Here we describe a protocol for establishing and culturing human- and mouse-derived 3-dimensional (3D) gastric organoids, and the method for the transfer of 3D organoids to a 2-dimensional monolayer. The use of the gastric epithelial monolayer as a novel scratch-wound assay for regeneration studies is also described.
In vitro studies of gastric wound repair typically involves the use of gastric cancer cell lines in a scratch-wound assay of cellular proliferation and migration. One critical limitation of such assays, however, is their homogenous assortment of cellular types. Repair is a complex process which demands the interaction of several cell types. Therefore, to study a culture devoid of cellular subtypes, is a concern that must be overcome if we are to understand the repair process. The gastric organoid model may alleviate this issue whereby the heterogeneous collection of cell types closely reflects that of the gastric epithelium or other native tissues in vivo. Demonstrated here is a novel, in vitro scratch-wound assay derived from human or mouse 3-dimensional organoids which can then be transferred to a gastric epithelial monolayer as either intact organoids or as a single cell suspension of dissociated organoids. The goal of the protocol is to establish organoid-derived gastric epithelial monolayers that can be used in a novel scratch-wound assay system to study gastric regeneration.
The use of scratch-wound assays is a popular method for studying repair and regeneration1,2,3,4,5,6. The proposed methodology may be used to specifically study gastric regeneration and Helicobacter pylori colonization. In the past, gastric cancer cell lines have been used as a means to study Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection1,2 and up until recently gastric cancer cell lines such as AGS cells were favored1,2,3,4. One limitation of the gastric cancer cell cultures is their failure to recapitulate the cellular diversity of the gastric epithelium. To try to address this limitation, demonstrated here is the establishment and transfer of primary human- and mouse-derived 3-dimensional fundic gastric organoids (FGOs) to a gastric epithelial monolayer for wound healing assays based on a modified method first described by Schlaermann et al.7 We demonstrate that gastric epithelial monolayers derived from sheared 3D gastric FGOs or FGO-derived single cells retain a polarized cellular composition that closely represents that of the gastric epithelium in vivo. Given that gastric cancer cell lines do not demonstrate the cell composition this technique displays, the current protocol has an advantage over alternative scratch-wound assay methods. This methodology has been optimized whereby monolayers can be established from whole organoids or from a single cell suspension from dissociated organoids and plated using a basement membrane matrix or collagen-coating. The overall goal of this protocol is to establish an organoid derived gastric epithelial monolayer cultures for a novel wound healing assay.
To avoid contamination, perform protocol in its entirety within a sterile tissue culture hood. Human fundic tissue was collected from patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy according to the approved University of Cincinnati IRB protocol (IRB protocol number: 2015 – 4869).
All mouse studies were approved by the University of Cincinnati Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) that maintains an American Association of Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) facility.
1. Establishing Human-derived 3D Gastric Fundic Organoids
NOTE: This protocol is based upon research previously published in this lab8.
2. Establishing Mouse-derived 3D Gastric Fundic Organoids
NOTE: This protocol has been previously published 6. Thaw basement membrane matrix on the ice and prepare all reagents before beginning.
3. Collagen Coating for 2D Transfer
NOTE: Perform all procedures in a sterile tissue culture hood unless otherwise specified. Begin collagen coating 24 h before transferring 3D organoids to the monolayer. Keep the rat tail collagen on the ice and shielded from light. Collagen coated plates are good for up to 2 weeks. If not using the coated plates immediately, wrap the plate in parafilm and store at 4 °C until needed.
4. Basement Membrane Matrix Coating for 2D Transfer
NOTE: Perform all procedures in a sterile tissue culture hood unless otherwise specified. Begin basement membrane matrix coating 2 h before transferring 3D organoids to the monolayer. Keep the basement membrane matrix on ice. Coated plates are to be used immediately and cannot be stored for an extended period of time.
