流式细胞计无菌分选功能的开发

分选技术是流式细胞计一项重要功能。其分离细胞的速度及纯度是目前世界上任何其他医学仪器无法比拟的。其分选速度可高达3000—5000个细胞/秒;纯度可高达99％以上。 分选可分为两种,一种为一般分选,另一种为无菌分选。无菌分选需要在分选过程中严格保证无菌条件,使分选过程中细胞不受污染。以利于细胞的继续增殖。一般分选,国内其他实验室正在开展;而无菌分选国内尚未见报道。国外也只是部分实验室在应用。我们参考了一些国内外文献并借鉴了一些国外经验,在FACS440型流式细胞计上开发了无菌分选功能。本文介绍这种方法及应用。希望此文对今后推广这项技术起到促进作用。     

利用流式细胞仪分选拟南芥根尖发育早期非根毛细胞

建立了应用流式细胞仪分选植物特定类型细胞的方法。以拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）Wer：：GFP转基因株系为材料,用激光共聚焦显微镜鉴定GFP的表达位置,采用酶解法制备拟南芥根尖原生质体,应用流式细胞仪荧光激活细胞分选技术（FACS）分选收集GFP阳性细胞,并提取细胞的RNA。结果表明,Wer：：GFP转基因株系仅在根表皮发育早期的非根毛细胞中表达GFP;利用酶解法制备的根尖原生质体数目较多;从FACS分选收集的细胞中提取的RNA质量较好,可用于研究特定类型细胞的基因表达谱。应用流式细胞仪分选拟南芥非根毛细胞的方法为研究植物特定类型细胞的基因表达谱及基因功能奠定了技术基础。     

微流控芯片技术在细胞生物学研究中的应用进展

20世纪90年代以来,微流控芯片技术得到了快速发展。由于具有小型化、集成化、高通量、低消耗、分析快速等特点,微流控芯片作为一种新型的生物学研究平台,能够提供传统方法不具备的精细和可控制的细胞研究条件,在细胞生物学研究领域中得到了广泛关注。该文主要介绍其在细胞培养、分选、裂解、计数、凋亡检测、迁移、单细胞捕获、细胞间作用等方面的研究进展。     

激光扫描共聚焦显微术在生物医学中的研究

激光扫描共聚焦显微技术的发展,为形态学、分子细胞生物学、神经科学、肿瘤医学、药理学、遗传学等领域的研究提供了新的先进研究方法和手段。本文对激光扫描共聚焦显微术在粘附细胞分选,动态荧光分析测定,显微细胞外科和光陷阱技术,荧光光漂白恢复技术以及三维图像重建功能等方面的研究进展进行了综述。     

不同流式抗体分选小鼠原位肝癌模型中髓系来源抑制性细胞的比较

目的比较不同的流式抗体分选小鼠原位肝癌模型骨髓中的髓系来源抑制性细胞(myeloid-derived suppressor cells,MDSCs)。方法建立BALB/c小鼠原位肝癌移植模型,10d后分离荷瘤小鼠骨髓细胞,分别进行CD11b、Gr-1单色标记及CD11b和Gr-1双色标记后,进行流式分选。比较这三种方式分选的MDSCs纯度、活力,并检测分选的细胞精氨酸代谢酶1(arginase-1,Arg-1)和诱导型一氧化氮合酶(inducible nitric oxide synthase,iNOS)的表达,并通过活性氧检测试剂盒检测MDSCs活性氧(reactive oxygen species,ROS)表达。结果三种方法分选到的细胞活力和纯度都大于90%。CD11b标记进行分选操作最为方便,易于统一,但纯度略差;Gr-1标记进行分选时,细胞群不好确定,但纯度高;双色标记进行分选纯度最高。分选的细胞高表达Arg-1、iNOS和ROS。结论三种抗体标记方法均能从小鼠原位肝癌模型骨髓中的分选到纯度高、活力好的MDSCs,而用CD11b单色标记操作方便,易于统一,可作为首选方法。MDSCs的成功分选,对于后续开展MDSCs的生物学和免疫学功能研究奠定了基础。     

