From MEFs to Matrigel I: Passaging hESCs in the Presence of MEFs

This video demonstrates how to grow human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) feeder cells. Download video file.^{(126M, mov)}     

From MEFs to Matrigel 2: Splitting hESCs from MEFs onto Matrigel

This video demonstrates how to grow human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) feeder cells, how to passage hESCs from MEF plates to feeder cell-free Matrigel plates. Download video file.^{(134M, mov)}     

Counting and Determining the Viability of Cultured Cells

Determining the number of cells in culture is important in standardization of culture conditions and in performing accurate quantitation experiments. A hemacytometer is a thick glass slide with a central area designed as a counting chamber. Cell suspension is applied to a defined area and counted so cell density can be calculated. Download video file.^{(62M, mov)}     

Large Scale Zebrafish-Based In vivo Small Molecule Screen

Given their small embryo size, rapid development, transparency, fecundity, and numerous molecular, morphological and physiological similarities to mammals, zebrafish has emerged as a powerful in vivo platform for phenotype-based drug screens and chemical genetic analysis. Here, we demonstrate a simple, practical method for large-scale screening of small molecules using zebrafish embryos. Download video file.^{(43M, mov)}     

Western Blotting: Sample Preparation to Detection

Western blotting is an analytical technique used to detect specific proteins in a given sample of tissue homogenate or extract. It uses gel electrophoresis to separate native or denatured proteins by the length of the polypeptide (denaturing conditions) or by the 3-D structure of the protein (native/ non-denaturing conditions). The proteins are then transferred to a membrane (typically nitrocellulose or PVDF), where they are probed (detected) using antibodies specific to the target protein.Download video file.^{(47M, mov)}     

Targeted Expression of GFP in the Hair Follicle Using Ex Vivo Viral Transduction

The hair follicle is a highly complex appendage of the skin containing a multiplicity of cell types. The follicle undergoes constant cycling through the life of the organism including growth and resorption with growth dependent on specific stem cells. The targeting of the follicle by genes and stem cells to change its properties, in particular, the nature of the hair shaft is, discussed. Hair follicle delivery systems are described, such as liposomes and viral vectors for gene therapy. The nature of the hair follicle stem cells is discussed, in particular, its pluripotency.Download video file.^{(56M, mov)}     

Creation of Reversible Cholestatic Rat Model

Cholestasis is a clinical condition commonly encountered by both surgeons and gastroenterologists. Cholestasis can cause various physiological changes and affect the nutritional status and surgical outcomes. Study of the pathophysiological changes occurring in the liver and other organs is of importance. Various studies have been done in cholestatic rat models.We used a reversible cholestatic rat model in our recent study looking at the role of methylprednisolone in the ischemia reperfusion injury. Various techniques for creation of a reversible cholestatic model have been described. Creation of a reversible cholestatic rat model can be challenging in view of the smaller size and unique hepatopancreatobiliary anatomy in rats. This video article demonstrates the creation of a reversible cholestatic model.This model can be used in various studies, such as looking at the changes in nutritional, physiological, pathological, histological and immunological changes in the gastrointestinal tract. This model can also be used to see the effects of cholestasis and various therapeutic interventions on major hepatic surgeries. Download video file.^{(55M, mov)}     

Guidelines for Elective Pediatric Fiberoptic Intubation

Fiberoptic intubation in pediatric patients is often required especially in difficult airways of syndromic patients i.e. Pierre Robin Syndrome. Small babies will desaturate very quickly if ventilation is interrupted mainly to high metabolic rate. We describe guidelines to perform a safe fiberoptic intubation while maintaining spontaneous breathing throughout the procedure. Steps requiring the use of propofol pump, fentanyl, glycopyrrolate, red rubber catheter, metal insuflation hook, afrin, lubricant and lidocaine spray are shown.Download video file.^{(69M, mov)}     

Murine Skin Transplantation

As one of the most stringent and least technically challenging models, skin transplantation is a standard method to assay host T cell responses to MHC-disparate donor antigens. The aim of this video-article is to provide the viewer with a step-by-step visual demonstration of skin transplantation using the mouse model. The protocol is divided into 5 main components: 1) harvesting donor skin; 2) preparing recipient for transplant; 3) skin transplant; 4) bandage removal and monitoring graft rejection; 5) helpful hints. Once proficient, the procedure itself should take <10 min to perform.Download video file.^{(38M, mov)}     