5. Transfer of 3D m/hFGOs to 2D Gastric Epithelial Cell Monolayers
6. Scratch Wound Assay Using 2D Gastric Epithelial Cell Monolayers
Organoids were derived from either the corpus/body of the human or fundus of the mouse stomach tissues (Figure 1A). After either collagenase or EDTA digestion of human- or mouse-derived stomach tissue respectively, glands are embedded into basement membrane matrix and cultured for 6 – 7 days (Figure 1A). Figure 1B demonstrates the formation of human-derived gastric organoids (huFGOs) that have then been transferred to a gastric epithelial monolayer (huGEM) on basement membrane matrix-coated chamber slides. After 4 days of culture, confluent huGEMs were used for scratch wound assays (Figure 1B). Images collected from a time lapse analysis of the huGEM showed wound closure within the culture over a period of 24 hours (Figure 2).
HuGEMs were found to express the major cell lineages found in the native stomach tissue. Immunofluorescence staining revealed the expression of a polarized E cadherin-positive monolayer that consisted of the parietal (Figure 3B, C) and the surface mucous (Figure 3B, D) cells. PCR analysis using RNA collected from these monolayers confirmed the expression of parietal and surface mucous cells, in addition to the chief and mucous neck cells (Figure 3E). Confluent huGEMs also expressed few proliferating cells (Figure 3F). Analysis of these major cell lineages within the scratch wound assay revealed sustained expression of parietal, chief, mucous neck surface mucous cells over a 24 hour time period (Figure 4A, B). Collectively, these data demonstrate the use of huGEMs as novel culture system to study gastric regeneration in vitro.
Figure 1: Generation of human-derived gastric organoids (huFGO) and primary gastric epithelial monolayers (huGEM). (A) Representative images of human gastric tissue and mouse stomach used to generate glands for organoid culture. Outlined area indicates fundic region of the mouse stomach. (B) Generation of human-derived gastric organoids (huFGOs) that are used for the culture of human-derived gastric epithelial monolayers (huGEMs). Representative image of huGEM after scratch showing the wounded area. Scale bar = 500 μm Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Scratch-wound assay. Representative images collected from a time lapse experiment using huGEM 0, 8, 16, and 24 h after scratch wound. Scale bar = 500 μm Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: Expression of major cell lineages in huGEM cultures. Immunofluorescence staining of huGEM cultures demonstrating the expression of (A) E cadherin (Ecad, red), surface mucous cells (UEAI, green) and nuclei (Hoechst, blue), and (B) E cadherin (Ecad, red), parietal cells (HK, green) and nuclei (Hoechst, blue). Separate channels are shown in (C) and (D). (E) RT-PCR was performed using RNA extracted from huGEMs for the expression of H+K+-ATPase (ATP4a), pepsinogen C (PgC), MUC5AC, and MUC6. (F) Proliferating cells within the huGEM culture determined by EdU (red) uptake. Scale bar (A-D) = 50 μm, Scale bar (F) = 100 μm. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4: Changes in cell lineage expression in the scratch-wound assay. Immunofluorescence staining of huGEM cultures demonstrating the expression of E cadherin (Ecad, red) or surface mucous cells (UEAI, green) or parietal cells (HK, green) and nuclei (Hoechst, blue) using slides collected from huGEM cultures 0, 8, 16, and 24 hrs post scratch-wound. Bkgrd = background staining of basement membrane matrix on slides. XY-axis scale bar from 0 – 400 μm. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Mouse 3D Media | Stock Solution | Working Concentration |
nAcetylcysteine | Powder | 1 mM |
Gastrin | 10 µM | 10 nM |
EGF | 500 µg/mL | 50 ng/mL |
Noggin | 100 µg/mL | 100 ng/mL |
FGF10 | 100 µg/mL | 100 ng/mL |
YCMD | 10 mM | 10 µM |
B27 | 50x | 1x |
N2 | 100x | 1x |
Pen/Strep | 1 M | 10 mM |
HEPES | 1 M | 10 mM |
Glutamax | 200 mM | 2 mM |
WNT | 50% v/v | |
R-Spondin | 10% v/v |
Table 1: Mouse 3D Media Components.
