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Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting (MACS): Isolation of Thymic T Lymphocytes
  • 00:03Concepts
  • 02:33Preparation of Materials and Dissection
  • 03:39Immune Cell Isolation
  • 05:22Magnetic Labeling of Immune Cells
  • 06:59Magnetic Separation of CD3-Positive Cells
  • 07:48Evaluation of Target-Cell Enrichment by Flow Cytometry
  • 09:00Data Analysis

磁性活细胞分拣 (MACS): 胸腺 T 淋巴细胞的分离

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Overview

资料来源: 穆尼尔·西尔万1,2,3,佩尔切特·蒂鲍特1,2,3,苏菲·诺沃4,雷切尔·戈卢布1,2,3
1法国巴黎巴斯德研究所免疫学系淋巴病系
2 INSERM U1223, 巴黎, 法国
3巴黎迪德罗大学,索邦巴黎城,大提琴巴斯德,巴黎,法国
4流式细胞测定,细胞学和生物标志物 UtechS,转化科学中心,巴斯德研究所,法国巴黎

预防病原体取决于免疫系统的监测。该系统很复杂,包括许多细胞类型,每种类型都有特定的功能。这种复杂的组成能够对大量病原体和损伤进行免疫反应。适应性免疫允许对特定病原体作出特定反应。负责这种免疫的大多数细胞是淋巴细胞(B细胞和T细胞)。通常,B细胞对细胞外感染(如细菌感染)作出反应,T细胞对细胞内感染(如病毒感染)作出反应。淋巴细胞群中不同类型的细胞可以通过它们表达的细胞表面蛋白和/或分泌细胞因子的面板的组合来表示。

磁性分选允许使用磁性特性和一个或多个细胞表面蛋白的表达来丰富目标细胞群(1,2)。此技术包括三个步骤。首先,细胞用磁珠孵育,磁珠与一个或多个单克隆特异性抗体结合。表达与这些抗体结合的表面蛋白的细胞附着在磁珠上。然后,用磁铁捕获目标细胞群。最后,目标细胞从磁铁中洗脱。最后,获得两个分拣产品,一个包含未标记的细胞,第二个包含与磁珠结合的目标细胞。列可用于提高磁分拣效率。在列中,非磁性元素延长细胞穿过列的路径。因此,细胞流减慢,促进细胞捕获的磁铁。

Figure 1
图1:磁分离的原理表示。双核白细胞被染色的抗CD3生物素化抗体。洗涤后,链球菌(SAV)耦合珠子在抗CD3抗体上专门固定生物链。(1) 单元格在列中传输。(2) 磁体不保留未标记的细胞,而CD3阳性细胞则保留在柱中。最后,将柱与磁体分离,(3)CD3阳性细胞在介质中洗脱。请点击此处查看此图的较大版本。

有两种类型的磁性分拣 (3)。在正排序中,感兴趣的细胞被磁珠捕获。在负排序中,通过捕获携带相应抗体的磁珠来去除不需要的细胞。这种MACS技术允许目标细胞的良好富集,并将器官中回收的细胞的百分比从1-20%提高到60-98%。分拣后,有必要用不同的方法(例如流式细胞测定)验证细胞纯度和分拣。MACS 技术是丰富目标人群的理想,用于其他实验,如细胞培养或细胞周期分析。

在本实验练习中,我们演示如何分离胸腺白细胞,然后使用磁细胞分选技术从混合物中丰富胸腺CD3阳性细胞。

Procedure

1. 准备 开始之前,戴上实验室手套和适当的防护服。 清洗所有解剖工具,首先用洗涤剂,然后用70%乙醇,然后用干净的纸巾擦干。 准备 200 mL 的汉克平衡盐溶液 (HBSS), 含有 2% 的胎儿小牛血清 (FCS)。 2. 解剖 将安乐死小鼠固定在解剖板上。 使用剪刀和钳子进行纵向腹腔切除术进入胸腔。 取出心…

Results

In this protocol, CD3-positive cells were enriched from thymic leukocytes using magnetic cell sorting (Figure 1). Before magnetic cell enrichment CD3-positive cells represented 53.6% of the total thymic cells (Figure 2, top panels). After magnetic cell enrichment the percentage of CD3-positive cells increased to 95% (Figure 2, bottom panels). Thus, MACS is a simple, fast and efficient cell enrichment technique to enrich desired cell populations from a cell suspension mixture.

