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Crouch EE, Diafos LN, Valenzuela EJ, Wedderburn-Pugh K, Birrueta JO, Caston J, Joseph T, Andrews MG, Bhaduri A, Huang EJ. Profiling human brain vascular cells using single-cell transcriptomics and organoids. Nat Protoc 2024; 19:603-628. [PMID: 38102365 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00929-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Angiogenesis and neurogenesis are functionally interconnected during brain development. However, the study of the vasculature has trailed other brain cell types because they are delicate and of low abundance. Here we describe a protocol extension to purify prenatal human brain endothelial and mural cells with FACS and utilize them in downstream applications, including transcriptomics, culture and organoid transplantation. This approach is simple, efficient and generates high yields from small amounts of tissue. When the experiment is completed within a 24 h postmortem interval, these healthy cells produce high-quality data in single-cell transcriptomics experiments. These vascular cells can be cultured, passaged and expanded for many in vitro assays, including Matrigel vascular tube formation, microfluidic chambers and metabolic measurements. Under these culture conditions, primary vascular cells maintain expression of cell-type markers for at least 3 weeks. Finally, we describe how to use primary vascular cells for transplantation into cortical organoids, which captures key features of neurovascular interactions in prenatal human brain development. In terms of timing, tissue processing and staining requires ~3 h, followed by an additional 3 h of FACS. The transplant procedure of primary, FACS-purified vascular cells into cortical organoids requires an additional 2 h. The time required for different transcriptomic and epigenomic protocols can vary based on the specific application, and we offer strategies to mitigate batch effects and optimize data quality. In sum, this vasculo-centric approach offers an integrated platform to interrogate neurovascular interactions and human brain vascular development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth E Crouch
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Biomedical Science Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Loukas N Diafos
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Edward J Valenzuela
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kaylee Wedderburn-Pugh
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Biomedical Science Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Janeth Ochoa Birrueta
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jaela Caston
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Biomedical Science Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Tara Joseph
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Madeline G Andrews
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Aparna Bhaduri
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Eric J Huang
- The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Biomedical Science Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Pathology Service 113B, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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Omar OMF, Kimble AL, Cheemala A, Tyburski JD, Pandey S, Wu Q, Reese B, Jellison ER, Li Y, Hao B, Yan R, Murphy PA. Targeted inCITE-Seq Analysis Identifies the Loss of Nuclear TDP-43 in Endothelium as a Mediator of Blood Brain Barrier Signaling Pathway Dysfunction in Neurodegeneration. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.13.571178. [PMID: 38168276 PMCID: PMC10760156 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.13.571178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Despite the importance of the endothelium in the regulation of the blood brain barrier (BBB) in aging and neurodegenerative disease, difficulties in extracting endothelial cell (EC) nuclei have limited analysis of these cells. In addition, nearly all Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD), and a large portion of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) exhibit neuronal TDP-43 aggregation, leading to loss of nuclear function, but whether TDP-43 is similarly altered in human BBB ECs is unknown. Here we utilize a novel technique for the enrichment of endothelial and microglial nuclei from human cortical brain tissues, combined with inCITE-seq, to analyze nuclear proteins and RNA transcripts in a large cohort of healthy and diseased donors. Our findings reveal a unique transcriptional signature in nearly half of the capillary endothelial cells across neurodegenerative states, characterized by reduced levels of nuclear β-Catenin and canonical downstream genes, and an increase in TNF/NF-kB target genes. We demonstrate that this does not correlate with increased nuclear p65/NF-kB, but rather a specific loss of nuclear TDP-43 in these disease associated ECs. Comparative analysis in animal models with targeted disruption of TDP-43 shows that this is sufficient to drive these transcriptional alterations. This work reveals that TDP-43 is a critical governor of the transcriptional output from nuclear p65/NF-kB, which has paradoxical roles in barrier maintenance and also barrier compromising inflammatory responses, and suggests that disease specific loss in ECs contributes to BBB defects observed in the progression of AD, ALS and FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar M F Omar
- Center for Vascular Biology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
| | - Amy L Kimble
- Center for Vascular Biology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
| | - Ashok Cheemala
- Center for Vascular Biology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
| | - Jordan D Tyburski
- Center for Vascular Biology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
| | - Swati Pandey
- Center for Vascular Biology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
| | - Qian Wu
- Department of Pathology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
| | - Bo Reese
- Center for Genome Innovation, University of Connecticut, Storrs CT
| | - Evan R Jellison
- Department of Immunology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
| | - Yunfeng Li
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Farmington CT
| | - Bing Hao
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Farmington CT
| | - Riqiang Yan
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
| | - Patrick A Murphy
- Center for Vascular Biology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
- Department of Immunology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington CT
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Franco-Acevedo A, Pathoulas CL, Murphy PA, Valenzuela NM. The Transplant Bellwether: Endothelial Cells in Antibody-Mediated Rejection. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2023; 211:1276-1285. [PMID: 37844279 PMCID: PMC10593495 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2300363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Ab-mediated rejection of organ transplants remains a stubborn, frequent problem affecting patient quality of life, graft function, and grant survival, and for which few efficacious therapies currently exist. Although the field has gained considerable knowledge over the last two decades on how anti-HLA Abs cause acute tissue injury and promote inflammation, there has been a gap in linking these effects with the chronic inflammation, vascular remodeling, and persistent alloimmunity that leads to deterioration of graft function over the long term. This review will discuss new data emerging over the last 5 y that provide clues into how ongoing Ab-endothelial cell interactions may shape vascular fate and propagate alloimmunity in organ transplants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana Franco-Acevedo
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | | | - Patrick A Murphy
- Center for Vascular Biology, University of Connecticut Medical School, Farmington, CT
| | - Nicole M Valenzuela
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
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