guidelines for coculturing FAPs and MuSCs. An overview of the experimental procedure is shown in Figure 1. All st....

Results

This protocol allows the isolation of approximately one million FAPs and up to 350,000 MuSCs from uninjured hind limbs of wild-type adult mice (3-6 months), corresponding to a yield of 8% for FAPs and 3% for MuSCs of total events. When sorting cells from damaged TA 7 days post-injury, two to three TA muscles are pooled to obtain up to 300,000 FAPs and 120,000 MuSCs, which correspond to a yield of 11% and 4%, respectively. Post-sort purity values are usually above 95% for FAPs and MuSCs.

The ga.......

Discussion

Establishing efficient and reproducible protocols for the identification and isolation of pure adult stem cell populations is the first and most critical step toward understanding their function. Isolated FAPs and MuSCs can be used to conduct multiomics analysis in transplantation experiments as a potential treatment for muscular diseases or can be genetically modified for disease modeling in stem cell therapy.

The protocol described here provides standardized guidelines for the identificatio.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
5 mL Polypropylene Round-Bottom Tube	Falcon	352063
5 mL Polystyrene Round-Bottom Tube with Cell-Strainer Cap	Falcon	352235
20 G BD Needle 1 in. single use, sterile	BD Biosciences	305175
anti-Alpha 7 Integrin PE (clone:R2F2) (RatIgG2b)	The University of British Columbia	53-0010-01
APC anti-mouse CD31 Antibody	BioLegend	102510
APC anti-mouse CD45 Antibody	BioLegend	103112
BD FACSMelody Cell Sorter	BD Biosciences
BD Luer-Lok tip control syringe, 10-mL	BD Biosciences	309604
Biotin anti-mouse CD106 Antibody	BioLegend	105703
C57BL/6J  mouse (Female and Male)	The Jackson Laboratory	000664
B6.129S4-Pdgfratm11(EGFP)Sor/J mouse	The Jackson Laboratory	007669
Corning BioCoat Collagen I 6-well Clear Flat Bottom TC-treated Multiwell Plate	Corning	356400
Corning BioCoat Collagen I 12-well Clear Flat Bottom TC-treated Multiwell Plate	Corning	356500
Corning BioCoat Collagen I 24-well Clear Flat Bottom TC-treated Multiwell Plate	Corning	356408
DAPI Solution (1 mg/mL)	ThermoFisher Scientific	62248
Disposable Aspirating Pipets, Polystyrene, Sterile	VWR	414004-265
Donkey anti-Goat IgG (H+L) Highly Cross-Adsorbed Secondary Antibody, Alexa Fluor 488	ThermoFisher Scientific	A-11055
Falcon 40 µm Cell Strainer, Blue, Sterile	Corning	352340
Falcon 60 mm TC-treated Cell Culture Dish, Sterile	Corning	353002
Falcon Centrifuge Tubes, Polypropylene, Sterile, Corning, 15-mL	VWR	352196
Falcon Centrifuge Tubes, Polypropylene, Sterile, Corning, 50-mL	Corning	352070
Falcon Round-Bottom Tubes, Polypropylene, Corning	VWR	60819-728
Falcon Round-Bottom Tubes, Polystyrene, with 35um Cell Strainer Cap Corning	VWR	21008-948
Fibroblast Growth Factor, Basic, Human, Recombinant (rhFGF, Basic)	Promega	G5071
FlowJo 10.8.1
Gibco Collagenase, Type II, powder	ThermoFisher Scientific	17101015
Gibco Dispase, powder	ThermoFisher Scientific	17105041
Gibco DMEM, high glucose, HEPES	ThermoFisher Scientific	12430054
Gibco Fetal Bovine Serum, certified, United States	ThermoFisher Scientific	16000044
Gibco Ham's F-10 Nutrient Mix	ThermoFisher Scientific	11550043
Gibco Horse Serum, New Zealand origin	ThermoFisher Scientific	16050122
Gibco PBS, pH 7.4	ThermoFisher Scientific	10010023
Gibco PBS (10x), pH 7.4	ThermoFisher Scientific	70011044
Gibco Penicillin-Streptomycin-Glutamine (100x)	ThermoFisher Scientific	10378016
Goat anti-Mouse IgG1 cross-absorbed secondary antibody, Alexa Fluor 555	ThermoFisher Scientific	A-21127
Hardened Fine Scissors	Fine Science Tools Inc	14090-09
Invitrogen 7-AAD (7-Aminoactinomycin D)	ThermoFisher Scientific	A1310
Mouse PDGF R alpha Antibody	R&D Systems	AF1062
Normal Donkey Serum	Fisher Scientific	NC9624464
Normal Goat Serum	ThermoFisher Scientific	31872
Pacific Blue anti-mouse Ly-6A/E (Sca 1) Antibody	BioLegend	108120
Paraformaldehyde, 16%	Fisher Scientific	NCC0528893
Pax7 mono-clonal mouse antibody (IgG1) (supernatant)	Developmental Study Hybridoma Bank	N/A
PE/Cyanine7 Streptavidin	BioLegend	405206
Student Vannas Spring Scissors	Fine Science Tools Inc	91500-09
Student Dumont #5 Forceps	Fine Science Tools Inc	91150-20
Triton X-100	Sigma-Aldrich	T8787