Name: A Single Cell Dissociation Approach for Molecular Analysis of Urinary Bladder in the Mouse Following Spinal Cord Injury (Video) | JoVE Journal
Uploaded: 2020-06-17T15:00:00.000+00:00
Duration: 9 min 50 s
Description: Learn a single cell dissociation protocol for mouse urinary bladder analysis following spinal cord injury. This method generates high-viability suspensions for flow cytometry and downstream molecular studies.

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5 minutes

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 DK077195 to R.M.A, R01 DK104641 to R.M.A and D.R.B). We acknowledge valuable input from Dr. Stuart Orkin in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children&#8217;s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. We also acknowledge support from Kyle Costa in post-operative care of mice, Mary Taglienti and Dr. Habiballah Shojaeisaadi (Dr. Yang Shi Laboratory, Dept. of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, Dept. of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children&#8217;s Hospital, Harvard Medical School) for technical assistance and helpful discussions.

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No conflicts of interest declared.

The mouse spinal cord injury model described here provides a reproducible method to create a functional bladder outlet obstruction due to loss of coordination between bladder contraction and external urethral sphincter relaxation. This in turn evokes profound remodeling of the bladder wall as early as 2 weeks after injury characterized by expansion of urothelial and smooth muscle compartments. Critical steps in implementation of the SCI model in rodents include (i) rigorous attention to manual bladder expression during the period of spinal shock that ensues for 10&#8210;14 days after injury; (ii) nutritional enrichment to minimize weight loss; and (iii) mitigation of the potential for urine scalding particularly for experiments that extend beyond the return of reflex voiding. Limitations of the model include the potential for urethral occlusion in mice from blood clots during the period of transient hematuria, and additionally in male mice from semen coagulum following retrograde ejaculation following surgery.
The tissue dissociation approach described here illustrates the importance of considering structural changes in tissues that arise from the experimental insult, in this case significant tissue remodeling following SCI that may influence downstream analyses. With the increase in single cell analyses it is critical to ensure that differences observed in gene expression are not simply a result of dissociation-induced perturbations, but are truly representative of underlying biological changes relevant to the disease model. The use of publicly available expression data allowed us to modify the formulation of digestion buffers to ensure effective digestion of extracellular matrix while maximizing viability. Additional modifications that could be considered in future applications include the addition of actinomycin D, to halt transcription of immediate early genes that are sensitive to the dissociation protocol15.
Pipetting technique is crucial when dissociating tissue or transferring cells that are already in suspension. To reduce physical damage to cells from shearing forces, it is important to pipette gently and slowly during cell resuspension. It is generally recommended to use wide-bore pipette tips. If using standard tips, it is particularly important to pipette cell suspensions gently to avoid shear forces that would otherwise damage cells. Using cell strainers is unavoidable in this protocol, however, the cell concentration can decline by 20% or more, accompanied by a volume loss of 100 &#181;L or more. We recommend that cell concentration be determined after straining to ensure a precise cell count.
In flow cytometry, FMO controls provide a measure of background due to bleed-through of signal from overlapping emission peaks. They are not a measure of nonspecific antibody binding, or background staining that may be present when an antibody is included in that channel. To account for the nonspecific antibody binding, one has to include appropriate isotype controls; for the background staining, one needs to include negative controls. Taken together, these controls ensure accurate measurement of cell populations.

