Cell Preparation:
Cell Fixation and Immunofluorescent Staining:
Note: Staining time is ~2.5 hours post-fixation. Do not allow wells to dry out between staining steps. Aspiration and dispensation of reagents should be conducted at low flow rates to diminish any cell loss due to fluid shear. All recommended ‘per well’ volumes refer to a single well of a 96-well microplate. All recommended ‘per 96-well plate’ volumes include 25% excess for liquid handling volume loss. All staining steps are performed at room temperature (RT). All buffers and antibody solutions are stable for at least 24 hours at RT.
Image Acquisition and Analysis:
HCS222 Image Acquisition Guidelines | |||
Detection Reagent | Objective Lens | Excitation Filter Range [peak/bandwidth (nm)] | Emission Filter Range [peak/bandwidth (nm)] |
Hoechst HCS Nuclear Stain | 20X | 360/40 | 460/40 (or 535/50 if necessary) |
HCS Secondary Antibody, FITC-Donkey anti-Rabbit IgG | 20X | 480/40 | 535/50 |
HCS Secondary Antibody, Cy3-Donkey anti-Mouse IgG | 20X | 535/50 | 600/50 |
HCS222 Image Analysis Guidelines |
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Cell Parameter | Detection | Segmentation/ Measurement | Rationale |
Cell Number, Nuclear Characteristics | Hoechst HCS Nuclear Stain | Nuclear region (460 nm emission channel). Count number of nuclei. DNA content (nuclear intensity) or nuclear area analyses are also possible. | Use cell number, nuclear characteristics to determine cell loss, toxicity phenotypes, etc. Can “filter” nuclei for those associated with βIII-tubulin or GFAP expression to obtain separate neuronal and astrocytic cell counts/characterizations (strongly recommended). |
βIII-Tubulin Expression, Neurite Outgrowth | HCS Secondary Antibody, FITC-conjugated | Cytoplasmic region (535 nm emission channel). FITC signal may be used to distinguish neuronal cell bodies from neurites (e.g., via minimum/average cell body areas, minimum/maximum neurite lengths and widths). Determine parameters such as total neurite length, neurite counts/cell, etc. | Neurite outgrowth measurements may be modulated during neuronal differentiation or as a result of chemical injury, disease states, etc. Can “filter” cell bodies for those associated with βIII-tubulin expression to obtain distinct neuronal characterization (strongly recommended). |
GFAP Expression, Astrocyte Area |
HCS Secondary Antibody, Cy3-conjugated |
Cytoplasmic region (600 nm emission channel). Cy3 signal may be used to define astrocytic cytoplasmic segmentation. Determine parameters such as average cytoplasmic signal intensity, cell area, etc. | GFAP expression and astrocyte cell area may be modulated during astrocyte development or as a result of chemical injury, disease states, etc. Can “filter” cell bodies for those associated with GFAP expression to obtain distinct astrocytic characterization (strongly recommended). |
Table 1. Image Acquisition and Analysis Guidelines – HCS222 βIII-Tubulin/GFAP (Co-Culture) Assay
Representative Results:
Figure 1. βIII-tubulin and GFAP immunofluorescence of mixed rat neural cell cultures.
