Generation of Mosaic Mammary Organoids by Differential Trypsinization
Summary
The mammary gland is a bilayered structure, comprising outer myoepithelial and inner luminal epithelial cells. Presented is a protocol to prepare organoids using differential trypsinization. This efficient method allows researchers to separately manipulate these two cell types to explore questions concerning their roles in mammary gland form and function.
Abstract
Organoids offer self-organizing, three-dimensional tissue structures that recapitulate physiological processes in the convenience of a dish. The murine mammary gland is composed of two distinct epithelial cell compartments, serving different functions: the outer, contractile myoepithelial compartment and the inner, secretory luminal compartment. Here, we describe a method by which the cells comprising these compartments are isolated and then combined to investigate their individual lineage contributions to mammary gland morphogenesis and differentiation. The method is simple and efficient and does not require sophisticated separation technologies such as fluorescence activated cell sorting. Instead, we harvest and enzymatically digest the tissue, seed the epithelium on adherent tissue culture dishes, and then use differential trypsinization to separate myoepithelial from luminal cells with ~90% purity. The cells are then plated in an extracellular matrix where they organize into bilayered, three-dimensional (3D) organoids that can be differentiated to produce milk after 10 days in culture. To test the effects of genetic mutations, cells can be harvested from wild type or genetically engineered mouse models, or they can be genetically manipulated prior to 3D culture. This technique can be used to generate mosaic organoids that allow investigation of gene function specifically in the luminal or myoepithelial compartment.
Introduction
The mammary gland (MG) is a tree-like, tubular epithelial structure embedded within an adipocyte rich stroma. The bilayered ductal epithelium comprises an outer, basal layer of contractile, myoepithelial cells (MyoECs) and an inner layer of luminal, secretory epithelial cells (LECs), encircling a central lumen1. During lactation when the outer MyoECs contract to squeeze milk from the inner alveolar LECs, the MG undergoes numerous changes that are under the control of growth factors (e.g., EGF and FGF) and hormones (e.g. progesterone, insulin, and prolactin). These changes cause the differentiation of specialized structures, alveoli, which synthesize and secrete milk during lactation1. The mammary epithelia can be experimentally manipulated using techniques in which either epithelial tissue fragments, cells, or even a single basal cell are transplanted into host mammary fat pads, precleared of endogenous mammary parenchyma, and allowed to grow out to reconstitute an entire, functional epithelial tree2,3,4,5. Transplantation is a powerful technique, but it is time-consuming and impossible if a mutation results in early embryonic lethality (prior to E14) that prevents the rescue of transplantable mammary anlage. Furthermore, investigators frequently wish to research the roles of the two different compartments, which are derived from lineage-restricted progenitor cells. While Cre-lox technology allows differential genetic manipulation of MyoECs and LECs, this is also a time-consuming and expensive undertaking. Thus, since the 1950s, investigators have used in vitro mammary organoids as a relatively easy and efficient way to address questions concerning mammary tissue structure and function6,7.
In early protocols describing the isolation and culture of primary mammary epithelial cells, investigators found that a basement membrane matrix (BME), composed of a plasma clot and chicken embryo extract, was required for MG fragments grown on a dish6. In the following decades, extracellular matrices (ECMs, collagen, and jellylike protein matrix secreted by Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm murine sarcoma cells) were developed to facilitate 3D culture and better mimic the in vivo environment7,8,9,10. Culturing cells in 3D matrices revealed by multiple criteria (morphology, gene expression, and hormone responsiveness) that such a microenvironment better models in vivo physiological processes9,10,11,12. Research using primary murine cells identified key growth factors and morphogens necessary for the extended maintenance and differentiation of organoids13. These studies have set the stage for the protocol presented here, and for the culture of human breast cells as 3D organoids, which is now a modern clinical tool, allowing for drug discovery and drug testing on patient samples14. Overall, organoid culturing highlights the self-organization capacities of primary cells and their contributions to morphogenesis and differentiation.