流式细胞仪分选转基因斑马鱼胚胎荧光标记细胞的一种快速方法

荧光蛋白在特异组织和器官表达的转基因斑马鱼已经在发育生物学和疾病模型研究中得到了广泛的应用。这些转基因系有助于追踪和分析数量较少的细胞群。但是如果要分离得到这些细胞来定量分析mRNA或蛋白质的表达情况比较困难。利用流式细胞仪分选这些荧光标记细胞是一种解决办法。此方法在不同的实验室中被广泛地应用。也有相关流程的介绍。但是流程一般较为繁琐,操作比较困难。该文以从转基因斑马鱼Tg（Kdrl：EGFP）中分选绿色荧光蛋白阳性的血管内皮细胞为例,介绍利用流式细胞仪分选转基因斑马鱼荧光标记细胞的实验流程和技术要点。该文作者在前人工作的基础上结合大量的实验经验．发展并优化了一套操作简便、效率较高的流程来分选这些细胞,在此做详细的介绍给大家以供参考。     

FACSAria流式细胞仪96孔微孔板单个细胞分选方法的优化和应用

对FACSAria流式细胞仪96孔微孔板单个细胞分选方法进行优化和应用。通过对液流的调节,获得较稳定的分选设定值;在96孔微孔板盖上分选肉眼可见液滴,确定分选液滴在96孔微孔板每孔相对应的盖上的位置;分选结束后,计数单个细胞存在的细胞孔数;分选细胞培养7d后,记录单个细胞存在孔数及单克隆形成的数量。结果5个细胞形成的液滴即肉眼清晰可见;96微孔板有单个细胞的孔数为80～90个,单个细胞获得率为83.3%～93.7%,培养7d后,有活细胞存在的孔数为5～38孔,即单克隆形成率为6.3%～42.2%。分选前在96孔微孔板板盖上分选肉眼可见液滴的简单方法使得对液流位置的判断直观可见;流式细胞仪96孔微孔板单细胞分选是一种简单易行,准确有效地获得单个细胞和单克隆的方法。     

神经系统小胶质细胞流式检测及分选

小胶质细胞是中枢神经系统中主要的免疫细胞,数量上占大脑的5%～10%。作为中枢神经系统的巨噬细胞,它们会不断清除中枢神经系统中的斑块、受损或不必要的神经元和突触以及感染因子。从中枢神经系统组织中分离小胶质细胞为研究基础细胞生物学和检测体内治疗对小胶质细胞免疫功能的影响提供了强有力的工具。该文描述了利用小胶质细胞特异性表面标志物,通过流式细胞分选(FACS)纯化小胶质细胞的方法。     

一种应用流式细胞术快速分选活的衰老细胞的方法

衰老细胞是细胞老化研究的重要模型,目前还缺乏从混合细胞群中分选活的衰老细胞的有效方法。该研究以1.0μg/m L顺铂诱导的人鼻咽癌CNE 2细胞衰老为研究模型,根据细胞大小和自发荧光(脂褐素积累)两项物理特征,采用FACS Aria III流式细胞仪在Purity模式下设门分选活的衰老细胞(SEN)和增殖细胞(PROL),收集细胞,再分别进行回测分析和衰老相关β-半乳糖苷酶(SA-β-gal)染色验证。结果从SEN门控获得分选纯度为74.7%的活的衰老细胞,分选出的细胞可重新贴壁;其中,72.1%的细胞呈SA-β-gal染色阳性,与PROL门控分选获得的细胞(8.01%)相比较有显著差异(P0.01)。该研究提供了一种基于流式细胞仪快速分选活的衰老细胞的方法。     