Figure 2
Figure 2: Gating strategy and purity test sorting. Cells are first gated based on their morphology (left: FSC-A, SSC-A), and then cells are plotted against CD3 (right: CD3, SSC-A). Top panel represents thymus cell suspension before cell enrichment. Bottom panel represents thymus cell suspension after magnetic cell sorting. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.

Applications and Summary

Magnetic separation technology is a common method to easily and rapidly sort a target cell population. Using T cells specific antibodies and magnetic beads we enriched T cells frequency in our sample. The purity rate at the end of the experiment depends of the percentage of target cells in the initial cell suspension. Cells obtained after magnetic cell sorting can be used for various purposes such as- cell transfer or cell cycle analysis. Another sorting method, using flow cytometry, can be used to enrich cells. This technique yields have a very high purity rate after cell sorting however it requires more steps and takes more time.

References

  1. Owen, C. S. and Sykes, N. L. Magnetic labeling and cell sorting. Journal of Immunological Methods. 73 (1), 41-48 (1984).
  2. Miltenyi, S., Müller, W., Weichel, W. and Radbruch, A. High gradient magnetic cell separation with MACS. Cytometry. 11 (2), 231-238 (1990).
  3. Plouffe, B. D., Murthy, S. K. and Lewis, L. H. Fundamentals and application of magnetic particles in cell isolation and enrichment: a review. Reports on Progress in Physics. 78 (1), (2014).

Transcript

Magnetic-activated cell sorting, or MACS, is a technique that allows researchers to separate cells based on specific epitopes expressed on their surfaces.

The process typically begins with extraction of an organ or tissue, such as the thymus. Then, the cells are mechanically separated, usually by crushing, until the tissue is dissociated into single cells. Unwanted cells can be removed at this stage via the addition of chemicals. For example, ammonium-chloride-potassium, or ACK buffer, can be used to lyse unwanted erythrocytes.

Next, an antibody conjugated to a molecule called biotin is added to the suspension, and these complexes bind to the epitopes of the surface of the target cells. Biotin has a high affinity for another molecule called streptavidin. In the next step, streptavidin molecules fused to magnetic beads are added to the antibody labeled cells. When the biotin and streptavidin come into contact, they tightly bind. The result is that the cells of interest are coated with magnetic beads. This complex is sometimes referred to as a sandwich. In this case, CD3 on the cell membrane on the bottom, then anti-CD3 conjugated to biotin, and finally, streptavidin conjugated to magnetic beads.

These labeled cells can now be placed into a column containing a matrix which, assisted by gravity, allows the cells to pass slowly by a magnet. As they do so, the magnetic bead-labeled cells will stick to the edge of the tube nearest the magnet, while the non-labeled cells will continue on into a collection tube below. Next, the labeled cells can be removed from the column by simply removing the magnet, adding an eluent solution, and applying gentle pressure with a plunger to flush them out of the column and into a fresh collection tube. Ultimately, this process allows for 60 to 98% retrieval of the cells of interest.

In this procedure, we will isolate thymic leukocytes from a mouse and use MACS to sort out CD3-positive T-cells before confirming the efficiency of sorting using FACS.

To begin, put on any appropriate protective equipment including a lab coat and gloves. Next, wash a pair of dissecting scissors and forceps with 70% ethanol and dry them with a clean paper towel. Then prepare 200 milliliters of HBSS 2% fetal calf serum, or FCS, by mixing four milliliters of FCS with 196 milliliters of HBSS.

Pin a euthanized mouse in a supine position on a dissection plate. Using scissors and forceps, perform a longitudinal laparotomy to access the chest cavity. First, remove the heart to gain access to the thymus, which is located above the heart. Then identify the thymus, which is composed of two white lobes. Using forceps, carefully detach the thymus and place it on a Petri dish with five milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS.

To isolate the immune cells, first place the thymus on a 40 micrometer cell strainer in the Petri dish. Crush the tissue with a plunger to dissociate it into the dish. After this, rinse the plunger and strainer with HBSS 2% FCS to recover any adhered cells. Then, pipette the dissociated thymus cells and fluid from the Petri dish into a 15 milliliter centrifuge tube. Wash the Petri dish with five milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS and transfer this wash solution to the 15 milliliter centrifuge tube also.