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) Microscopy

Phase-contrast microscopy is often used to produce contrast for transparent, non light-absorbing, biological specimens. The technique was discovered by Zernike, in 1942, who received the Nobel prize for his achievement. DIC microscopy, introduced in the late 1960s, has been popular in biomedical research because it highlights edges of specimen structural detail, provides high-resolution optical sections of thick specimens including tissue cells, eggs, and embryos and does not suffer from the phase halos typical of phase-contrast images. This protocol highlights the principles and practical applications of these microscopy techniques.Download video file.^{(180M, mov)}     

Immunoblot Analysis

Immunoblotting (western blotting) is a rapid and sensitive assay for the detection and characterization of proteins that works by exploiting the specificity inherent in antigen-antibody recognition. It involves the solubilization and electrophoretic separation of proteins, glycoproteins, or lipopolysaccharides by gel electrophoresis, followed by quantitative transfer and irreversible binding to nitrocellulose, PVDF, or nylon. The immunoblotting technique has been useful in identifying specific antigens recognized by polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies and is highly sensitive (1 ng of antigen can be detected). This unit provides protocols for protein separation, blotting proteins onto membranes, immunoprobing, and visualization using chromogenic or chemiluminescent substrates.Download video file.^{(92M, mov)}     

Whole-mount Immunohistochemical Analysis for Embryonic Limb Skin Vasculature: a Model System to Study Vascular Branching Morphogenesis in Embryo

Whole-mount immunohistochemical analysis for imaging the entire vasculature is pivotal for understanding the cellular mechanisms of branching morphogenesis. We have developed the limb skin vasculature model to study vascular development in which a pre-existing primitive capillary plexus is reorganized into a hierarchically branched vascular network. Whole-mount confocal microscopy with multiple labelling allows for robust imaging of intact blood vessels as well as their cellular components including endothelial cells, pericytes and smooth muscle cells, using specific fluorescent markers. Advances in this limb skin vasculature model with genetic studies have improved understanding molecular mechanisms of vascular development and patterning. The limb skin vasculature model has been used to study how peripheral nerves provide a spatial template for the differentiation and patterning of arteries. This video article describes a simple and robust protocol to stain intact blood vessels with vascular specific antibodies and fluorescent secondary antibodies, which is applicable for vascularized embryonic organs where we are able to follow the process of vascular development.Download video file.^{(59M, mov)}     

Axoplasm Isolation from Rat Sciatic Nerve

Isolation of pure axonal cytoplasm (axoplasm) from peripheral nerve is crucial for biochemical studies of many biological processes. In this article, we demonstrate and describe a protocol for axoplasm isolation from adult rat sciatic nerve based on the following steps: (1) dissection of nerve fascicles and separation of connective tissue; (2) incubation of short segments of nerve fascicles in hypotonic medium to release myelin and lyse non-axonal structures; and (3) extraction of the remaining axon-enriched material. Proteomic and biochemical characterization of this preparation has confirmed a high degree of enrichment for axonal components.Download video file.^{(33M, mov)}     

Trypsinizing and Subculturing Mammalian Cells

As cells reach confluency, they must be subcultured or passaged. Failure to subculture confluent cells results in reduced mitotic index and eventually in cell death. The first step in subculturing is to detach cells from the surface of the primary culture vessel by trypsinization or mechanical means. The resultant cell suspension is then subdivided, or reseeded, into fresh cultures. Secondary cultures are checked for growth and fed periodically, and may be subsequently subcultured to produce tertiary cultures. The time between passaging of cells varies with the cell line and depends on the growth rate.Download video file.^{(61M, mov)}     

Surgical Management of Meatal Stenosis with Meatoplasty

Meatal stenosis is a common urologic complication after circumcision. Children present to their primary care physicians with complaints of deviated urinary stream, difficult-to-aim, painful urination, and urinary frequency. Clinical exam reveals a pinpoint meatus and if the child is asked to urinate, he will usually have an upward, thin, occasionally forceful urinary stream with incomplete bladder emptying. The mainstay of management is meatoplasty (reconstruction of the distal urethra /meatus). This educational video will demonstrate how this is performed.Download video file.^{(30M, mov)}     