Perturbations of normal urinary bladder function can lead to decreased quality of life for many individuals. In order to gain a better understanding of how injury or disease derails normal bladder function, it is important to probe the normal biological state of cells within the bladder and how they change under experimental perturbation. To date, however, the specific cell populations that reside within the urinary bladder, and how they change with injury, have been incompletely characterized.
Single cell profiling methods such as flow cytometry or single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) have the potential to shed light on specific cell types within the bladder. However, for these approaches to be informative tissue must be digested in a manner that does not affect viability, gene expression, and representative cell population percentages of the harvested tissue. Protocols that employ enzymatic disaggregation can impact surface marker expression through indiscriminate protease activity1, thereby impacting cell identification by flow cytometry, whereas the dissociation process itself can lead to the induction of immediate early genes, as described recently by Van den Brink and colleagues2. The authors showed that although the dissociation-affected subpopulation was small, it could trigger a strong contaminating signal in bulk expression studies due to the high expression levels of immediate early genes. In addition, the duration of the dissociation protocol affected detected bulk expression levels of genes shown to be unique to some subpopulations. Thus, single cell datasets generated without accounting for the impact of the dissociation protocol may yield gene expression changes arising from the dissociation method, as opposed to underlying biology. These observations suggest that published single cell transcriptomics data should be interpreted with caution, and that results should be validated by independent methods.
Although, harsh and lengthy dissociation methods may alter gene expression in cells2; effective isolation of cells is essential to obtain accurate representation of the cell types present. Since the bladder is a complex organ comprising multiple cell types, some populations such as urothelial or stromal cells may be relatively under-represented whereas other cell types such as fibroblasts exist within extracellular matrix and can be challenging to isolate. Dissociation becomes even more challenging if the bladder has undergone significant remodeling and fibrosis such as that observed in spinal cord injury3,4 or bladder outlet obstruction5,6.
Here, we describe an optimized tissue dissociation method for downstream single cell analysis in the spinal cord injured mouse bladder. Using flow cytometry, we compared four enzymatic digestion protocols for their ability to yield a single cell suspension, support cell viability and maintain the correct proportion of cell populations. Based on this analysis, we conclude that minimizing cell death, cellular aggregates, non-cellular nucleic acids and potential inhibitors of downstream analysis are critical to achieving high quality data.

