Kupffer cells, resident tissue macrophages that line the liver sinusoids, play a key role in modulating inflammation in a number of experimental models of liver injury. Since Kupffer cells represent only a small portion of the entire liver cell population, greatly outnumbered by the parenchymal cells, Kupffer cell isolation faces major technical obstacles. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) offers a method of isolating a single cell type from specific regions of tissue sections.
A research team led by Dr Stephen H Gregory from United States outlines isolation of Kupffer using LCM. This will be published on April 14, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
LCM is an essential approach used in conjunction with molecular analysis to study the functional interaction of cells in their native tissue environment. The process of labeling and acquiring cells by LCM prior to mRNA isolation can be elaborate, thereby subjecting the RNA to considerable degradation. Kupffer cell labeling was achieved by injecting India ink intravenously, thus circumventing the need for in vitro staining. The significance of this novel approach was validated using a cholestatic liver injury model.
They found that mRNA extracted from the microdissected cell population displayed marked increases in colony stimulating factor-1 receptor and Kupffer cell receptor message expression, which demonstrated Kupffer cell enrichment. Gene expression by Kupffer cells derived from bile-duct-ligated, versus sham-operated, mice was compared. Microarray analysis revealed a significant (2.5-fold, q value < 10) change in 493 genes. Based on this fold-change and a standardized PubMed search, 10 genes were identified that were relevant to the ability of Kupffer cells to suppress liver injury
The methodology outlined herein provides an approach to isolating high quality RNA from Kupffer cells, without altering the tissue integrity.
Reference: Gehring S, Sabo E, San Martin ME, Dickson EM, Cheng CW, Gregory SH. Laser capture microdissection and genetic analysis of carbon-labeled Kupffer cells. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15(14): 1708-1718 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/15/1708.asp
Correspondence to: Dr. Stephen H Gregory, Department of Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 432 Pierre M. Galletti Building, 55 Claverick Street, Providence, RI 02903, United States. sgregory@lifespan.org
About World Journal of Gastroenterology
World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection and provides a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.
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World Journal of Gastroenterology