Summary

Neonatal Mouse Bone Marrow Isolation and Preparation of Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages

Published: May 24, 2024
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Summary

This protocol describes a non-enzymatic and straightforward method for isolating 7-9-day-old neonatal mouse bone marrow cells and generating differentiated macrophages using a supernatant of L929 cells as a source of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). The bone marrow-derived macrophages were further analyzed for surface antigens F4/80, CD206, CD11b, and functional competency.

Abstract

Various techniques for isolating bone marrow from adult mice have been well established. However, isolating bone marrow from neonatal mice is challenging and time-consuming, yet for some models, it is translationally relevant and necessary. This protocol describes an efficient and straightforward method for preparing bone marrow cells from 7-9-day-old pups. These cells can then be further isolated or differentiated into specific cell types of interest. Macrophages are crucial immune cells that play a major role in inflammation and infection. During development, neonatal macrophages contribute significantly to tissue remodeling. Moreover, the phenotype and functions of neonatal macrophages differ from those of their adult counterparts. This protocol also outlines the differentiation of neonatal macrophages from the isolated bone marrow cells in the presence of L929-conditioned medium. Surface markers for differentiated neonatal macrophages were assessed using flow cytometric analysis. To demonstrate functionality, the phagocytic efficiency was also tested using pH-sensitive dye-conjugated Escherichia coli.

Introduction

Bone marrow encloses both hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cell populations that are self-renewable and can be differentiated into various cell lineages. Hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow give rise to myeloid and lymphoid lineages1. Mesenchymal stem cells produce osteoblasts (bone), adipocytes (fat), or chondrocytes (cartilage)2. These cells have multiple applications in the field of cell biology and tissue engineering, including gene therapy3,4. Progenitor cells present in the bone marrow differentiate into specific cell types in the presence of lineage-specific growth factors. Erythropoietin promotes the proliferation of erythroid progenitor cells, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) stimulates the growth of neutrophil colonies, and thrombopoietin regulates the production of platelets as a few examples of lineage-specific growth factors5. Cell surface antigen labeled FACS and magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) are well-established methods for isolation and purification of the specific bone marrow-derived cell types6.

Though neonatal studies are advancing toward finding the causes of neonatal deaths and addressing the complications during premature births, direct therapeutic development remains an unmet medical need. Smith and Davis stated, "Pediatric patients remain therapeutic orphans"7. There are several challenges, such as small samples, lifelong effects of the outcome, and ethical issues in obtaining consent in clinical studies of neonates8. Hence, there is a high demand for in vivo and in vitro study models specific to neonates to achieve translational relevance. Because of the similarities between anatomical and tissue levels, short gestational periods, and litter sizes, rodents are the most studied mammalian model system.

Here, we describe a detailed, highly feasible, and reproducible procedure for isolating bone marrow from 7-9-day-old mouse pups and their ability to differentiate into macrophages. However, a variety of cell lineages could be achieved with the use of distinct differentiation signals. We also demonstrate the presence of cell surface markers and the presence of in vitro phagocytic activity expected for bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs).

Protocol

All procedures were approved by the West Virginia Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees and were performed following the recommendations of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals by the National Research Council. C57BL/6J mouse pups were used for this study. The details of all the reagents and equipment used are listed in the Table of Materials. 1. Media preparation Prepare 3 mL of MEM culture media supplemented with 10% FBS, 2…

Representative Results

Using the method outlined in this study, 25 to 37 million bone marrow cells can be successfully isolated from a litter size of five C57BL/6 mouse pups. This method has been validated with litter sizes ranging from 5 to 7 pups. The minimum age for isolation in our experiments has been 7 days old. Depending on the litter size and the number of cells required for the experiment being less than a million, researchers could attempt this protocol for mice younger than 7 days old. In the presence of L929-cell supernatant as a s…

Discussion

Research involving neonatal mouse models can present a number of challenges. Neonates have a developing immune system that is unique compared to adults8. As such, data generated from adult animal models should not be assumed to apply to newborns, and several published works have articulated this idea well18,19. Therefore, neonatal-specific models and sources of cells are necessary to study the intricacies of the early-life immune response….

Divulgaciones

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [R01 AI163333] to CMR. We acknowledge additional funding support provided to the West Virginia University Flow Cytometry and Single Cell Core Facility by the following grants: WV CTSI grant GM104942, Tumor Microenvironment CoBRE grant GM121322 and NIH grant OD016165.

Materials

40 µm strainer Greiner 542040 Cell culture
96 well round (U) bottom plate Thermo Scientific 12-565-65 Cell culture
Anti-mouse CD11b-BV786 BD Biosciences 740861 FACS analysis
Anti-mouse CD206-Alexa Fluor488 BD Biosciences 141709 FACS analysis
Anti-mouse F4/80-PE BD Biosciences 565410 FACS analysis
Countess3 Thermo Scientific TSI-C3ACC Automated cell counter
DMEM Hyclone SH30022.01 Cell culture
DMSO VWR WN182 Cell culture
DPBS, 1x Corning 21-031-CV Cell culture
Escherichia coli O1:K1:H7 ATCC 11775 Infection
EVOS FL  Invitrogen 12-563-649 Cell Imaging System 
FBS Avantor  76419-584 Cell culture
FluoroBright BMDM Thermo fisher Scientific A1896701 Dye free culture media
Glutamine Cytiva SH30034.01 Cell culture
HEPES Cytiva SH30237.01 Cell culture
L-929 ATCC Differentiation
LSRFortessa Becton Dickinson Flowcytometer
Lysotracker red DND 99 Invitrogen L7528 Fluorescent dye
MEM Corning 15-010-CV Cell culture
Penicillin /streptomycin  Hyclone SV30010 Cell culture
pHrodo green STP ester  Invitrogen P35369 Fluorescent dye
T75 flask Cell star 658170 Cell culture
Trypsin-EDTA Gibco 25300120 Cell culture
Zeiss 710  Zeiss P20GM103434 Confocal

Referencias

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Annamanedi, M., Vance, J. K., Robinson, C. M. Neonatal Mouse Bone Marrow Isolation and Preparation of Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages. J. Vis. Exp. (207), e66613, doi:10.3791/66613 (2024).

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