Phagosomal pH influences phagosome maturation, oxidant production, phagosomal killing as well as antigen presentation. Here we describe a ratiometric method for measuring time-course and endpoint pH changes in individual phagosomes in living phagocytes using fluorescence microscopy.
Fagocitosi è un processo fondamentale attraverso il quale le cellule immunitarie innate fagocitare batteri, cellule apoptotiche o altre particelle estranee al fine di uccidere o neutralizzare il materiale ingerito, o di presentarlo come antigeni e di avviare le risposte immunitarie adattive. Il pH di fagosomi è un parametro critico regolazione fissione o fusione con endomembrane e l'attivazione degli enzimi proteolitici, eventi che permettono al vacuolo fagocitosi di maturare in un organello degradativa. Inoltre, è richiesto di traslocazione H + per la produzione di elevati livelli di specie reattive dell'ossigeno (ROS), che sono essenziali per l'uccisione efficiente e segnalazione ad altri tessuti dell'ospite. Molti patogeni intracellulari sovvertono uccisione fagocitico limitando phagosomal acidificazione, sottolineando l'importanza del pH in phagosome biologia. Qui si descrive un metodo per misurare raziometrica phagosomal pH nei neutrofili con fluoresceina isotiocianato (FITC) -labeled zymosan come phagocytic targETS e live-cell imaging. Il saggio si basa sulle proprietà di fluorescenza di FITC, che si spegne da pH acido quando eccitato a 490 nm ma non quando eccitato a 440 nm, permettendo la quantificazione di un rapporto pH-dipendente, piuttosto che di fluorescenza assoluta, di un singolo colorante. Viene inoltre fornito un protocollo dettagliato per l'esecuzione in loco di calibrazione tintura e la conversione del rapporto di valori reali di pH. Single-dye metodi raziometriche sono generalmente considerati superiori a singola lunghezza d'onda o protocolli pseudo-raziometrico dual-dye, in quanto sono meno sensibili alle perturbazioni, come lo sbiancamento, concentrarsi modifiche, variazioni laser, e l'etichettatura irregolare, che distorcono il segnale misurato. Questo metodo può essere facilmente modificato per misurare il pH in altri tipi di cellule fagocitiche e zymosan può essere sostituita da qualsiasi altra particella contenente ammina, da perline inerti ai microrganismi viventi. Infine, questo metodo può essere adattato a fare uso di altre sonde fluorescenti sensibili a diversi intervalli di pH o altri phagosomattività al, rendendolo un protocollo generale per l'imaging funzionale di fagosomi.
Phagocytosis, the process through which innate immune cells engulf large particles, evolved from the eating mechanism of single-celled organisms, and involves binding to a target, enveloping it with a membrane and pinching the membrane off to form a vacuole within the cytosol called a phagosome. While the phagosomal membrane is derived from the plasma membrane, active protein and lipid sorting, as well as fusion with endomembranes during phagosome formation, transform the phagosome into a distinct organelle within the cell with degradative properties that allow the killing, neutralization and breakdown of the ingested material1-3. This process, called phagosomal maturation, relies on the delivery of a host of proteolytic and microbicidal enzymes, including the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase which transfers electrons into phagosomes producing the strong oxidant O2– and its derivative reactive oxygen species (ROS) 2,4.
The luminal pH of phagosomes has a profound influence on several events required for phagosome function. First, pH influences trafficking of endomembranes in general, as pH-dependent conformational changes of transmembrane trafficking regulators alters the recruitment of trafficking determinants such as Arfs, Rabs and vesicular coat-proteins, which in turn define which vesicles may fuse with phagosomes 5-8. Second, the ionic composition of the phagosomal lumen is also transformed as phagosomes mature, and some ion transporters, such as the Na+/H+ exchanger or ClC family Cl–/H+ antiporters, which promote phagocytic function, rely on H+ translocation 9,10. Similarly, ROS production is intimately linked with phagosomal pH. ROS and its toxic oxidant byproducts have long been recognized as crucial for phagosomal killing in neutrophils 4,11,12, and have been shown to play critical roles in other phagocytes including macrophages, dendritic cells (DCs) and amoeba 13-16. The NADPH oxidase is an electrogenic enzyme that releases H+ in the cytosol as NADPH is consumed, and that requires the simultaneous transfer of H+ through companion HVCN1 channels alongside the transported electrons into the phagosomal lumen, in order to alleviate the massive depolarization that would otherwise lead to self-inhibition of the enzyme 17-21. Finally, several proteolytic enzymes have optimal activity at different pH, so time-dependent phagosomal pH changes can influence which enzymes are active and when. The importance of phagosomal pH is highlighted by organisms such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Franciscella tularensis and Salmonella typherium that subvert phagocytic killing at least in part by altering phagosomal pH 22-24.
In mammals the main phagocytes are neutrophils, macrophages and dendritic cells, and depending on cell type, time-dependent phagosomal pH changes can vary widely, and appear to play different roles. In macrophages a strong and rapid acidification mediated by the ATP-dependent proton pump vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) is one of the key factors mediating killing 25-27, resembling the mechanisms present in amoeba that use phagocytosis as an eating mechanism 28. In these cells activation of acidic proteases is thought to play a key role. In contrast, neutrophil killing relies more on ROS as well as HOCl produced by myeloperoxidase (MPO)11, and the pH remains neutral or alkaline during the first 30 min acidifying only later 29,30. Neutral pH has been suggested to favor the activity of oxidative proteases such as certain cathepsins. In DCs phagosomal pH is controversial, with some reporting acidification and others neutral or alkaline pH 31,32, but ROS and pH may profoundly influence the ability of these cells to present antigens to T cells, one of their main functions 33.