Testing Nicotine Tolerance in Aphids Using an Artificial Diet Experiment

Plants may upregulate the production of many different seconday metabolites in response to insect feeding. One of these metabolites, nicotine, is well know to have insecticidal properties. One response of tobacco plants to herbivory, or being gnawed upon by insects, is to increase the production of this neurotoxic alkaloid. Here, we will demonstrate how to set up an experiment to address this question of whether a tobacco-adapted strain of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, can tolerate higher levels of nicotine than the a strain of this insect that does not infest tobacco in the field.Download video file.^{(150M, mov)}     

Lentivirus-mediated Genetic Manipulation and Visualization of Olfactory Sensory Neurons in vivo

Development of a precise olfactory circuit relies on accurate projection of olfactory sensory neuron (OSN) axons to their synaptic targets in the olfactory bulb (OB). The molecular mechanisms of OSN axon growth and targeting are not well understood. Manipulating gene expression and subsequent visualizing of single OSN axons and their terminal arbor morphology have thus far been challenging. To study gene function at the single cell level within a specified time frame, we developed a lentiviral based technique to manipulate gene expression in OSNs in vivo. Lentiviral particles are delivered to OSNs by microinjection into the olfactory epithelium (OE). Expression cassettes are then permanently integrated into the genome of transduced OSNs. Green fluorescent protein expression identifies infected OSNs and outlines their entire morphology, including the axon terminal arbor. Due to the short turnaround time between microinjection and reporter detection, gene function studies can be focused within a very narrow period of development. With this method, we have detected GFP expression within as few as three days and as long as three months following injection. We have achieved both over-expression and shRNA mediated knock-down by lentiviral microinjection. This method provides detailed morphologies of OSN cell bodies and axons at the single cell level in vivo, and thus allows characterization of candidate gene function during olfactory development.Download video file.^{(69M, mov)}     

Double Fluorescence in situ Hybridization in Fresh Brain Sections

Here we describe a modified version of a double fluorescence in situ hybridization (dFISH) method optimized for detecting two mRNAs of interest in fresh frozen brain sections. Our group has successfully used this approach to study gene co-regulation. More specifically, we have used this dFISH method to explore the anatomical organization, neurochemical properties, and the impact of sensory experience in central sensory circuits, at single cell resolution. This protocol has been validated in brain tissue from mice, rats and songbirds but is expected to be easily adaptable to other vertebrate species, as well as to an array of non-neural tissues. In this film we provide a detailed demonstration of the main steps of this procedure.Download video file.^{(85M, mov)}     

Analysis of DNA Double-strand Break (DSB) Repair in Mammalian Cells

DNA double-strand breaks are the most dangerous DNA lesions that may lead to massive loss of genetic information and cell death. Cells repair DSBs using two major pathways: nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR). Perturbations of NHEJ and HR are often associated with premature aging and tumorigenesis, hence it is important to have a quantitative way of measuring each DSB repair pathway. Our laboratory has developed fluorescent reporter constructs that allow sensitive and quantitative measurement of NHEJ and HR. The constructs are based on an engineered GFP gene containing recognition sites for a rare-cutting I-SceI endonuclease for induction of DSBs. The starting constructs are GFP negative as the GFP gene is inactivated by an additional exon, or by mutations. Successful repair of the I-SceI-induced breaks by NHEJ or HR restores the functional GFP gene. The number of GFP positive cells counted by flow cytometry provides quantitative measure of NHEJ or HR efficiency.Download video file.^{(82M, mov)}     

Introduction to the Ultrasound Targeted Microbubble Destruction Technique

In UTMD, bioactive molecules, such as negatively charged plasmid DNA vectors encoding a gene of interest, are added to the cationic shells of lipid microbubble contrast agents^7-9. In mice these vector-carrying microbubbles can be administered intravenously or directly to the left ventricle of the heart. In larger animals they can also be infused through an intracoronary catheter. The subsequent delivery from the circulation to a target organ occurs by acoustic cavitation at a resonant frequency of the microbubbles. It seems likely that the mechanical energy generated by the microbubble destruction results in transient pore formation in or between the endothelial cells of the microvasculature of the targeted region¹⁰. As a result of this sonoporation effect, the transfection efficiency into and across the endothelial cells is enhanced, and transgene-encoding vectors are deposited into the surrounding tissue. Plasmid DNA remaining in the circulation is rapidly degraded by nucleases in the blood, which further reduces the likelihood of delivery to non-sonicated tissues and leads to highly specific target-organ transfection.Download video file.^{(51M, mov)}