Observation of the Ciliary Movement of Choroid Plexus Epithelial Cells Ex Vivo

Summary

In this study, a detailed light microscopic technique was optimized for real-time observation and analysis of the motion of CPEC cilia ex vivo together with an electron microscopic method for ultrastructural analysis.

Abstract

The choroid plexus is located in the ventricular wall of the brain, the main function of which is believed to be production of cerebrospinal fluid. Choroid plexus epithelial cells (CPECs) covering the surface of choroid plexus tissue harbor multiple unique cilia, but most of the functions of these cilia remain to be investigated. To uncover the function of CPEC cilia with particular reference to their motility, an ex vivo observation system was developed to monitor ciliary motility during embryonic, perinatal and postnatal periods. The choroid plexus was dissected out of the brain ventricle and observed under a video-enhanced contrast microscope equipped with differential interference contrast optics. Under this condition, a simple and quantitative method was developed to analyze the motile profiles of CPEC cilia for several hours ex vivo. Next, the morphological changes of cilia during development were observed by scanning electron microscopy to elucidate the relationship between the morphological maturity of cilia and motility. Interestingly, this method could delineate changes in the number and length of cilia, which peaked at postnatal day (P) 2, while the beating frequency reached a maximum at P10, followed by abrupt cessation at P14. These techniques will enable elucidation of the functions of cilia in various tissues. While related techniques have been published in a previous report¹, the current study focuses on detailed techniques to observe the motility and morphology of CPEC cilia ex vivo.

Introduction

Cilia are hair-like projections on the surface of most vertebrate cells, which have attracted attention by medical researchers because of a class of diseases termed ciliopathies^2–4. Despite the ubiquitous expression of the organelle, a wide variety of ciliary functions have been reported, including motility and biosensing. For example, motile cilia on the mucoepithelial surface transport mucus⁵ and epithelial debris to the outlet of tracts, thereby preventing disease by clearing the surface of epithelia. Moreover, during early developmental periods and embryonic stages, cilia regulate the proliferation of stem cells

Protocol

The protocols and use of experimental animals were approved by the institutional animal care and use committees at the University of Yamanashi and Waseda University. Animal care was performed in accordance with institutional guidelines.

1. CPEC Preparation

1. Prepare the following apparatuses and materials: a stereo microscope, preferably capable of transmitting illumination from the bottom; a pair of watchmaker forceps (Dumont #3 or #4), flame-sterilized, straight operating scissors, flame-sterilized; two sterile 10 cm plastic dishes containing 20 ml ice-cold Leibovitz L-15 medium; 35 mm glass-bottom dishes containing 2 ml RT Leib....

Results

An overview of the workflow is shown in Figure 1, including images of the devices.

Live motion observations of CPECs

Movie 1 shows a movie of CPECs isolated from a perinatal mouse, and Movie 2 shows an expanded view of the images in Movie 1. It should be noted that individual ciliary tips are less clear in still images compared with those in movies. Figure 2 shows tracking of the mo.......

Discussion

Perspectives of this method

Although the technique described here does not provide a more detailed analysis of cilia than previously published methods, the significance of this technique resides in the simplicity of the system and cost effectiveness, which can be easily applied to screening any kind of ciliary motility ex vivo. In particular, TI Workbench provides a simple and user-friendly interface that enables researchers to observe and analyze ciliary motility more easily. Effecti.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Required reagents
for live cell imaging
ethanol	Wako Chemicals	057-00456
Leibovitz L-15 medium	Life Technologies	11415-064
for SEM preparation
ethanol	Wako Chemicals	057-00456
Hank's balanced salt solution	Life Technologies	14170112
paraformaldehyde	Merck	1040051000
glutaraldehyde	Nacalai tesque	17003-05
isoamyl acetate	Nacalai tesque	02710-95
Molecular Sieves 4A 1/8	Wako Chemicals	130-08655	for preparation of anhydrous ethanol
phosphate buffer saline (PBS)	Sigma-Aldrich	D1408
phosphate buffer, 0.1 M			To make 100 ml, mix 19.0 ml of 0.1 M NaH2PO4 and 81.0 ml of 0.1 M Na2HPO4
monosodium phosphate (dihydrate)	Nacalai tesque	31718-15
disodium phosphate (anhydrous)	Nacalai tesque	31801-05
suclose	Nacalai tesque	30406-25
osmium tetroxide	Nisshin EM	300
dry ice
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Tools and materials for dissection
for both live imaging and SEM preparation
stereo microscope	Olympus	SZX7
flat paper towel
Φ10 cm plastic dish
100 ml beaker
straight operating scissors	Sansyo	S-2B
watchmaker forceps	Dumont	No.DU-3 or -4, INOX
for live cell imaging
glass bottom dish	Matsunami Glass	D110300
for SEM preparation
alminum foil
5 ml glass vial with a polyethylene cap	Nichiden Rika-Glass	PS-5A
transfer pipette	Samco Scientific	SM251-1S	for specimen tranfer
toothpick			for specimen transfer
ion sputter with gold-palladium	Hitachi	E-1030
critical point dryer	Hitachi	HCP-2
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Microscopic equipment and materials
for live cell imaging
inverted microscope	Olympus	IX81
100 W mercury lump housing and power supply	Olympus	U-ULH and BH2-RFL-T3
100 W mercury lamp	Ushio	USH103D
DIC condenser, n.a. 0.55	Olympus	IX-LWUCD
electrrical shutter	Vincent Associates	VS35S22M1R3-24 and VMM-D1	manual shutter can be used.
band-pass filter (400-700 nm, Φ45 mm)	Koshin Kagaku	C10-110621-1
ND filter (Φ45 mm)	Olympus	45ND6, 45ND25	combination of 25% and 6% ND filters are used
objective lens (water immersion) with DIC element	Olympus	UApo 40XW/340, n.a., 1.15 with IX-DPAO40
high-speed video camera	Allied Vision Technologies	GE680	≥200 Hz frame rate and 1 msec expose time
image acquisition / analysis software	in-hous software	TI Workbench	capable of acquisition at high frame rates.
PC for camera control / analysis	Apple	Mac Pro
vibration isolation table	Meiritsu Seiki	AD0806
weight for tissue	Warner Instruments	slice anchor kits	It can be made with nylon mesh glued to a U-shape squashed Φ0.5 mm platinum wire.
cover glass (alternative weight for tissue)	Matsunami	made-to-order	A cover glass can be used as a tissue weight.
for SEM
inverted microscope	Olympus	IX81
scanning electron microscope	JEOL	JSM-6510