scholarly journals Novel methods to establish whole-body primary cell cultures for the cnidarians Nematostella vectensis and Pocillopora damicornis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Nowotny ◽  
Michael T. Connelly ◽  
Nikki Traylor-Knowles

AbstractCnidarians are emerging model organisms for cell and molecular biology research. However, successful cell culture development has been challenging due to incomplete tissue dissociation and contamination. In this report, we developed and tested several different methodologies to culture primary cells from all tissues of two species of Cnidaria: Nematostella vectensis and Pocillopora damicornis. In over 170 replicated cell cultures, we demonstrate that physical dissociation was the most successful method for viable and diverse N. vectensis cells while antibiotic-assisted dissociation was most successful for viable and diverse P. damicornis cells. We also demonstrate that a rigorous antibiotic pretreatment results in less initial contamination in cell cultures. Primary cultures of both species averaged 12–13 days of viability, showed proliferation, and maintained high cell diversity including cnidocytes, nematosomes, putative gastrodermal, and epidermal cells. Overall, this work will contribute a needed tool for furthering functional cell biology experiments in Cnidaria.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Nowotny ◽  
Michael T. Connelly ◽  
Nikki Traylor‑Knowles

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 551-551
Author(s):  
Drahomíra Faktorová ◽  
R. Ellen R. Nisbet ◽  
José A. Fernández Robledo ◽  
Elena Casacuberta ◽  
Lisa Sudek ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishal Shinde ◽  
Nara Sobreira ◽  
Elizabeth S Wohler ◽  
George Maiti ◽  
Nan Hu ◽  
...  

Abstract Keratoconus is a common corneal defect with a complex genetic basis. By whole exome sequencing of affected members from 11 multiplex families of European ancestry, we identified 23 rare, heterozygous, potentially pathogenic variants in 8 genes. These include nonsynonymous single amino acid substitutions in HSPG2, EML6 and CENPF in two families each, and in NBEAL2, LRP1B, PIK3CG and MRGPRD in three families each; ITGAX had nonsynonymous single amino acid substitutions in two families and an indel with a base substitution producing a nonsense allele in the third family. Only HSPG2, EML6 and CENPF have been associated with ocular phenotypes previously. With the exception of MRGPRD and ITGAX, we detected the transcript and encoded protein of the remaining genes in the cornea and corneal cell cultures. Cultured stromal cells showed cytoplasmic punctate staining of NBEAL2, staining of the fibrillar cytoskeletal network by EML6, while CENPF localized to the basal body of primary cilia. We inhibited the expression of HSPG2, EML6, NBEAL2 and CENPF in stromal cell cultures and assayed for the expression of COL1A1 as a readout of corneal matrix production. An upregulation in COL1A1 after siRNA inhibition indicated their functional link to stromal cell biology. For ITGAX, encoding a leukocyte integrin, we assayed its level in the sera of 3 affected families compared with 10 unrelated controls to detect an increase in all affecteds. Our study identified genes that regulate the cytoskeleton, protein trafficking and secretion, barrier tissue function and response to injury and inflammation, as being relevant to keratoconus.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Dolat ◽  
Raphael H. Valdivia

ABSTRACTOur understanding of how the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis reprograms the cell biology of host cells in the upper genital tract is largely based on observations made in cell culture with transformed epithelial cell lines. Here we describe a primary spherical organoid system derived from endometrial tissue to recapitulate epithelial cell diversity, polarity, and ensuing responses to Chlamydia infection. Using high-resolution and time-lapse microscopy, we catalogue the infection process in organoids from invasion to egress, including the reorganization of the cytoskeleton and positioning of intracellular organelles. We show this model is amenable to screening C. trachomatis mutants for defects in the fusion of pathogenic vacuoles, the recruitment of intracellular organelles, and inhibition of cell death. Moreover, we reconstructed a primary immune cell response by co-culturing infected organoids with neutrophils, and determined that the effector TepP limits the recruitment of neutrophils to infected organoids. Collectively, our model details a system to study the cell biology of Chlamydia infections in three dimensional structures that better reflect the diversity of cell types and polarity encountered by Chlamydia upon infection of their animal hosts.Summary statement3D endometrial organoids to model Chlamydia infection and the role of secreted virulence factors in reprogramming host epithelial cells and immune cell recruitment