单细胞拉曼光谱在微生物研究中的应用

拉曼显微光谱是一种能够提供0.5–1.0μm空间分辨率的单个微生物细胞内化学结构信息的研究技术。近几年来,拉曼显微光谱被越来越多地应用于微生物单细胞的研究中,它可以快速无损地检测微生物细胞内的特征化学组分。典型的单个微生物细胞的拉曼光谱包含核酸、蛋白质、碳水化合物、脂质和色素(例如类胡萝卜素)等信息,这些信息能够表征微生物细胞的基因型、表型和生理状态。所以单细胞拉曼显微光谱是一种可用于区分微生物样品的"全生物指纹"技术,它可用于研究单个微生物细胞生命阶段的转变、鉴定微生物单细胞中的色素及其他化合物的含量变化等。本文综述了目前拉曼显微光谱在微生物单细胞研究上的应用,主要包括与稳定同位素标记(stable isotope probing,SIP)、拉曼成像、光谱分类和细胞分选技术结合来探究微生物单细胞对物质吸收后特征峰的变化、推导物质循环过程、进行微生物分类鉴定和探索基因型与表型的关系。拉曼显微光谱作为微生物单细胞研究的手段之一,在代谢过程的研究、活细胞分选和细胞对物质的利用上具有广泛的应用前景。     

Magnetic activated cell sorting allows isolation of spermatogonia from adult primate testes and reveals distinct GFRa1‐positive subpopulations in men

Background Isolation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) could enable in vitro approaches for exploration of spermatogonial physiology and therapeutic approaches for fertility preservation. SSC isolation from adult testes is difficult due to low cell numbers and lacking cell surface markers. Glial cell‐derived neurotrophic factor family receptor alpha‐1 (GFRα1) plays a crucial role for the maintenance of SSCs in rodents and is expressed in monkey spermatogonia. Methods Magnetic activated cell sorting was employed for the enrichment of GFRα1+ spermatogonia from adult primate testes. Results Magnetic activated cell sorting of monkey cells enriched GFRα1+ cells threefold. 11.4% of GFRα1+ cells were recovered. 42.9% of GFRα1+ cells were recovered in sorted fractions of human testicular cells, representing a fivefold enrichment. Interestingly, a high degree of morphological heterogeneity among the GFRα1+ cells from human testes was observed. Conclusions Magnetic activated cell sorting using anti‐GFRα1 antibodies provides an enrichment strategy for spermatogonia from monkey and human testes.     

Three specific antigens to isolate endothelial progenitor cells from human liposuction material

Background aimsHuman endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) play an important role in regenerative medicine and contribute to neovascularization on vessel injury. They are usually enriched from peripheral blood, cord blood and bone marrow. In human fat tissue, EPC are rare and their isolation remains a challenge.MethodsFat tissue was prepared by collagenase digestion, and the expression of specific marker proteins was evaluated by flow cytometry in the stromal vascular fraction (SVF). For enrichment, magnetic cell sorting was performed with the use of CD133 microbeads and EPC were cultured until colonies appeared. A second purification was performed with CD34; additional isolation steps were performed with the use of a combination of CD34 and CD31 microbeads. Enriched cells were investigated by flow cytometry for the expression of endothelial specific markers, by Matrigel assay and by the uptake of acetylated low-density lipoprotein.ResultsThe expression pattern confirmed the heterogeneous nature of the SVF, with rare numbers of CD133+ detectable. EPC gained from the SVF by magnetic enrichment showed cobblestone morphology of outgrowth endothelial cells and expressed the specific markers CD31, CD144, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)R2, CD146, CD73 and CD105. Functional integrity was confirmed by uptake of acetylated low-density lipoprotein and the formation of tube-like structures on Matrigel.ConclusionsRare EPC can be enriched from human fat tissue by magnetic cell sorting with the use of a combination of microbeads directed against CD133, an early EPC marker, CD34, a stem cell marker, and CD31, a typical marker for endothelial cells. In culture, they differentiate into EC and hence could have the potential to contribute to neovascularization in regenerative medicine.     

Flow cytometric sorting and analysis of human epidermal stem cell candidates

ESC (epidermal stem cells) play a central role in the regeneration of human epidermis. These cells are also responsible for wound healing and neoplasm formation. Efficient isolation of ESC allows their use in medicine and pharmacy as well as in basic science. Cultured keratinocytes and ESC may be used as biological dressing in burn injuries, chronic wounds and hereditary disorders. Therefore, the isolation and characterization of ESC have been goals in biomedical science. Here, we present a flow cytometric method for the isolation and analysis of human ESC candidates. The strategy presented for the isolation of ESC combines previously proposed enzymatic digestion and FACS‐sorting of the obtained cell suspension that utilizes morphological features, integrin‐β1 expression and Rh123 (Rhodamine 123) accumulation of the cells. We also performed a flow cytometric analysis of sorted cells using a cell tracer.     

