Procedure for Human Saphenous Veins Ex Vivo Perfusion and External Reinforcement

The mainstay of contemporary therapies for extensive occlusive arterial disease is venous bypass graft. However, its durability is threatened by intimal hyperplasia (IH) that eventually leads to vessel occlusion and graft failure. Mechanical forces, particularly low shear stress and high wall tension, are thought to initiate and to sustain these cellular and molecular changes, but their exact contribution remains to be unraveled. To selectively evaluate the role of pressure and shear stress on the biology of IH, an ex vivo perfusion system (EVPS) was created to perfuse segments of human saphenous veins under arterial regimen (high shear stress and high pressure). Further technical innovations allowed the simultaneous perfusion of two segments from the same vein, one reinforced with an external mesh. Veins were harvested using a no-touch technique and immediately transferred to the laboratory for assembly in the EVPS. One segment of the freshly isolated vein was not perfused (control, day 0). The two others segments were perfused for up to 7 days, one being completely sheltered with a 4 mm (diameter) external mesh. The pressure, flow velocity, and pulse rate were continuously monitored and adjusted to mimic the hemodynamic conditions prevailing in the femoral artery. Upon completion of the perfusion, veins were dismounted and used for histological and molecular analysis. Under ex vivo conditions, high pressure perfusion (arterial, mean = 100 mm Hg) is sufficient to generate IH and remodeling of human veins. These alterations are reduced in the presence of an external polyester mesh.     

Implanting Glass Spinal Cord Windows in Adult Mice with Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in adult rodents is the standard experimental model for studying autonomic demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Here we present a low-cost and reproducible glass window implantation protocol that is suitable for intravital microscopy and studying the dynamics of spinal cord cytoarchitecture with subcellular resolution in live adult mice with EAE. Briefly, we surgically expose the vertebrae T12-L2 and construct a chamber around the exposed vertebrae using a combination of cyanoacrylate and dental cement. A laminectomy is performed from T13 to L1, and a thin layer of transparent silicone elastomer is applied to the dorsal surface of the exposed spinal cord. A modified glass cover slip is implanted over the exposed spinal cord taking care that the glass does not directly contact the spinal cord. To reduce the infiltration of inflammatory cells between the window and spinal cord, anti-inflammatory treatment is administered every 2 days (as recommended by ethics committee) for the first 10 days after implantation. EAE is induced only 2-3 weeks after the cessation of anti-inflammatory treatment.Using this approach we successfully induced EAE in 87% of animals with implanted windows and, using Thy1-CFP-23 mice (blue axons in dorsal spinal cord), quantified axonal loss throughout EAE progression. Taken together, this protocol may be useful for studying the recruitment of various cell populations as well as their interaction dynamics, with subcellular resolution and for extended periods of time. This intravital imaging modality represents a valuable tool for developing therapeutic strategies to treat autoimmune demyelinating diseases such as EAE.     

A Human Ex Vivo Atherosclerotic Plaque Model to Study Lesion Biology

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the vasculature. There are various methods to study the inflammatory compound in atherosclerotic lesions. Mouse models are an important tool to investigate inflammatory processes in atherogenesis, but these models suffer from the phenotypic and functional differences between the murine and human immune system. In vitro cell experiments are used to specifically evaluate cell type-dependent changes caused by a substance of interest, but culture-dependent variations and the inability to analyze the influence of specific molecules in the context of the inflammatory compound in atherosclerotic lesions limit the impact of the results. In addition, measuring levels of a molecule of interest in human blood helps to further investigate its clinical relevance, but this represents systemic and not local inflammation. Therefore, we here describe a plaque culture model to study human atherosclerotic lesion biology ex vivo. In short, fresh plaques are obtained from patients undergoing endarterectomy or coronary artery bypass grafting and stored in RPMI medium on ice until usage. The specimens are cut into small pieces followed by random distribution into a 48-well plate, containing RPMI medium in addition to a substance of interest such as cytokines or chemokines alone or in combination for defined periods of time. After incubation, the plaque pieces can be shock frozen for mRNA isolation, embedded in Paraffin or OCT for immunohistochemistry staining or smashed and lysed for western blotting. Furthermore, cells may be isolated from the plaque for flow cytometry analysis. In addition, supernatants can be collected for protein measurement by ELISA. In conclusion, the presented ex vivo model opens the possibility to further study inflammatory lesional biology, which may result in identification of novel disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets.     

