Current Protocols in Cytometry最新文献

Our understanding of NK biology is increased dramatically, a product of improved flow-cytometric techniques for analyzing these cells. NK cells undergo significant changes in repertoire during differentiation. A repeating stimulus, such as a cytomegalovirus infection, may result in accumulation of certain types of highly differentiated NK cells designated as memory-like, or adaptive NK cells. Adaptive NK cells are capable of rapid expansion and effective response to the recall stimulus. These cells differ significantly from conventional NK cells both functionally and phenotypically. Here we describe an approach for identification and analysis of adaptive NK cells in human peripheral blood. CD57-positive cells with high expression of activating-receptor NKG2C, increased expression of KIR receptors, lack of co-expression with inhibitory receptor NKG2A, and decreased expression of activating receptor NCR3 (NKp30) all characterize this cell type. The flow-cytometric method described below can identify this NK cell subset on a relatively simple flow cytometer. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Exposure to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPS), damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPS), and physiologically challenging stimuli either positively or negatively affect leukocyte maturity. Cellular maturity has implications for the effectiveness of host response to bacterial or viral infection and/or tissue injury. Thus, the ability to accurately assess cellular maturity and health is important to fully understand immune status and function. The most common technique for measuring cellular maturity is to measure telomere length; however, existing techniques are not optimized for single-cell measurements using flow cytometry. Specifically, existing methods used to measure telomere length are PCR-based, making it difficult for a researcher to measure maturity within specific leukocyte subsets (e.g., T cells). In this report, we describe a new approach for the measurement of telomere length within individual T cells using an amplified fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique (PrimeFlow RNA Assay). The unique aspect of this technique is that it amplifies the fluorescent signal rather than the target up to 3000-fold, resulting in the detection of as few as 1 copy of the target nucleic acid. While the current technique focuses on human T cells, this method can be broadly applied to a variety of cell types and disease models. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Cellular senescence refers to the irreversible growth arrest of normally dividing cells in response to various types of stress. Cellular senescence is induced by telomere shortening due to repeated cell division, which causes a DNA damage response, as well as genotoxic, oxidative, and inflammatory stress. Strong mitogenic signaling, such as oncogene activation, also drives cells into a senescent state. Senescent cells express a specific subset of genes, termed the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), including pro-inflammatory factors, growth factors, and matrix metalloproteinases, which together promote non-cell autonomous, secondary senescence. Clearance of senescent cells that accumulate with age improves health span, implicating cellular senescence as a contributing factor to the aging process. Thus, there is a need for methods to identify and quantify cellular senescence, both in cultured cells and in vivo. Here, methods for the most well-characterized and widely used senescent assays are described, from cell morphology and senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-βgal) staining to nuclear biomarkers, SASP, and altered levels of tumor suppressors. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The quantification of tunica media thickness in histological cross sections is a ubiquitous exercise in cardiopulmonary research, yet the methods for quantifying medial wall thickness have never been rigorously examined with modern image analysis tools. As a result, inaccurate and cumbersome manual measurements of discrete wall regions along the vessel periphery have become common practice for wall thickness quantification. The aim of this study is to introduce, validate, and facilitate the use of an improved method for medial wall thickness quantification. We describe a novel method of wall thickness calculation based on image skeletonization and compare its results to those of common techniques. Using both theoretical and empirical approaches, we demonstrate the accuracy and superiority of the skeleton-based method for measuring wall thickness while discussing its interpretation and limitations. Finally, we present a new freely available software tool, the VMI Calculator, to facilitate wall thickness measurements using our novel method. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Analysis and sorting of plant chromosomes (plant flow cytogenetics) is a special application of flow cytometry in plant genomics and its success depends critically on sample quality. This unit describes the methodology in a stepwise manner, starting with the induction of cell cycle synchrony and accumulation of dividing cells in mitotic metaphase, and continues with the preparation of suspensions of intact mitotic chromosomes, flow analysis and sorting of chromosomes, and finally processing of the sorted chromosomes. Each step of the protocol is described in detail as some procedures have not been used widely. Supporting histograms are presented as well as hints on dealing with plant material; the utility of sorted chromosomes for plant genomics is also discussed. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