<table><tbody><tr><td>2.5 X Magnifying Loupes</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>7-0 Vicryl suture, 6.5mm needle 3/8 circle</td><td>ETHICON</td><td>J546</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>70 &amp;mu;m Cell Strainer</td><td>Thermofisher</td><td>22363548</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Accutase in BPBS, 0.5mM EDTA</td><td>Millipore</td><td>SCR005</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Aerosol Filter Wide Orifice Pipettor Tips (1000 &amp;micro;L)</td><td>VWR</td><td>89049-168</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Aerosol Filter Wide Orifice Pipettor Tips (1000 &amp;micro;L)</td><td>VWR</td><td>89049-168</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>APC anti-mouse CD326 (Ep-CAM), rat monoclonal, IgG2a, &amp;kappa;, affinity purified</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>118213</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>BB515 Rat Anti-Mouse CD45, rat monoclonal, IgG2b, &amp;kappa;, Clone 30-F11</td><td>BD Biosciences</td><td>564590</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>BONN Micro Dissecting Forceps, Straight, 1x2 teeth, 3.75&quot; length, 0.3mm tip width, 0.12mm teeth</td><td>ROBOZ Surgical Instrument Company, Inc.</td><td>RS-5172</td><td>ROBOZ Surgical Instrument Company, Inc., Gaithersburg MD</td></tr><tr><td>Bovine Serum Albumin</td><td>Sigma</td><td>A9647-100G</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>CaCl2</td><td>Sigma</td><td>2115-250ML</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>CASTROVIEJO Micro Suturing Needle Holder, Straight with lock, 5.75&quot; length</td><td>ROBOZ Surgical Instrument Company, Inc.</td><td>RS-6412</td><td>ROBOZ Surgical Instrument Company, Inc., Gaithersburg MD</td></tr><tr><td>Cell Counting Kit, 30 dual-chambered slides, 60 counts, with trypan blue</td><td>Biorad</td><td>1450003</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cell Staining Buffer</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>420201</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum</td><td>Sigma</td><td>C0130-1G</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Collagenase Type I</td><td>Worthington Biochemical Corporation</td><td>LS004196</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Collagenase Type III</td><td>Worthington Biochemical Corporation</td><td>LS004182</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Collagenase, Type 6</td><td>Worthington Biochemical Corporation</td><td>LS005319</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Dead Cell Apoptosis Kit with Annexin V Alexa Fluor 488 &amp;amp; Propidium Iodide (PI)</td><td>Thermofisher</td><td>V13241</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Dispase II</td><td>Sigma</td><td>D4693-1G</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>DNase</td><td>Sigma</td><td>DN25-1G</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Enrofloxacin (Baytril)</td><td>Bayer Health Care LLC,</td><td>NADA # 140-913 Approved by FDA. Lot No.: AH01CGP</td><td>2.27% Injectable Solution</td></tr><tr><td>Falcon 15 ml conical centrifuge tubes</td><td>Fisher Scientific</td><td>352096</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Falcon 50 ml conical centrifuge tubes</td><td>Fisher Scientific</td><td>352070</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>FITC anti-mouse Ly-6A/E (Sca-1) Antibody, rat monoclonal, IgG2a, &amp;kappa;, affinity purified</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>122505</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hyaluronidase from sheep testes, Type II</td><td>Sigma</td><td>H2126</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>MACS SmartStrainers (100 &amp;micro;m)</td><td>Miltenyi Biotec, Inc.</td><td>130-110-917</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>McPHERSON-VANNAS, Micro Dissecting Spring Scissors, Straight, 4&quot; length, 0.15mm tip width</td><td>ROBOZ Surgical Instrument Company, Inc.</td><td>RS-5630</td><td>ROBOZ Surgical Instrument Company, Inc., Gaithersburg MD</td></tr><tr><td>Meloxicam</td><td>Patterson Veterinary</td><td>07-891-7959</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Papain</td><td>Worthington Biochemical Corporation</td><td>LS003119</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>PE/Cy5 anti-mouse CD19 Antibody, rat monoclonal, IgG2a, &amp;kappa;, affinity purified</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>115509</td><td>Dump Channel</td></tr><tr><td>PE/Cy5 anti-mouse CD3&amp;epsilon; Antibody, Armenian hamster monoclonal, IgG, affinity purified</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>100309</td><td>Dump Channel</td></tr><tr><td>PE/Cy5 anti-mouse CD4 Antibody, rat monoclonal, IgG2b, &amp;kappa;, affinity purified</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>100409</td><td>Dump Channel</td></tr><tr><td>PE/Cy5 anti-mouse CD8a Antibody, rat monoclonal, IgG2a, &amp;kappa;, affinity purified</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>100709</td><td>Dump Channel</td></tr><tr><td>PE/Cy5 anti-mouse NK-1.1 Antibody, mouse monoclonal, IgG2a, &amp;kappa;, affinity purified</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>108715</td><td>Dump Channel</td></tr><tr><td>PE/Cy5 anti-mouse TER-119/Erythroid Cells Antibody, IgG2b, &amp;kappa;, affinity purified</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>116209</td><td>Dump Channel</td></tr><tr><td>Purified Rat Anti-Mouse CD16/CD32 (Mouse BD Fc Block), rat monoclonal, IgG2b, &amp;kappa;, Clone 2.4G2</td><td>BD Biosciences</td><td>553141</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>RBC Lysis Buffer (10X)</td><td>BioLegend</td><td>420301</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Red Blood Cell Lysis Buffer 1x</td><td>Biolegend</td><td>420201</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Screw-Cap microcentrifuge tubes, 1.5 ml</td><td>VWR</td><td>89004-290</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>TC20 Automated Cell Counter</td><td>Biorad</td><td>1450102</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Triple antibiotic ointment (neomycin/polymyxin B/ bacitracin)</td><td>Patterson Veterinary</td><td>07-893-7216</td><td>skin protectant</td></tr><tr><td>TrypLE Select Enzyme (10X), no phenol red</td><td>Thermofisher</td><td>A1217701</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Vetropolycin eye ointment</td><td>Dechra Veterinary Products</td><td>NADA # 065-016. Approved by FDA.</td><td>protect eyes during anesthesia</td></tr></tbody></table>

a single cell dissociation approach for molecular analysis of urinary bladder in the mouse following spinal cord injury

A Single Cell Dissociation Approach for Molecular Analysis of Urinary Bladder in the Mouse Following Spinal Cord Injury