Presented here is a protocol to culture murine epithelia that can be differentiated into milk-producing acini. A differential trypsinization technique is used to isolate the MyoECs and LECs that comprise the two distinct MG cell compartments. These separated cell fractions can then be genetically manipulated to overexpress or knockdown gene function. Because lineage-intrinsic, self-organization is an innate property of mammary epithelial cells15,16,17, recombining these cell fractions allows researchers to generate bilayered, mosaic organoids. We begin by enzymatically digesting the adipose tissue, and then incubating the mammary fragments on a tissue culture dish for 24 h (Figure 1). The tissue fragments settle on polystyrene dishes as bilayered fragments with their in vivo organization: outer myoepithelial layer surrounding inner luminal layers. This cellular organization allows for the isolation of the outer MyoECs by trypsin-EDTA (0.05%) treatment for 3-6 min followed by a second round of trypsin-EDTA (0.05%) treatment that detaches the remaining inner LECs (Figure 2). Thus, these cell types with different trypsin sensitivity are isolated and can subsequently be mixed and plated in ECM (Figure 3). The cells undergo self-organization to form bilayered spheres, comprising an outer layer of MyoECs surrounding inner LECs. Lumen formation occurs as the cells grow in a medium containing a cocktail of growth factors (see recipes for Growth Medium)13. After 5 days, organoids can be differentiated into milk-producing acini by switching to Alveologenesis Medium (see recipes and Figure 3F) and incubated for another 5 days. Alternatively, organoids will continue to expand and branch in Growth Medium for at least 10 days. Organoids can be analyzed using immunofluorescence (Figure 3D-F) or released from the ECM using a recovery solution (see Table of Materials) and analyzed via other methods (e.g., immunoblot, RT-qPCR).
Protocol
Representative Results
Discussion
Here, a method is presented detailing how researchers can generate 3D organoid cultures using primary MG cells. The difference between this and other protocols is that we detail a method to separate the two, distinct MG cell compartments: the outer basal MyoECs and inner LECs. Our method employs a two-step trypsin-EDTA (0.05%) treatment that we call differential trypsinization19. This procedure allows researchers to isolate MyoECs and LECs without using sophisticated flow cytometry and thus can be…
Divulgaciones
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgements
We thank Ben Abrams for technical assistance and core support from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Institute for the Biology of Stem Cells (IBSC). We thank Susan Strome and Bill Saxton for the use of their Solamere Spinning Disk Confocal Microscope. This work was supported in part by grants to UCSC from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through the James H. Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study program (S.R.), from the NIH (NIH GM058903) for the initiative for maximizing student development (H.M.) and from the National Science Foundation for a graduate research fellowship (O.C. DGE 1339067) and by a grant (A18-0370) from the UC-Cancer Research Coordinating Committee (LH).