In inflammatory and thrombotic syndromes, platelets aggregate with circulating leukocytes, especially monocytes and neutrophils. This leukocyte-platelet aggregate formation is initiated primarily through platelet surface expression of P-selectin (CD62P), following activation-dependent degranulation of α-granules, binding to its constitutively expressed counter-receptor, P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1), on leukocytes. Monocyte-platelet aggregates are a more sensitive marker of platelet activation than platelet surface P-selectin. Detection of leukocyte-platelet aggregates is relatively simple by whole-blood flow cytometry. Light scatter and at least one leukocyte-specific antibody are used to gate the desired population, and the presence of associated platelets is detected by immunostaining for abundant platelet-specific markers. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apoptosis is an important mechanism in cell biology, playing a critical regulatory role in virtually every organ system. It has been particularly well characterized in the immune system, with roles ranging from immature immune cell development and selection to down-regulation of the mature immune response. Apoptosis is also the primary mechanism of action of anti-cancer drugs. Flow cytometry has been the method of choice for analyzing apoptosis in suspension cells for more than 25 years. Numerous assays have been devised to measure both the earliest and latest steps in the apoptotic process, from the earliest signal-transduction events to the late morphological changes in cell shape and granularity, proteolysis, and chromatin condensation. These assays are particularly powerful when combined into multicolor assays determining several apoptotic characteristics simultaneously. The multiparametric nature of flow cytometry makes this technology particularly suited to measuring apoptosis. In this unit, we will describe the four main techniques for analyzing caspase activity in apoptotic cells, combined with annexin V and cell permeability analysis. These relatively simple multiparametric assays are powerful techniques for assessing cell death. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

We present a quantitative method for comparing the brightness of antibody-dye reagents and estimating antibodies bound per cell. The method is based on complementary binding of test and fill reagents to antibody capture microspheres. Several aliquots of antibody capture beads are stained with varying amounts of the test conjugate. The remaining binding sites on the beads are then filled with a second conjugate containing a different fluorophore. Finally, the fluorescence of the test conjugate compared to the fill conjugate is used to measure the relative brightness of the test conjugate. The fundamental assumption of the test-fill method is that if it takes X molecules of one test antibody to lower the fill signal by Y units, it will take the same X molecules of any other test antibody to give the same effect. We apply a quadratic fit to evaluate the test-fill signal relationship across different amounts of test reagent. If the fit is close to linear, we consider the test reagent to be suitable for quantitative evaluation of antibody binding. To calibrate the antibodies bound per bead, a PE conjugate with 1 PE molecule per antibody is used as a test reagent and the fluorescence scale is calibrated with Quantibrite PE beads. When the fluorescence per antibody molecule has been determined for a particular conjugate, that conjugate can be used for measurement of antibodies bound per cell. This provides comparisons of the brightness of different conjugates when conducted on an instrument whose statistical photoelectron (Spe) scales are known. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

High-content analysis (HCA) converts raw light microscopy images to quantitative data through the automated extraction, multiparametric analysis, and classification of the relevant information content. Combined with automated high-throughput image acquisition, HCA applied to the screening of chemicals or RNAi-reagents is termed high-content screening (HCS). Its power in quantifying cell phenotypes makes HCA applicable also to routine microscopy. However, developing effective HCA and bioinformatic analysis pipelines for acquisition of biologically meaningful data in HCS is challenging. Here, the step-by-step development of an HCA assay protocol and an HCS bioinformatics analysis pipeline are described. The protocol's power is demonstrated by application to focal adhesion (FA) detection, quantitative analysis of multiple FA features, and functional annotation of signaling pathways regulating FA size, using primary data of a published RNAi screen. The assay and the underlying strategy are aimed at researchers performing microscopy-based quantitative analysis of subcellular features, on a small scale or in large HCS experiments. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.