Mouse 2D Media | Stock Solution | Working Concentration |
FCS | 100% | 10% |
YCMPD | 10 mM | 10 µM |
Gastrin | 10 µM | 10 nM |
EGF | 500 µg/mL | 50 ng/mL |
B27 | 50x | 1x |
N2 | 100x | 1x |
Pen/Strep | 1 M | 10 mM |
HEPES | 1 M | 10 mM |
Glutamax | 200 mM | 2 mM |
TGF-β inhibitor | 10 mM | 1 µM |
Table 2: Mouse 2D Media Components.
Human 3D Media | Stock Solution | Working Concentration |
Nicotinamide | Powder | 10 mM |
nAcetylcysteine | Powder | 1 mM |
Gastrin | 10 µM | 1 nM |
EGF | 500 µg/mL | 50 ng/mL |
Noggin | 100 µg/mL | 100 ng/mL |
FGF10 | 100 µg/mL | 200 ng/mL |
YCMD | 10 mM | 10 µM |
B27 | 50x | 1x |
N2 | 100x | 1x |
Pen/Strep | 1 M | 10 mM |
HEPES | 1 M | 10 mM |
Glutamax | 200 mM | 2 mM |
Kanamycin | 1 M | 10 mM |
Amphotericin B/Gentamycin | 125 µg/mL | 1 mM |
WNT | 50% v/v | |
R-Spondin | 10% v/v |
Table 3: Human 3D Media Components.
Human 2D Media | Stock Solution | Working Concentration |
FCS | 100% | 10% |
YCMPD | 10 mM | 10 µM |
Gastrin | 10 µM | 1 nM |
EGF | 500 µg/mL | 50 ng/mL |
B27 | 50x | 1x |
N2 | 100x | 1x |
Pen/Strep | 1 M | 10 mM |
HEPES | 1 M | 10 mM |
Glutamax | 200 mM | 2 mM |
TGF-β inhibitor | 10 mM | 1 µM |
Nicotinamide | Powder | 10 mM |
Kanamycin | 1 M | 10 mM |
Table 4: Human 2D Media Components.
Experimental Problem | Troubleshooting Tip |
Monolayers fail to form from organoids | 1) Optimal culturing conditions for this protocol vary between experimental needs. Human and mouse monolayers derived from organoids should be cultured using diluted basement membrane matrix when using glass or plastic culture dishes. However, rat tail collagen is optimal for monolayer experiments of mouse or human origin that require polyester membrane inserts. 2) Optimal culturing conditions vary depending on the experimental set up. Cultures using single cell suspension are ideally cultured with 3D FGO media whereas intact organoids are cultured with 2D FGO media. |
Monolayers derived from aged patients (>55 years) or mice (>18 months) failed to grow and reach confluency | If using stomach tissue collected from aged mice (>18 months) or patients (>55 years) the density of organoids used for the generation of the monolayer should be doubled given that the growth efficiency of organoids is decreased. |
Organoids fail to form from glands | It is recommended that fresh (newly purchased if possible) gastrin be used. Use freshly re-suspended gastrin every 4 months. |
Organoids fail to attach and form monolayers | Ensure that efficient removal of basement membrane matrix has been achieved after harvesting organoids for the transfer to culture plates for monolayers. |
Cultures derived from aged patients (>55 years) or mice (>18 months) fail | During the digestion and incubation periods, 15 – 30 min of initial incubation followed by 5 min intervals of incubation as necessary is sufficient. It should be noted that patients greater than 55 years of age may have glands that are more easily dissociated and therefore require less digestion. Similarly, FGOs derived from aged patients have displayed slower growth time and increased sensitivity to centrifugation. To obtain the best results, limit any excess centrifugation when working with aged tissue and replace media in a timely manner. |
Table 5: Troubleshooting Tips. Encountered issues and recommended resolutions for optimal establishment and culture of human or mouse gastric monolayers.