We describe the implementation of spinal cord injury in mice to elicit detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia, a functional bladder outlet obstruction, and subsequent bladder wall remodeling. To facilitate assessment of the cellular composition of the bladder wall in non-injured control and spinal cord injured mice, we developed an optimized dissociation protocol that supports high cell viability and enables the detection of discrete subpopulations by flow cytometry.
Spinal cord injury is created by complete transection of the thoracic spinal cord. At the time of tissue harvest, the animal is perfused with phosphate-buffered saline under deep anesthesia and bladders are harvested into Tyrode&#8217;s buffer. Tissues are minced prior to incubation in digestion buffer that has been optimized based on the collagen content of mouse bladder as determined by interrogation of publicly available gene expression databases. Following generation of a single cell suspension, material is analyzed by flow cytometry for assessment of cell viability, cell number and specific subpopulations. We demonstrate that the method yields cell populations with greater than 90% viability, and robust representation of cells of mesenchymal and epithelial origin. This method will enable accurate downstream analysis of discrete cell types in mouse bladder and potentially other organs.

Surgical procedure 
The success of thoracic spinal cord transection is determined by assessment of a number of parameters, the most obvious of which is hindlimb paralysis. The animal moves only using its forelimbs, dragging its hindlimbs. Otherwise activity levels, including feeding, grooming and alertness are typically normal. In addition, animals lose volitional bladder control resulting in the need for manual bladder expression by the investigator every 12 h until reflex voiding returns at 10 to 14 days after injury. Following euthanasia, additional signs of the success of the injury relate primarily to the increase in bladder-to-body weight ratio, indicative of tissue remodeling. Histological analysis reveals hyperplasia within both the urothelial and smooth muscle compartments3.
Preparation of single cell suspension 
Using publicly available expression data, the enrichment of bladder tissue for extracellular matrix proteins was determined (Figure 2) and used to inform the formulation of the digestion mix. Since collagens are key components of the bladder wall11,12, first we sought to determine the most abundant collagen(s) in the mouse bladder using RNA profiling data sets generated by the Mouse ENCODE project13. Our analysis showed that Collagen 1A1, collagen 3A1, collagen 1A2 and collagen 6A1 are most abundant collagen types within mouse bladder (Figure 2A). We also used the Tabula Muris (a compendium of single cell transcriptome data from mouse (Mus musculus))8 to determine the mRNA expression level of collagens 1, 3, 6 and hyaluronan. The data allow for direct and controlled comparison of gene expression in cell types shared between tissues. This analysis revealed that the expression of these extracellular matrix components is more prevalent in the mesenchymal cell types rather than urothelium (Figure 2B).
Effect of dissociation on viability of isolated cells from bladder 
Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that enzymatic digestion using the 4 different protocols yielded viability of 83%, 86%, 93% or 90%, respectively. Thus, protocol section 3 was deemed most valuable for preservation of cell viability. We also observed that approximately 4% of the cells were necrotic (PI+/Annexin V-) (Figure 4A). These observations emphasize the efficiency of the digestion protocol and the ensuing benefit on cell viability.
Effect of spinal cord injury on different populations of cells in the bladder 
We observed a significant increase in the total cell number in bladders of SCI mice compared to controls. The pattern of the dot plots obtained from SCI bladders was also slightly different consistent with ongoing organ remodeling due to spinal cord injury (Figure 4B: first column). Compared to controls, the bladders from SCI animals displayed a significant increase in CD45-positive cells.
<img alt="Mouse abdominal surgery, liver exposure; experimental setup, organ study, lab procedure comparison." class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/61455/61455fig01.jpg" data-altupdatedat="1788250015000" data-alt="Figure 1"> 
Figure 1: Representative perfusion completion with lightened color of the liver. (A) Demonstrates the liver color at the beginning of the perfusion. (B) Shows the lightened liver color at the end of perfusion. The mouse in (A) had spinal cord transection two weeks prior to perfusion resulting in bladder hypertrophy and its protrusion out of the pelvis unlike the mouse in (B) that did not have spinal cord injury; in this case the bladder is small and hidden in the pelvis. <a href="https://www.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/61455/61455fig01large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Collagen expression analysis chart, RPKM data, mouse bladder; violin plots showing cell type distribution." class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/61455/61455fig02.jpg" data-altupdatedat="1788250015000" data-alt="Figure 2"> 