Ex Vivo Treatment Response of Primary Tumors and/or Associated Metastases for Preclinical and Clinical Development of Therapeutics

The molecular analysis of established cancer cell lines has been the mainstay of cancer research for the past several decades. Cell culture provides both direct and rapid analysis of therapeutic sensitivity and resistance. However, recent evidence suggests that therapeutic response is not exclusive to the inherent molecular composition of cancer cells but rather is greatly influenced by the tumor cell microenvironment, a feature that cannot be recapitulated by traditional culturing methods. Even implementation of tumor xenografts, though providing a wealth of information on drug delivery/efficacy, cannot capture the tumor cell/microenvironment crosstalk (i.e., soluble factors) that occurs within human tumors and greatly impacts tumor response. To this extent, we have developed an ex vivo (fresh tissue sectioning) technique which allows for the direct assessment of treatment response for preclinical and clinical therapeutics development. This technique maintains tissue integrity and cellular architecture within the tumor cell/microenvironment context throughout treatment response providing a more precise means to assess drug efficacy.     

Precision-cut hamster liver slices as an ex vivo model to study amoebic liver abscess

Entamoeba histolytica is the etiological agent of amoebiasis, the second cause of global morbidity and mortality due to parasitic diseases in humans. In approximately 1% of the cases, amoebas penetrate the intestinal mucosa and spread to other organs, producing extra-intestinal lesions, among which amoebic liver abscess (ALA) is the most common. To study ALA, in vivo and in vitro models are used. However, animal models may pose ethical issues, and are time-consuming and costly; and cell cultures represent isolated cellular lineages. The present study reports the infection of precision-cut hamster liver slices with Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites. The infection time-course, including tissue damage, parallels findings previously reported in the animal model. At the same time amoebic virulence factors were detected in the infected slices. This new model to study ALA is simple and reproducible, and employs less than 1/3 of the hamsters required for in vivo analyses.     

Bioluminescence Imaging of an Immunocompetent Animal Model for Glioblastoma

In contrast to commonly reported human glioma xenograft animal models, GL261 murine glioma xenografts recapitulate nearly all relevant clinical and histopathologic features of the human disease. When GL261 cells are implanted intracranially in syngeneic C57BL/6 mice, the model has the added advantage of maintaining an intact immune microenvironment. Stable expression of luciferase in GL261 cells allows non-invasive cost effective bioluminescence monitoring of intracranial tumor growth. We have recently demonstrated that luciferase expression in GL261 cells does not affect the tumor growth properties, tumor cell immunomodulatory cytokine expression, infiltration of immune cells into the tumor, or overall survival of animals bearing the intracranial tumor. Therefore, it appears that the GL261 luciferase glioma model can be useful in the study of novel chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic modalities. Here we report the technique for generating stable luciferase expression in GL261 cells and how to study the in vitro and in vivo growth of the tumor cells by bioluminescence imaging.     

Intrauterine Telemetry to Measure Mouse Contractile Pressure In Vivo

A complex integration of molecular and electrical signals is needed to transform a quiescent uterus into a contractile organ at the end of pregnancy. Despite the discovery of key regulators of uterine contractility, this process is still not fully understood. Transgenic mice provide an ideal model in which to study parturition. Previously, the only method to study uterine contractility in the mouse was ex vivo isometric tension recordings, which are suboptimal for several reasons. The uterus must be removed from its physiological environment, a limited time course of investigation is possible, and the mice must be sacrificed. The recent development of radiometric telemetry has allowed for longitudinal, real-time measurements of in vivo intrauterine pressure in mice. Here, the implantation of an intrauterine telemeter to measure pressure changes in the mouse uterus from mid-pregnancy until delivery is described. By comparing differences in pressures between wild type and transgenic mice, the physiological impact of a gene of interest can be elucidated. This technique should expedite the development of therapeutics used to treat myometrial disorders during pregnancy, including preterm labor.     

Murine Endoscopy for In Vivo Multimodal Imaging of Carcinogenesis and Assessment of Intestinal Wound Healing and Inflammation

Mouse models are widely used to study pathogenesis of human diseases and to evaluate diagnostic procedures as well as therapeutic interventions preclinically. However, valid assessment of pathological alterations often requires histological analysis, and when performed ex vivo, necessitates death of the animal. Therefore in conventional experimental settings, intra-individual follow-up examinations are rarely possible. Thus, development of murine endoscopy in live mice enables investigators for the first time to both directly visualize the gastrointestinal mucosa and also repeat the procedure to monitor for alterations. Numerous applications for in vivo murine endoscopy exist, including studying intestinal inflammation or wound healing, obtaining mucosal biopsies repeatedly, and to locally administer diagnostic or therapeutic agents using miniature injection catheters. Most recently, molecular imaging has extended diagnostic imaging modalities allowing specific detection of distinct target molecules using specific photoprobes. In conclusion, murine endoscopy has emerged as a novel cutting-edge technology for diagnostic experimental in vivo imaging and may significantly impact on preclinical research in various fields.     