The adrenal gland is an endocrine gland, which in the process of organogenesis is formed from ecto- and mesoderm derivatives. The mechanisms that make cell types of different origins unite, migration routes, and cell interactions are still not fully understood. One of the tools for studying these mechanisms is the primary cell culture obtained from the adrenal gland. The aim of our work was to compare the morphological features of primary cell cultures of model animals belonging to different orders – pigs, rabbits and mice in vitro under various cultivation conditions (growth surface pattern, presence of growth factors), as well as developing methodological approaches for obtaining and maintaining primary cultures of adrenal cell of neonatal animals. Cultivation was performed under standard conditions of temperature and humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, on culture surfaces with normal and reduced adhesiveness in a nutrient medium DMEM enriched with 10% fetal calf serum (FTS) or growth supplements B-27 and FGF. It was established that cell cultures of adrenal neonatal rabbits and piglets that were cultured under conditions of normal adhesion and using FCS had a heterogeneous composition, and were presented as a monolayer consisting of cells of several morphological types, and multicellular spheroids (MS). When cultivated on the surface with reduced adhesive properties in cultures of adrenal glands of piglets and rabbits, a cell monolayer was not formed, but flotation MCs were formed. After transferring MCs of both species to the adhesive culture surface on day 14, cell eviction, their migration from the MCs and formation of a monolayer are observed. Similar stages in the development of primary cell cultures derived from rabbits and piglets suggest the existence of a universal cellular composition in the neonatal adrenal glands of these species and allow applying the same approaches to the primary cultures derived from them. Unlike other studied species, monolayer and MS formation does not occur in cell cultures of mouse neonatal adrenal glands. Cultures consist of single attached and floating cells and small cell aggregates.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1392-1403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Kolotuev

AbstractTransmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an important tool for studies in cell biology, and is essential to address research questions from bacteria to animals. Recent technological innovations have advanced the entire field of TEM, yet classical techniques still prevail for most present-day studies. Indeed, the majority of cell and developmental biology studies that use TEM do not require cutting-edge methodologies, but rather fast and efficient data generation. Although access to state-of-the-art equipment is frequently problematic, standard TEM microscopes are typically available, even in modest research facilities. However, a major unmet need in standard TEM is the ability to quickly prepare and orient a sample to identify a region of interest. Here, I provide a detailed step-by-step method for a positional correlative anatomy approach to flat-embedded samples. These modifications make the TEM preparation and analytic procedures faster and more straightforward, supporting a higher sampling rate. To illustrate the modified procedures, I provide numerous examples addressing research questions in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila. This method can be equally applied to address questions of cell and developmental biology in other small multicellular model organisms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liao ◽  
Solenne Ithurbide ◽  
Roshali T. de Silva ◽  
Susanne Erdmann ◽  
Iain G. Duggin

The tubulin superfamily of cytoskeletal proteins is widespread in all three domains of life — Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. Tubulins build the microtubules of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton, whereas members of the homologous FtsZ family construct the division ring in prokaryotes and some eukaryotic organelles. Their functions are relatively poorly understood in archaea, yet these microbes contain a remarkable diversity of tubulin superfamily proteins, including FtsZ for division, a newly described major family called CetZ that is involved in archaeal cell shape control, and several other divergent families of unclear function that are implicated in a variety of cell envelope-remodelling contexts. Archaeal model organisms, particularly halophilic archaea such as Haloferax volcanii, have sufficiently developed genetic tools and we show why their large, flattened cells that are capable of controlled differentiation are also well suited to cell biological investigations by live-cell high-resolution light and electron microscopy. As most archaea only have a glycoprotein lattice S-layer, rather than a peptidoglycan cell wall like bacteria, the activity of the tubulin-like cytoskeletal proteins at the cell envelope is expected to vary significantly, and may involve direct membrane remodelling or directed synthesis or insertion of the S-layer protein subunits. Further studies of archaeal cell biology will provide fresh insight into the evolution of cells and the principles in common to their fundamental activities across the full spectrum of cellular life.


2020 ◽  
Vol 202 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank D. Müller ◽  
Dirk Schüler ◽  
Daniel Pfeiffer

ABSTRACT Magnetotactic bacteria are aquatic or sediment-dwelling microorganisms able to take advantage of the Earth’s magnetic field for directed motility. The source of this amazing trait is magnetosomes, unique organelles used to synthesize single nanometer-sized crystals of magnetic iron minerals that are queued up to build an intracellular compass. Most of these microorganisms cannot be cultivated under controlled conditions, much less genetically engineered, with only few exceptions. However, two of the genetically amenable Magnetospirillum species have emerged as tractable model organisms to study magnetosome formation and magnetotaxis. Recently, much has been revealed about the process of magnetosome biogenesis and dedicated structures for magnetosome dynamics and positioning, which suggest an unexpected cellular intricacy of these organisms. In this minireview, we summarize new insights and place the molecular mechanisms of magnetosome formation in the context of the complex cell biology of Magnetospirillum spp. First, we provide an overview on magnetosome vesicle synthesis and magnetite biomineralization, followed by a discussion of the perceptions of dynamic organelle positioning and its biological implications, which highlight that magnetotactic bacteria have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to construct, incorporate, and inherit a unique navigational device. Finally, we discuss the impact of magnetotaxis on motility and its interconnection with chemotaxis, showing that magnetotactic bacteria are outstandingly adapted to lifestyle and habitat.


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