Co-cultures of primary rat hippocampal astrocytes with either primary rat hippocampal neurons or rat PC12 cells were generated by pre-plating astrocytes for several days in culture, followed by neuronal seeding. Primary neurons were cultured for an additional 11 days, while PC12s were cultured for an additional 2 days under differentiation conditions (low serum/NGF). Cell handling, fixation and immunostaining were performed according to HCS222 assay protocols. Cells were imaged on the GE IN Cell Analyzer 1000 (3.3) at 20X (primary neurons) or 10X (PC12) objective magnification and analyzed using the GE IN Cell Analyzer 1000 Workstation (3.4) Neurite Outgrowth and Multi Target Analysis algorithms. Top panel: Fused images of Hoechst HCS Nuclear Stain (blue), βIII-tubulin (green) and GFAP (red) fluorescence. Separate analysis of the βIII-tubulin fluorescence channel allows for neurite outgrowth segmentation (middle panel: cell bodies outlined in blue (primary neurons) or yellow (PC12), neurites in green (primary neurons) or light blue (PC12)). Analysis of the GFAP channel allows for astrocyte segmentation (bottom panel: nuclei outlined in blue, cytoplasm in green). GFAP segmentation for the primary rat hippocampal neuron/astrocyte co-culture demonstrates the ability to distinguish between nuclei/cell bodies that are GFAP (+) (green outlines) and those that are GFAP (-) (red), enabling separate cell counts for neurons and astrocytes in a mixed culture setting.
Figure 2. Dose responses of primary rat hippocampal neuron/astrocyte co-cultures to toxic stresses.
Primary rat hippocampal astrocytes (P6) were plated on 96-well plates in growth media and cultured for 6 days. Primary rat hippocampal neurons (direct from thaw) were then seeded on top of pre-plated astrocytes and cultured in growth media for 11 days. Cells were treated with serial dilutions of acrylamide or hydrogen peroxide (max. concentrations = 100mM and 10mM, respectively) for the last 24 hours of culture. Cell handling, fixation and immunostaining were performed according to HCS222 assay protocols. Cells were imaged on the GE IN Cell Analyzer 1000 (3.3) at 20X (10 fields/well) and analyzed (nuclear/cytoplasmic/neurite segmentation) using the GE IN Cell Analyzer 1000 Workstation (3.4) Neurite Outgrowth and Multi Target Analysis algorithms. Data presented are mean ± SEM, n = 3. Multiple parameters (neurite outgrowth, GFAP intensity, astrocyte area and neuronal or astrocytic cell counts) were investigated for dose-dependent trends.
Material Name | Tipo | Company | Catalogue Number | Comment |
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Rabbit Anti-βIII-Tubulin HCS Primary Antibody, 100X | Part No. CS201672 | 1 vial containing 300 µL Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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HCS Secondary Antibody (donkey anti-rabbit IgG, FITC conjugate), 200X | Part No. CS201649 | 1 vial containing 150 µL Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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Mouse Anti-GFAP HCS Primary Antibody, 100X | Part No. CS201671 | 1 vial containing 300 µL Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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HCS Secondary Antibody (donkey anti-mouse IgG, Cy3 conjugate), 200X | Part No. CS200437 | 1 vial containing 150 µL Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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Hoechst HCS Nuclear Stain, 200X | Part No. CS200438 | 1 vial containing 150 µL Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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HCS Fixation Solution with Phenol Red, 2X | Part No. CS200434 | 1 bottle containing 100 mL Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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HCS Immunofluorescence Buffer, 1X | Part No. CS200435 | 1 bottle containing 1000 mL Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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HCS Wash Buffer, 1X | Part No. 2007643 | 1 bottle containing 500 mL Millipore HCS222 Kit Components |
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Acrylamide (Control Compound), 10X | Part No. CS201679 | 1 vial containing 500 µL of 1M acrylamide in dH2O Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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Hydrogen Peroxide (Control Compound), 10X | Part No. CS201730 | 1 vial containing 500 µL of 100 mM hydrogen peroxide in dH2O Millipore HCS222 Kit Components |
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K-252a (Control Compound), 250X | Part No. CS201741 | 1 vial containing 100 µL of 250 µM K-252a in DMSO Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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DMSO for Compound Serial Dilution | Part No. CS200441 | 1 bottle containing 10 mL Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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Compound Dilution Buffer | Part No. CS200442 | 1 bottle containing 25 mL Millipore HCS222 Kit Component |
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Plate Sealers | Part No. CS200443 | 10 each Millipore HCS222 Kit Components |
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tissue culture-treated black/clear bottom microplates | ||||
HCS imaging/analysis system |