$$\rightleftharpoonup{xx}$$
$$\longleftharp{xx}$$,
$$\longrightharp{xx}$$,
The ovaries are major players in somatic aging1, with distinct contributions from specific cell populations. The cellular heterogeneity of the ovary makes it difficult to interpret molecular results from bulk, whole-ovary assays. Understanding the role of specific cell populations in ovarian aging is key to identifying the molecular drivers responsible for fertility and health decline in aged women. Traditionally, the multi-omics assessment of specific ovarian cell types was achieved by techniques such as laser microdissection2, single-cell approaches3, or cell sorting4. However, microdissection can be expensive and difficult to perform, and cell sorting can alter cellular phenotypic profiles5.
A novel approach to assess ovarian cell-type-specific epigenomic and transcriptomic profiles uses the nuclear tagging and translating ribosome affinity purification (NuTRAP) mouse model. The NuTRAP model allows the isolation of cell-type-specific nucleic acids without the need for cell sorting by using the affinity purification methods: translating ribosome affinity purification (TRAP) and isolation of nuclei tagged in specific cell types (INTACT)6. The expression of the NuTRAP allele is under the control of a floxed STOP cassette and can be targeted to specific ovarian cell types using promoter-specific Cre lines. By crossing the NuTRAP mouse with a cell-type-specific Cre line, the removal of the STOP cassette causes eGFP-tagging of the ribosomal complex and biotin/mCherry-tagging of the nucleus in a Cre-dependent manner6. The TRAP and INTACT techniques can then be used to isolate mRNA and nuclear DNA from the cell type of interest and proceed to transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses.
The NuTRAP model has been used in different tissues, such as adipose tissue6, brain tissue7,8,9, and the retina10, to reveal cell-type-specific epigenomic and transcriptomic changes that may not be detected in whole-tissue homogenate. The benefits of the NuTRAP approach over traditional cell sorting techniques include the following: 1) the prevention of ex vivo activational artifacts8, 2) the minimized need for specialized equipment (i.e., cell sorters), and 3) the increased throughput and decreased cost of cell-type-specific analyses. In addition, the ability to isolate cell-type-specific DNA and RNA from a single mouse allows for paired analyses that increase the statistical power. Since recent studies have implicated ovarian stromal cells in driving premature aging phenotypes11,12,13, we targeted the NuTRAP expression system to stromal and theca cells using a Cyp17a1-Cre driver. Here, we demonstrate that the induction of the NuTRAP construct is specific to ovarian stromal and theca cells, and sufficient DNA and RNA for sequencing studies are obtained from a single ovary. The NuTRAP model and methods presented here can be used to study any ovarian cell type with any available Cre line.
For the generation of a cell-type-specific ovarian NuTRAP mouse line, the nuclear tagging and translating ribosome affinity purification (NuTRAP) allele has a floxed STOP codon that controls the expression of BirA, biotin ligase recognition peptide (BLRP)-tagged mCherry/mRANGAP1, and eGFP/L10a. When crossed with a cell-type-specific Cre line, the expression of the NuTRAP cassette labels the nuclear protein mRANGAP1 with biotin/mCherry and ribosomal protein L10a with eGFP in a Cre-dependent manner. This allows for the isolation of nuclei and mRNA from specific cell types without the need for cell sorting. The NuTRAPflox/flox can be paired with a cell-type-specific Cre relevant to ovarian cell types to assess this.