Isolation and Culture of Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages from Mice

Summary

The present protocol describes the isolation and culture of bone marrow-derived macrophages from mice.

Abstract

Macrophages have important effector functions in homeostasis and inflammation. These cells are present in every tissue in the body and have the important ability to change their profile according to the stimuli present in the microenvironment. Cytokines can profoundly affect macrophage physiology, especially IFN-γ and interleukin 4, generating M1 and M2 types respectively. Because of the versatility of these cells, the production of a population of bone marrow-derived macrophages can be a basic step in many experimental models of cell biology. The aim of this protocol is to help researchers in the isolation and culture of macrophages derived from bone marrow progenitors. Bone marrow progenitors from pathogen-free C57BL/6 mice are transformed into macrophages upon exposure to macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) that, in this protocol, is obtained from the supernatant of the murine fibroblast lineage L-929. After incubation, mature macrophages are available for use from the 7^th to the 10^th day. A single animal can be the source of approximately 2 x 10⁷ macrophages. Therefore, it is an ideal protocol for obtaining large amounts of primary macrophages using basic methods of cell culture.

Introduction

Monocytes and macrophages are mononuclear phagocytes that can be derived from progenitors in the bone marrow. Recent studies have reported that macrophages also originate from yolk sac-derived erythro-myeloid progenitors¹. Regardless of their derivation, these leukocytes have important effector functions in homeostasis and inflammation^2,3. Monocytes are cells from peripheral blood that can further differentiate into macrophages in the tissue^2,4, whereas macrophages are heterogeneous cells that exhibit phenotypes and functions regulated by the local exposure of growth factors and cytokines⁵. Since macrophages show such functional diversity, they have been studied in many disease models. Thus, the in vitro culture of macrophages has become an important tool for understanding their physiology and their role in different diseases. The bone marrow is an important source of progenitor cells, including macrophage progenitors, which can be isolated and multiplied, exponentially increasing the number of macrophages obtained. In addition, bone marrow-derived macrophages are especially important to avoid the effects generated by the tissue microenvironment, since macrophages change their phenotype in response to different stimuli in tissues^6,7. Bone marrow progenitors transform into macrophages upon exposure to macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)⁸. Bone marrow-derived macrophages cannot be distinguished from monocyte-derived macrophages by biochemical markers in tissue. These cells represent a highly homogeneous population of primary cells, that in many other respects are comparable to peritoneal macrophages^6,9.

Because of their heterogeneous set of cellular functions, macrophages have long been thoroughly studied by investigators. These cells can be used in different experimental models, including infectious and inflammatory diseases, as they feature in these processes^10,11. They can also be useful to investigate macrophage polarization in response to various microenvironmental stimuli^12,13. Thus, a simple and reliable protocol is provided here for the purpose of obtaining high numbers of primary macrophages from mouse bone marrow.

Protocol

This protocol was carried out in accordance with The National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation (Concea) and with the approval of the Ethics and Use of Animals Committee (CEUA). C57BL/6 mice were purchased from Biotério Central of Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Personal protective equipment (PPE) such as laboratory coats, gloves, and eye protection should be used at all steps described in this protocol. 1. Preparation of fibroblast…

Representative Results

Macrophages are large and adherent cells with special physiological characteristics. They show a diversity of morphologic presentations in culture because of the ability to adhere to glass and plastic, and their typical spread-out morphology is related to the emission of cytoplasmic extensions (Figure 1). Once bone marrow progenitors are exposed to M-CSF from L-929 cell supernatant and start the transformation to mature macrophages, they become adherent to the Petri plate. <p class="jove…

Discussion

Producing a population of bone marrow-derived macrophages is a basic step in many cell biology experimental models, especially when it is important to achieve a homogeneous population of primary cells. As mentioned, cell progenitors can only transform into macrophages in the presence of M-CSF. L-929 cell supernatants can be used as the main source of M-CSF. Other than the cost, there is no problem using recombinant M-CSF itself^8,17. There is some evidence that re…