Cell sorting in cancer research—Diminishing degree of cell heterogeneity

Increasing evidence of intratumor heterogeneity and its augmentation due to selective pressure of microenvironment and recent achievements in cancer therapeutics lead to the need to investigate and track the tumor subclonal structure. Cell sorting of heterogeneous subpopulations of tumor and tumor-associated cells has been a long established strategy in cancer research. Advancement in lasers, computer technology and optics has led to a new generation of flow cytometers and cell sorters capable of high-speed processing of single cell suspensions. Over the last several years cell sorting was used in combination with molecular biological methods, imaging and proteomics to characterize primary and metastatic cancer cell populations, minimal residual disease and single tumor cells. It was the principal method for identification and characterization of cancer stem cells. Analysis of single cancer cells may improve early detection of tumors, monitoring of circulating tumor cells, evaluation of intratumor heterogeneity and chemotherapeutic treatments. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of major cell sorting applications and approaches with new prospective developments such as microfluidics and microchip technologies.     

免疫磁珠法分离鼻咽癌基质的T淋巴细胞

肿瘤内环境与肿瘤的发生密切相关.肿瘤细胞周围的组织在癌变发生时不会是一个沉默的旁观者,可能在肿瘤的发生和发展中扮演十分重要的角色.本研究分别采用不同的磁珠分选技术分离T淋巴细胞.采用CK LMP1,CD105和成纤维细胞表面蛋白,结合全血总T细胞试剂盒,间接法分离鼻咽癌基质的T淋巴细胞;采用CD3直接磁分选法分离鼻咽癌基质的T淋巴细胞,然后用免疫组化法鉴定分选的效果和细胞的质量.结果表明,免疫组化显示间接磁分选法分离出来的T淋巴细胞不能完全去除肿瘤细胞,RNA的质量不佳;而直接磁分选分离出来的T淋巴细胞为纯净的T淋巴细胞,而且RNA的质量良好.提示直接磁分选技术是分离鼻咽癌基质T淋巴细胞的首选方法.     

Efficient enrichment of undifferentiated GFR alpha 1+ spermatogonia from immature rat testis by magnetic activated cell sorting

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are a documented source for adult multipotent stem cells. Thus, the isolation of SSCs is of great interest. However, the isolation of spermatogonia from mammalian testes is difficult because of their low total numbers and the lack of well-characterized cell surface markers. Glial-cell-derived neurotrophic factor family receptor alpha-1 (GFRα1) is expressed on undifferentiated mouse spermatogonia (including SSCs) and plays a crucial role, in rodents, for the maintenance of SSCs mediated by the Sertoli cell product GDNF. The present study has aimed to optimize the sorting efficiency and total cell yield of magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) with anti-GFRα1 antibodies. Because of the technical limitations intrinsic to the magnetic columns, various sorting setups and strategies were compared. Use of Mini-MACS (MS) columns for single cell suspensions from 7-day-old rat testes resulted in a three-fold enrichment of GFRα1-positive cells in sorted fractions versus presorted fractions. However, with this method, only 1.77% of cells loaded onto the column were recovered in the sorted fraction. A sequential two-step sorting approach did not improve this poor yield. We therefore evaluated cell separation by using larger volume Midi-MACS (LS) columns. Enrichment of GFRα1-positive cells in sorted fractions was four-fold, and 14.5% of cells loaded onto the column were directed to the sorted fraction. With this method, approximately half of all GFRα1-positive cells present in the sample were found in the sorted fraction. We conclude that GFRα1 serves as a suitable surface marker for the enrichment of rat spermatogonia, and that the large-volume Midi-MACS separation system is superior to the routinely used small-volume Mini-MACS separation system. This work was financially supported by startup funds from the University Münster, NIH grant U54 HD 008610, Center grant, project 1 (to S.S.), a doctoral scholarship from the Ernst Schering Research Foundation (to K.G.), and a Young Investigator Grant from the Lance Armstrong Foundation (to J.E.).     