Importantly, hormones, chemokines and cytokines may produce signaling events that induce maturation and changes in phagocyte behavior, and in turn influence phagosomal pH 34,35. Similarly, drugs, for example the antimalarial chloroquine, which is also considered for anti-cancer therapies 36, may affect phagosomal pH and therefore immune outcomes. Thus, a variety of cell biologists, immunologists, microbiologists and drug developers may be interested in measuring phagosomal pH when seeking to understand the mechanisms underlying the effects of a particular genetic disruption, bioactive compound or microorganism on innate and adaptive immune responses.
Here we describe a method for measuring phagosomal pH in neutrophils that allowed us to show the importance of the HVCN1 channel in regulating neutrophil phagosomal pH 19. The method is based on the ratiometric property of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) whose fluorescence emission at 535 nm is pH sensitive when excited at 490 nm but not 440 nm 37. When this dye is chemically coupled to a target, in this case zymosan, it can be followed using wide-field fluorescence microscopy, where cells are imaged as they phagocytose, and phagosomal pH changes are measured in real time as the phagosome matures. The actual pH is then gleaned by performing a calibration experiment where cells that have phagocytosed are exposed to solutions of different pH that contain the ionophores nigericin and monensin, that allow the rapid equilibration of the pH within phagosomes with the external solution. Ratio values are then compared to the known pH of solutions, a calibration curve is constructed by nonlinear regression and the resulting equation used to calculate pH from the ratio value.
Sebbene più tempo rispetto metodi alternativi, come la spettroscopia e FACS, che impiegano una simile strategia di utilizzo di un colorante sensibile al pH accoppiato obiettivi ma misurano il pH medio di una popolazione di fagosomi, microscopia offre diversi vantaggi. Prima è che interno ed esterno vincolati, ma non interiorizzato, le particelle possono essere facilmente distinguibili, senza dover aggiungere altre sostanze chimiche, come trypan blu o di anticorpi, per placare o etichettare particelle esterne, rispetti…
The authors have nothing to disclose.
The authors are financially supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation through an operating grant N° 31003A-149566 (to N.D.), and The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Overseas Trust through a Young Investigator Subsidy (to P.N.).
Zymosan A powder | Sigma-Aldrich | Z4250 | Various providers exist |
Fluorescein isothiocyanate | Sigma-Aldrich | F7250 | Various providers exist |
Anti-zymosan antibody (Zymosan A Bioparticles opsonizing reagent) | Life Technologies | Z2850 | Sigma-Aldrich O6637 is an equivalent product. Alternatively 25% serum can be used as an opsonizing reagent. |
4-Aminobenzoic hydrazide (4-ABH) | Santa Cruz | sc-204107 | Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist |
Diphenyleneiodonium chloride (DPI) | Sigma-Aldrich | D2926 | Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist |
Concanamycin A (ConcA) | Sigma-Aldrich | 27689 | Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist |
Nigericin | Sigma-Aldrich | N7143 | Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist |
Monensin | Enzo | ALX-380-026-G001 | Toxic, use gloves, various providers exist |
Phosphate buffered saline (PBS) | Life Technologies | 14200-075 | Various providers exist |
Hank's balance salt solution | Life Technologies | 14025092 | Ringer's balanced salt solution or other clear physiological buffers may be substituted. |
Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) | Sigma-Aldrich | S7795 | Various providers exist |
2-(N-Morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid (MES) | Sigma-Aldrich | M3671 | Various providers exist |
4-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) | Sigma-Aldrich | H3375 | Various providers exist |
N-Methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG) | Sigma-Aldrich | M2004 | Various providers exist |
Ethylene glycol-bis(2-aminoethylether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) | Sigma-Aldrich | 3777 | Various providers exist |
Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) | Sigma-Aldrich | T1503 | Various providers exist |
Potassium chloride (KCl) | Sigma-Aldrich | P9333 | Various providers exist |
Sodium chloride (NaCl) | Sigma-Aldrich | S7653 | Various providers exist |
Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) | Sigma-Aldrich | M8266 | Various providers exist |
Absolute Ethanol (EtOH) | Sigma-Aldrich | 2860 | Various providers exist |
Glass-bottom 35 mm petri dishes (Fluorodish) | World Precision Instruments | FD35-100 | Ibidi µ-clear dishes or coverslips with appropriate imaging chambers may be sustituted |
Sonicating water bath | O. Kleiner AG | A sonicator may be used instead, various instrument providers exist | |
Heamocytometer | Marienfeld GmbH | Various instrument providers exist | |
Widefield live imaging microscope | Carl Zeiss AG | Various instrument providers exist, but the microscope must be able to image 440/535 and 490/535 excitation/emission respective. Spinning disk confocal set-ups with brightfield capabilities may substituted, but zymosan tend to go out of focus more often. | |
Peristaltic pump (Dynamax RP-1) | Rainin | Various instrument providers exist | |
pH meter | Schott Gerate GmbH | Various instrument providers exist | |
Manual Counter | Milian SA | Various instrument providers exist |