Materials
| 15 ml High-Clarity Polypropylene Conical Tube (BD Falcon) | Fisher Scientific | 352096 | |
| 24 well ultra-low attachment plate (Corning) | Fisher Scientific | CLS3473-24EA | |
| 35 mm TC-treated Easy-Grip Style Cell Culture Dish (BD Falcon) | Fisher Scientific | 353001 | |
| 50 ml High-Clarity polypropylene conical tube (BD Falcon) | Fisher Scientific | 352098 | |
| 60 mm TC-treated Easy-Grip Style Cell Culture Dish (BD Falcon) | Fisher Scientific | 353004 | |
| 70 µM nylon cell strainer (Corning) | Fisher Scientific | 08-771-2 | |
| Antibiotic-Antimycotic (100X) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 15240062 | Pen/Strep also works |
| B27 supplement without vitamin A (50x) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 12587010 | |
| B6 ACTb-EGFP mice | The Jackson Laboratory | 003291 | |
| BD Insulin syringe 0.5 mL | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 14-826-79 | |
| Class 2 Dispase (Roche) | Millipore Sigma | 4942078001 | |
| Class 3 Collagenase | Worthington Biochemical | LS004206 | |
| Corning Cell Recovery solution | Fisher Scientific | 354253 | Follow the guidelines for use – Extraction of Three-Dimensional Structures from Corning Matrigel Matrix |
| Corning Costar Ultra-Low Attachment 6-well | Fisher Scientific | CLS3471 | |
| Dexamethasone | Millipore Sigma | D4902-25MG | |
| DMEM/F12, no phenol red | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 11039-021 | |
| DNase (Deoxyribonuclease I) | Worthington Biochemical | LS002007 | |
| Donkey anti-Goat 647 | Thermo Fisher Scientific | A21447 | Use at 1:500, Lot: 1608641, stock 2 mg/mL, RRID:AB_2535864 |
| Donkey anti-Mouse 647 | Jackson ImmunoResearch | 715-606-150 | Use at 1:1000, Lot: 140554, stock 1.4 mg/mL |
| Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium: Nutrient Mixture F-12 (DMEM/F12) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 11330-057 | |
| Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 14190-250 | Without Mg2+/Ca2+ |
| EGF | Fisher Scientific | AF-100-15-100ug | |
| Fetal Bovine Serum | VWR | 97068–085 | 100% US Origin, premium grade, Lot: 059B18 |
| Fluoromount-G (Southern Biotech) | Fisher Scientific | 0100-01 | Referred to as mounting media in text |
| Gentamicin | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 15710064 | |
| Glycine | Fisher Scientific | BP381-5 | |
| Goat anti-WAP | Santa Cruz Biotech | SC-14832 | Use at 1:250, Lot: J1011, stock 200 µg/mL, RRID:AB_677601 |
| Hoechst 33342 | AnaSpec | AS-83218 | Use 1:2000, stock is 20mM |
| Insulin | Millipore Sigma | I6634-100mg | |
| KCl | Fisher Scientific | P217-500 | |
| KH2PO4 | Fisher Scientific | P285-500 | |
| KRT14–CreERtam | The Jackson Laboratory | 5107 | |
| Matrigel Growth Factor Reduced (GFR); Phenol Red-Free; 10 mL | Fisher Scientific | CB-40230C | Lot: 8204010, stock concentration 8.9 mg/mL |
| MillexGV Filter Unit 0.22 µm | Millipore Sigma | SLGV033RS | |
| Millicell EZ SLIDE 8-well glass, sterile | Millipore Sigma | PEZGS0816 | These chamber slides are great for gasket removal but other brands can work well (e.g. Lab Tek II). |
| Mouse anti-SMA | Millipore Sigma | A2547 | Use at 1:500, Lot: 128M4881V, stock 5.2 mg/mL, RRID:AB_476701 |
| N-2 Supplement (100x) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 17502048 | |
| NaCl | Fisher Scientific | S671-3 | |
| NaH2PO4 | Fisher Scientific | S468-500 | |
| Nrg1 | R&D | 5898-NR-050 | |
| Ovine Pituitary Prolactin | National Hormone and Peptide Program | Purchased from Dr. Parlow at Harbor-UCLA Research and Education Institute | |
| Paraformaldahyde | Millipore Sigma | PX0055-3 | |
| Pentobarbital | Millipore Sigma | P3761 | |
| R26R-EYFP | The Jackson Laboratory | 6148 | |
| Rho inhibitor Y-27632 | Tocris | 1254 | |
| R-spondin | Peprotech | 120-38 | |
| Sodium Hydroxide | Fisher Scientific | S318-500 | |
| Sterile Filtered Donkey Serum | Equitech-Bio Inc. | SD30-0500 | |
| Sterile Filtered Donkey Serum | Equitech-Bio Inc. | SD30-0500 | |
| Triton X-100 | Millipore Sigma | x100-500ML | Laboratory grade |
| Trypsin EDTA 0.05% | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 25300-062 |
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