Applications of flow cytometry sorting in the pharmaceutical industry: A review

The article reviews applications of flow cytometry sorting in manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. Flow cytometry sorting is an extremely powerful tool for monitoring, screening and separating single cells based on any property that can be measured by flow cytometry. Different applications of flow cytometry sorting are classified into groups and discussed in separate sections as follows: (a) isolation of cell types, (b) high throughput screening, (c) cell surface display, (d) droplet fluorescent-activated cell sorting (FACS). Future opportunities are identified including: (a) sorting of particular fractions of the cell population based on a property of interest for generating inoculum that will result in improved outcomes of cell cultures and (b) the use of population balance models in combination with FACS to design and optimize cell cultures.     

Five-in-One: Simultaneous isolation of multiple major liver cell types from livers of normal and NASH mice

NASH is a chronic liver disease that affects 3%–6% of individuals and requires urgent therapeutic developments. Isolating the key cell types in the liver is a necessary step towards understanding their function and roles in disease pathogenesis. However, traditional isolation methods through gradient centrifugation can only collect one or a few cell types simultaneously and pose technical difficulties when applied to NASH livers. Taking advantage of identified cell surface markers from liver single-cell RNAseq, here we established the combination of gradient centrifugation and antibody-based cell sorting techniques to isolate five key liver cell types (hepatocytes, endothelial cells, stellate cells, macrophages and other immune cells) from a single mouse liver. This method yielded high purity of each cell type from healthy and NASH livers. Our five-in-one protocol simultaneously isolates key liver cell types with high purity under normal and NASH conditions, enabling for systematic and accurate exploratory experiments such as RNA sequencing.     

Isolation and characterization of the CD133+ precursors from the ventricular zone of human fetal brain by magnetic affinity cell sorting

A fast and effective method to enrich large number of neural precursors from the ventricular zone of human fetus by magnetic affinity cell sorting (MACS) is reported. After incubation with phycoerythrin (PE)-conjugated anti-CD133 antibodies and anti-PE magnetic beads followed by one cycle of MACS, CD133(+) cells were harvested at 85% purity as confirmed by flow-cytometry and immunocytochemistry. In contrast to CD133(-) cells, these CD133(+) cells initiated primary and secondary neurospheres in culture, and the progeny of sorted cells could be differentiated into both neurons and glia, indicating that these highly enriched cells are capable of self-renewal and multi-lineage potential.     

Purification of Specific Cell Population by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS)

Experimental and clinical studies often require highly purified cell populations. FACS is a technique of choice to purify cell populations of known phenotype. Other bulk methods of purification include panning, complement depletion and magnetic bead separation. However, FACS has several advantages over other available methods. FACS is the preferred method when very high purity of the desired population is required, when the target cell population expresses a very low level of the identifying marker or when cell populations require separation based on differential marker density. In addition, FACS is the only available purification technique to isolate cells based on internal staining or intracellular protein expression, such as a genetically modified fluorescent protein marker. FACS allows the purification of individual cells based on size, granularity and fluorescence. In order to purify cells of interest, they are first stained with fluorescently-tagged monoclonal antibodies (mAb), which recognize specific surface markers on the desired cell population (1). Negative selection of unstained cells is also possible. FACS purification requires a flow cytometer with sorting capacity and the appropriate software. For FACS, cells in suspension are passed as a stream in droplets with each containing a single cell in front of a laser. The fluorescence detection system detects cells of interest based on predetermined fluorescent parameters of the cells. The instrument applies a charge to the droplet containing a cell of interest and an electrostatic deflection system facilitates collection of the charged droplets into appropriate collection tubes (2). The success of staining and thereby sorting depends largely on the selection of the identifying markers and the choice of mAb. Sorting parameters can be adjusted depending on the requirement of purity and yield. Although FACS requires specialized equipment and personnel training, it is the method of choice for isolation of highly purified cell populations.