Antigen Specific In Vivo Killing Assay using CFSE Labeled Target Cells
Summary
Many infections elicit a strong CTL response, but occasionally, the quantity of responding cells does not correlate to control of the pathogen1. One measure of CTL quality is their ability to kill specifically2. CFSE labeling of target cells can be used to investigate this CTL response quality in vivo3,4.
Abstract
Carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE) can be used to easily and quickly label a cell population of interest for in vivo investigation. This labeling has classically been used to study proliferation and migration. In the method presented here, we have shortened the timeline after adoptive transfer to look at survival and killing of epitope specific CFSE labeled target cells4-6. The level of specific killing of a CD8 + T cell clone can indicate the quality of the response, as their quantity may be misleading. Specific CD8+ T cells can become functionally exhausted over time with a decline in cytokine production and killing7,8. Also, certain CD8 + T cell clones may not kill as well as others with differing TCR specificities9. For effective Cell Mediated Immunity (CMI), antigens must be identified that produce not only adequate numbers of responding T cells, but also functionally robust responding T cells. Here we assess the percent cell specific killing of two peptide specific T cell clones in BALB/c mice.
Protocol
Discussion
This assay can be modified to investigate the proliferative capacity of cells, including clonal expansion, because CFSE divides relatively equally among progeny10,11. It is also possible to use CFSE labeling to investigate cell migration6,12, though there are other cell tracing methods that may be more appropriate depending on your hypothesis, for example tetramers and bioluminescence13, which also may be combined with CFSE labeling.
It is important to note th…
Divulgations
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Bianca Mothé, Carla Oseroff, and Marie-France DelGuercio for introducing me to immunological assays and mouse handling. Work in the lab of G. A. Splitter is funded by NIH grant 1-RO1-AI-073558, GLRCE grant 1-U54-AI-057153, and BARD US-3829-06.
Materials
| Material Name | Type | Company | Catalogue Number | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mm glass beads | Biospec Products | 11079110 | ||
| 70 μm cell strainer | BD Falcon | 352350 | ||
| 96-well plate | Costar | 3799 | ||
| Adjulite Incomplete Freund’s Adjuvant | Pacific Immunology | n/a | ||
| DMSO | Sigma | D-5879 | ||
| FBS | GIBCO | 16000-077 | ||
| FC 500 Flow Cytometer | Beckman Coulter | n/a | ||
| Kontes glass tissue grinder | Kontes | 885300-0015 | ||
| Mini Beadbeater | Biospec Products | n/a | ||
| Needle | B-D | 305175 | ||
| Parafilm “M” | Pechiney Plastic Packaging | PM992 | ||
| Paraformaldehyde | Electron Microscopy Sciences | 157-8 | ||
| PBS | GIBCO | 10010-023 | ||
| PharmLyse lysing reagent | BD Biosciences | 555899 | ||
| RPMI 1640 | GIBCO | 11875-093 | ||
| Syringe | B-D | 309602 | ||
| Vybrant CFSE Kit | Invitrogen (Molecular Probes) | V12883 |
References
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