Next, centrifuge the tube at 370 times g for seven minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Discard the supernatant and resuspend the pellet in two milliliters of ACK lysing buffer to lyse the erythrocytes. Incubate for two minutes at room temperature on the bench top. Then, bring the volume to 14 milliliters with HBSS 2% FCS. Centrifuge the tube at 370 times g for seven minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Then, discard the supernatant and resuspend the cells in five milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS.

Estimate the cell concentration using a Malassez slide as shown in the protocol for FACS isolation of B lymphocytes and adjust the cell concentration to 10 to the seventh cells per milliliter with HBSS 2% FCS.

Transfer 500 microliters of cell solution into two FACS tubes. Label one tube non-enriched T-cells and the other tube enriched T-cells, which will be separated using magnetic labeling.

Centrifuge the enriched T-cells tube at 370 times g for three minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Discard the supernatant and resuspend the pellet in 250 microliters of biotin coupled anti CD3 antibody diluted one in 400 in HBSS 2% FCS. Incubate the cells for 20 minutes on ice and in the dark. Add three milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS to the tubes and centrifuge them again at 370 times g for three minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Discard the supernatant and resuspend the pellet in 250 microliters of streptavidin-coupled beads diluted one in five in HBSS 2% FCS. Incubate the mixture of cells and beads for 20 minutes on ice. Next, add three milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS to the tube, pipette up and down to mix, and centrifuge again at 370 times g for three minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Resuspend the pellet in two milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS.

Place the column on the magnet and add three milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS to humidify the system. Then, pipette the stained cells into the column. After the cell suspension passes through the column, wash the column three times with three milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS. Next, remove the column from the magnet and place it in a 15 milliliter tube. To elute the target cells, add five milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS to the column and flush the column with a plunger. Repeat this step with another five milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS.

To evaluate the effectiveness of target cell isolation, first transfer 500 microliters of eluted cell suspension to a FACS tube and label it enriched T-cells. Then, centrifuge both the enriched and non-enriched tubes at 370 times g for seven minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Discard the supernatant, then add 100 microliters of fluorescent antibody diluted one in 200 in HBSS 2% FCS to both tubes. Incubate the cells for 20 minutes on ice and in the dark. Next, add three milliliters of HBSS 2% FCS to the tubes and centrifuge them at 370 times g for three minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Discard the supernatant, then resuspend the pellets in 250 microliters of HBSS 2% FCS. Now, evaluate the CD3-positive cell enrichment rate using flow cytometry as shown in the FACS protocol.

Now, we will determine the frequency of CD3-positive lymphocytes among all thymocytes that were isolated from the mouse thymus. To start, double click on the FlowJo icon and drag the files for each tube in the all sample window. Then, double click on the enriched T-cells file to display the cells recorded from that sample on a dot plot that displays forward scatter, FSCA, on the x-axis, and side scatter, SSCA, on the y-axis.

Click on polygon to circle the lymphocyte populations. Next, double click on the circled population to create a new window. Select FSC-W on the y-axis, and FSC-A on the x-axis and circle the FSA-W negative cells. In the sub population identification window, name your cell population Single Cells. Next, click on OK on the sub population identification window, then double click on the circled population to create a new window. Select CD3 on the y-axis, and circle the CD3-positive cells. In the sub population identification window, name your cell population T-cells. Repeat with the non-enriched T-cells file. To visualize your cell population, click Layout Editor and drag the T-cell population from enriched T-cells and non-enriched T-cells files into the tab.

Dot plots representing CD3-positive lymphocytes will appear. CD3-positive cells should only appear in the population of interest in the CD3-positive enriched tube. To evaluate the enrichment of CD3-positive lymphocytes in the sorted cells, click on Table Editor and then drag the T-cells population from enriched T-cells and non-enriched T-cells files into the table. On the statistic menu, select Frequency of Lymphocyte Cells to check the percentage of CD3-positive cells in all lymphocytes. Then, click on Create Table. Parameter values will appear in a new table. For the enriched T-cells, the frequency of CD3-positive cells should be around 80% or above.

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JoVE Science Education Database. JoVE Science Education. Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting (MACS): Isolation of Thymic T Lymphocytes. JoVE, Cambridge, MA, (2023).