Methods for Culturing Human Femur Tissue Explants to Study Breast Cancer Cell Colonization of the Metastatic Niche

Bone is the most common site of breast cancer metastasis. Although it is widely accepted that the microenvironment influences cancer cell behavior, little is known about breast cancer cell properties and behaviors within the native microenvironment of human bone tissue.We have developed approaches to track, quantify and modulate human breast cancer cells within the microenvironment of cultured human bone tissue fragments isolated from discarded femoral heads following total hip replacement surgeries. Using breast cancer cells engineered for luciferase and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expression, we are able to reproducibly quantitate migration and proliferation patterns using bioluminescence imaging (BLI), track cell interactions within the bone fragments using fluorescence microscopy, and evaluate breast cells after colonization with flow cytometry. The key advantages of this model include: 1) a native, architecturally intact tissue microenvironment that includes relevant human cell types, and 2) direct access to the microenvironment, which facilitates rapid quantitative and qualitative monitoring and perturbation of breast and bone cell properties, behaviors and interactions. A primary limitation, at present, is the finite viability of the tissue fragments, which confines the window of study to short-term culture. Applications of the model system include studying the basic biology of breast cancer and other bone-seeking malignancies within the metastatic niche, and developing therapeutic strategies to effectively target breast cancer cells in bone tissues.     

Sequential In vivo Imaging of Osteogenic Stem/Progenitor Cells During Fracture Repair

Bone turns over continuously and is highly regenerative following injury. Osteogenic stem/progenitor cells have long been hypothesized to exist, but in vivo demonstration of such cells has only recently been attained. Here, in vivo imaging techniques to investigate the role of endogenous osteogenic stem/progenitor cells (OSPCs) and their progeny in bone repair are provided. Using osteo-lineage cell tracing models and intravital imaging of induced microfractures in calvarial bone, OSPCs can be directly observed during the first few days after injury, in which critical events in the early repair process occur. Injury sites can be sequentially imaged revealing that OSPCs relocate to the injury, increase in number and differentiate into bone forming osteoblasts. These methods offer a means of investigating the role of stem cell-intrinsic and extrinsic molecular regulators for bone regeneration and repair.     

Ischemic Tissue Injury in the Dorsal Skinfold Chamber of the Mouse: A Skin Flap Model to Investigate Acute Persistent Ischemia

Despite profound expertise and advanced surgical techniques, ischemia-induced complications ranging from wound breakdown to extensive tissue necrosis are still occurring, particularly in reconstructive flap surgery. Multiple experimental flap models have been developed to analyze underlying causes and mechanisms and to investigate treatment strategies to prevent ischemic complications. The limiting factor of most models is the lacking possibility to directly and repetitively visualize microvascular architecture and hemodynamics. The goal of the protocol was to present a well-established mouse model affiliating these before mentioned lacking elements. Harder et al. have developed a model of a musculocutaneous flap with a random perfusion pattern that undergoes acute persistent ischemia and results in ~50% necrosis after 10 days if kept untreated. With the aid of intravital epi-fluorescence microscopy, this chamber model allows repetitive visualization of morphology and hemodynamics in different regions of interest over time. Associated processes such as apoptosis, inflammation, microvascular leakage and angiogenesis can be investigated and correlated to immunohistochemical and molecular protein assays. To date, the model has proven feasibility and reproducibility in several published experimental studies investigating the effect of pre-, peri- and postconditioning of ischemically challenged tissue.     

In Vivo SiRNA Transfection and Gene Knockdown in Spinal Cord via Rapid Noninvasive Lumbar Intrathecal Injections in Mice

This report describes a step-by-step guide to the technique of acute intrathecal needle injections in a noninvasive manner, i.e. independent of catheter implantation. The technical limitation of this surgical technique lies in the finesse of the hands. The injection is rapid, especially for a trained experimenter, and since tissue disruption with this technique is minimal, repeated injections are possible; moreover immune reaction to foreign tools (e.g. catheter) does not occur, thereby giving a better and more specific read out of spinal cord modulation. Since the application of the substance is largely limited to the target region of the spinal cord, drugs do not need to be applied in large dosages, and more importantly unwanted effects on other tissue, as observed with a systemic delivery, could be circumvented^1,2. Moreover, we combine this technique with in vivo transfection of nucleic acid with the help of polyethylenimine (PEI) reagent³, which provides tremendous versatility for studying spinal functions via delivery of pharmacological agents as well as gene, RNA, and protein modulators.