Figure 2: Transcriptomic expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) components in the mouse bladder. (A) Bar chart of 43 different collagen types. The expression is stated by Reads Per Kilobase of transcript, per million mapped reads (RPKM) (data is collected from BioProject: PRJNA66167)14. (B) Violin plots of gene expression in cell types obtained from microfluidic droplet-based 3’-end counting in a pool of male and female dissociated urinary bladder samples (male and females). Counts were log-normalized for each cell using the natural logarithm of 1+ counts per million ln(CPM+1)8. A pseudocount of 1 CPM was added before taking logarithms. <a href="https://www.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/61455/61455fig02large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Flow cytometry diagram showing cell staining, antibody conjugation, and apoptotic analysis." class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/61455/61455fig03.jpg" data-altupdatedat="1788250015000" data-alt="Figure 3"> 
Figure 3: Gating strategy and FMO controls to determine fluorescence spread. (A) Selection of cell population. (B) Gating strategy for singlets. (C) Gating for necrotic, and early and late apoptotic cells using PI and Annexin V antibody. (D‒F) A schematic dot plot of multicolor flow cytometry (e.g., antibodies conjugated with A, B, C, D fluorochromes + (Annexin V and PI). This shows the fluorescence spread into the antibody with fluorochrome A channel shown by the FMO control compared to an unstained control. Orange dotted line represents FMO gating boundary compared to unstained boundary in red. <a href="https://www.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/61455/61455fig03large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<img alt="Flow cytometry analysis; scatter plots, histogram; annexin V, PI, FITC, APC markers; cell apoptosis." class="xfigimg" src="/files/ftp_upload/61455/61455fig04.jpg" data-altupdatedat="1788250015000" data-alt="Figure 4"> 
Figure 4: Flow cytometry of different cell types in bladder. (A) Annexin V/PI double staining flow charts. The different combinations of enzymes and chemical used for each protocol are represented in front of the corresponding viability plot. These data demonstrate highest viability was obtained with protocol section 3. (B) Representative histograms illustrating the intensity of Ly-6A/E (Sca-1) and CD326 (Ep-CAM) detected in single channels. (C) Effect of SCI on cell population of the mouse bladder. Upper panel shows results of staining on three dissociated bladders obtained from control non-surgical mice and lower panel shows the results of staining on three animals with SCI. The first column is the total cell population. The second column shows the singlet gating selection. The third column shows the subpopulation of live cells that are negative for B-cells, T-cells and NK cells. The fourth column shows the staining for live cells positive for CD45. <a href="https://www.jove.com/files/ftp_upload/61455/61455fig04large.jpg" target="_blank">Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.</a>
<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Component</td>
			<td>Amount (for 500 mL)</td>
			<td>Molarity</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaCl</td>
			<td>4.091 g</td>
			<td>140 mM</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>KCl</td>
			<td>0.186 g</td>
			<td>5 mM</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MgCl2</td>
			<td>0.0476 g</td>
			<td>1 mM</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>D-Glucose</td>
			<td>0.9 g</td>
			<td>10 mM</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEPES</td>
			<td>1.19 g</td>
			<td>10 mM</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
Table 1: Components for preparation of Tyrode’s solution. The indicated components are for preparation of 500 mL Tyrode’s solution.
<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Component</td>
			<td>Amount</td>
			<td>Protocol section 1</td>
			<td>Protocol section 2</td>
			<td>Protocol section 3</td>
			<td>Protocol section 4</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BSA</td>
			<td>5 mg</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CaCl2</td>
			<td>0.03 mM</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase Type I</td>
			<td>132.5 units</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase Type III</td>
			<td>96.4 units</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase Type VI</td>
			<td>50 units</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>-</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DNase</td>
			<td>10 units</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>-</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Papain</td>
			<td>115 units</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pan Collagenase</td>
			<td>50 units</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hyaluronidase</td>
			<td>10.5 units</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dispase II</td>
			<td>1.25 units</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>-</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell dissociation solution</td>
			<td>1 mL</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>-</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recombinant enzyme</td>
			<td>1 mL</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>yes</td>
			<td>-</td>
			<td>yes</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
Table 2: Components for preparation of digestion buffer. The indicated components are for preparation of 2.5 mL digestion mix (1 U catalyzes the hydrolysis of 1 µmol a substrate per minute at 37 °C. Refer to the product data sheet for definition of unit of each enzyme).