Materials

20-cc syringe	DESCARPACK	SI100S4G	Sterile syringe
26-G needles	BD	497AQDKT7	Sterile needles
50-ml conical centrifuge tube	SARSTEDT	62547254	Plastic conical tubes suitable for centrifugation
70% ethanol solution	EMFAL	490	Ethanol solution for esterilization
Anatomical dissection forceps	3B SCIENTIFIC	W1670	Maintain in sterile beaker containing 70% ethanol solution
C57Bl/6 wild type mouse	Purchased from Biotério Central at Federal University of Minas Gerais	Not applicable	Mice must be specific-pathogen-free, age between 6 and 10 weeks. Mice need be accommodated at least one week earlier for recovering from the stress of transportation
Cell culture flask T175	GREINER	C7481-50EA	T-175 flask, canted neck, surface area 75 cm2, with filter cap, DNase free, RNase free
Cell culture flask T75	GREINER	C7231-120EA	T-75 flask, canted neck, surface area 75 cm2, with filter cap, DNase free, RNase free
Disinfecting or baby Wipes₁	CLOROX	Not applicable	It helps cleaning the bone
Distilled Water	GIBCO	15230	Sterile distilled water
DMEM/F12-10	Not applicable	Not applicable	Add 10 mL of Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) and 1 mL of Penicillin/ Streptomycin (P/S) to DMEM/F12 (q.s.p. 100 mL)
DMEM/F12-10 + supernatant of L-929 cells	Not applicable	Not applicable	Add 20% of supernatant of L929 cells culture on DMEM/F-12-10
Dulbecco′s Modified Eagle′s Medium – F12 (DMEM/F12)	GIBCO	12500096	DMEM: F-12 Medium contains 2.5 mM L-glutamine, 15 mM HEPES, 0.5 mM sodium pyruvate, and 1200 mg/L sodium bicarbonate.Resuspend powder to 1 liter of distilled water and add 3,7 g of sodium bicarbonate. Adjust pH to 7,2 and filter with 0,22 µM. Storage at 2 – 8 °C freezer
Fetal Bovine Serum, certified, heat inactivated, United States (FBS)	GIBCO	10082147	Enrichment for DMEM-F12
Hemocytometer	SIGMA-ALDRICH	Z359629	Used to count macrophages at microscopy
L-929 cells	SIGMA-ALDRICH	ATCC # CCL-1	L-929 is a lineage of mouse fibroblast cells used as a source of macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF)
Nikon TI eclipse	NIKON	Not applicable	Nikon TI Eclipse is a fluorescence and phase contrast microscope
Non-enzymatic cell dissociation solution	CELLSTRIPER (CORNING)	25-056-CI	Non-enzimatic cell dissociation solution remove macrophages from the plate without damaging them
Non-treated round culture dishes 100 × 20–mm	CORNING	CLS430591	Do not use tissue culture treated petri dishes or any tissue culture treated plate
P3199 Penicillin G Potassium Salt	USBIOLOGICAL	113-98-4	Antibiotics
Penicillin and streptomycin (P/S) solution			Use 0,26 grams of penicillin and 0,40 grams of streptomycin. Mix with 40 mL of sterile PBS. Inside a horizontal laminar flow cabinet, use a 0,22 µM filter and store aliquots of 1.0 mL in 1.5 ml microfuge tubes in the freezer (-20°C)
Phosphate Buffered Saline free from Calcium and Magnesium (PBS)	MEDIATECH	21-040-CM	Sterile
S7975 Streptomycin Sulfate, 650-850U/mg	USBIOLOGICAL	3810-74-0	Antibiotics
Serological pipettes of 10mL or 25 mL	SARSTEDT	861254001	Serological pipettes is used volumes higher than 1 mL
Sodium Bicarbonate	SIGMA-ALDRICH	144-55-8	pH correction for DMEM-F12
Software Nis Elements Viewer	NIKON	Not applicable	NIS-Elements Viewer is a free standalone program to view image files and datasets
Sterile PBS and 2% of P/S solution	LABORCRIN	590338	Add 1 mL of P/S in 40 mL of sterile PBS
Straight iris scissors	KATENA	Not applicable	Maintain in sterile beaker containing 70% ethanol solution
Supernatant of L-929 cells	Not applicable	Not applicable	L-929 is a lineage of mouse fibroblast cells used as a source of macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF). L-929 supernatant was obtain from the protocol
Surgical Scalpel Blade No.24 Stainless Steel	SWANN-MORTON	311	Used for exposing epiphysis from bones
Trypan Blue Solution, 0.4%	GIBCO	15250061	Trypan Blue Solution, 0.4%, is routinely used as a cell stain to assess cell viability using the dye exclusion test
Trypsin/EDTA solution 0,05%	GIBCO	25300-062	Used to dissociate cells from culture bottle
Water for Injection (WFI) for Cell Culture	GIBCO	A12873	Sterile and endotoxin-free water