The goal of this protocol is to apply an optimized tissue dissociation protocol to a mouse model of spinal cord injury and validate the approach for single cell analysis by flow cytometry.

We describe the implementation of spinal cord injury in mice to elicit detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia, a functional bladder outlet obstruction, and ...

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Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Mouse bladder wall injection is a useful approach to orthotopically study bladder stem cell and cancer biology. This delicate microsurgical method can be mastered with careful technique and practice.

Mouse Bladder Wall Injection

Source: Yang, E., et al. Isolation of Single Intracellular Bacterial Communities Generated from a Murine Model of Urinary Tract Infection for Downstream Single-cell Analysis. J. Vis. Exp. (2019)This video demonstrates the manual isolation of single epithelial cells containing intracellular bacterial communities from infected mouse bladder using mouth micropipetting, enabling downstream single-cell analysis of viable host-associated E. coli populations in urinary tract infection...

Isolation of Mouse Bladder Epithelial Cells Containing Intracellular Bacterial Communities

The established model of transurethral catheterization of mice allows the study of bladder pathologies, including urinary tract infection, but can only be performed in females. A new model of male transurethral instillation, presented here, will enable research in an area marked by strong clinical and epidemiological differences between the sexes.

Urinary Tract Infection in a Small Animal Model: Transurethral Catheterization of Male and Female Mice

Here, we present a protocol for hydraulic extrusion of the spinal cord as well as identification and isolation of specific dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) in the same rodent. Compared to standard spinal cord isolation methods, this method is significantly faster and reduces the risk of tissue damage.

Hydraulic Extrusion of the Spinal Cord and Isolation of Dorsal Root Ganglia in Rodents

Here, we demonstrate the performance of a minimal spinal cord injury model in an adult mouse that spares the central canal niche housing endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs). We show how the neurosphere assay can be used to quantify activation and migration of definitive and primitive NSCs following injury.

A Neurosphere Assay to Evaluate Endogenous Neural Stem Cell Activation in a Mouse Model of Minimal Spinal Cord Injury

This protocol describes a simple method of isolating single, infected-bladder epithelial cells from a murine model of urinary tract infection.

Isolation of Single Intracellular Bacterial Communities Generated from a Murine Model of Urinary Tract Infection for Downstream Single-cell Analysis

This protocol attempts to establish a repeatable protocol for primary neurons and glia isolation from rat bladder for further cellular experiments.

Isolation and Culture of Primary Neurons and Glia from Adult Rat Urinary Bladder

This neural cell dissociation protocol is intended for samples with a low amount of starting material and yields a highly viable single-cell suspension for downstream analysis, with optional fixation and staining steps.

Combined Mechanical and Enzymatic Dissociation of Mouse Brain Hippocampal Tissue

This protocol describes the process of the generation and characterization of mouse urothelial organoids harboring deletions in genes of interest. The methods include harvesting mouse urothelial cells, ex vivo transduction with adenovirus driving Cre expression with a CMV promoter, and in vitro as well as in vivo characterization.

Ex Vivo Organoid Model of Adenovirus-Cre Mediated Gene Deletions in Mouse Urothelial Cells

This protocol outlines the isolation of purified astrocytes and microglia from the adult mouse spinal cord, facilitating subsequent applications such as RNA analysis and cell culture. It includes detailed cell dissociation methods and procedures designed to enhance both the quality and yield of isolated cells.

Isolation of Pure Astrocytes and Microglia from the Adult Mouse Spinal Cord For In Vitro Assays and Transcriptomic Studies

This study presents two crucial experimental techniques: the construction of a murine wound model for assessing wound closure and the preparation of single-cell suspensions from murine skin to preserve cellular viability.

Mouse Wound Models and Preparation of Single-Cell Suspensions

Learn a single cell dissociation protocol for mouse urinary bladder analysis following spinal cord injury. This method generates high-viability suspensions for flow cytometry and downstream molecular studies.

A Single Cell Dissociation Approach for Molecular Analysis of Urinary Bladder in the Mouse Following Spinal Cord Injury

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