The current protocol details the establishment of human- and mouse-derived gastric epithelial monolayers that can be used for scratch-wound assays. The protocol depends on the concept of resident stem cell isolation from primary human (or mouse) tissues and is a modified protocol first published by Schlaermann et al7. In particular, we have optimized the protocol here to establish a confluent and polarized gastric epithelial monolayer which expresses the major cell lineages which can be found within the gastric epithelium in vivo. Gastric ulcer repair is a complex process that involves tissue re-epithelialization, regeneration, and proliferation9,10,11. In particular, our laboratory has reported that regeneration of the gastric epithelium coincides with the emergence of spasmolytic polypeptide/trefoil factor (TFF) 2-expressing metaplasia (SPEM) at the ulcer margin within the regenerating gastric glands12,13. SPEM is defined as the transdifferentiation of the chief cell lineage into a mucous cell metaplasia14 that emerges with injury and disappears when the mucosa returns to its normal cellular composition12. Thus, to study such a mechanism in an in vitro system, it is essential that the major cell lineages, such as the chief cells, are present within the culture.
The use of scratch-wound assays have been extensively used for the study of repair and regeneration, and up until recently, gastric cancer cell lines were used1,2,3,4. While fundamental mechanisms have been revealed using gastric cancer cells lines, these cultures are transformed and lack the cellular diversity of the native stomach tissue. HuGEMs are shown to retain a polarized and diverse cellular composition that closely recapitulates the gastric epithelium in vivo. Additionally, after reaching confluency huGEM cultures can be maintained for up to one month in optimal conditions. Extended cultures allow for long term experiments. Thus, future applications of the huGEMs that may be considered include monolayer/immune cell co-cultures and long term experiments for the study of Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis.
There are important technical aspects to note in the current protocol. The first technical point is that the choice of basement membrane component varies depending on the cell culture surface that is to be used for experiments. To ensure that optimum monolayer conditions are reached, it is recommended that collagen is used when experiments with monolayers require plates with polyester membrane inserts. However, if monolayer experiments require glass or plastic culture surfaces, diluted basement membrane matrix is the optimal choice of coating. Second, the density of organoids required to reach a confluent monolayer must be adjusted depending on the age of the patient from which the gastric tissue is collected. For tissue collected from aged mice (>18 months) or patients (>55 years), the organoid density used should be increased twofold when transferring to a monolayer due to the decreased growth capacity in aged individuals. During digestion and incubation of human tissue derived from aged patients, glands may be more susceptible to dissociation and centrifugation and therefore: 1) should be centrifuged as sparingly as possible, 2) media replaced diligently, and 3) during digestion incubations of 15 to 30 minutes with incremental digestions of 5 minutes afterwards will decrease the likelihood of over digestion. Finally, when forming monolayers from organoid-derived single cell suspensions, 3D FGO media is most optimal for proper formation of monolayers whereas when culturing from intact organoids, 2D FGO media has been observed to yield the highest efficiency.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This work was supported by NIH (NIDDK) 5 R01 DK083402-07 grant (YZ).
Advanced Dulbecco's modified Eagle/F12 medium (basal media) | Life Technologies | 12634-010 | |
GlutaMAX (L-glutamine) | Life Technologies | 25030-081 | |
Penicillin/Streptomycin | Thermo Scientific | SV30010 | |
Amphotericin B/Gentamicin | Thermo Scientific | R01510 | |
Kanamycin | Thermo Fisher | RO1510 | |
HEPES Buffer | Sigma Aldrich | H0887 | |
n-Acetylcystine | Sigma Aldrich | A9165 | |
N2 | Life Technologies | 17502-048 | |
B27 | Life Technologies | 12587-010 | |
BMP Inhibitor (Noggin) | Pepro Tech | 250-38 | |
Gastrin | Tocris | 3006 | |
EGF | Pepro Tech | 315-09 | |
FGF10 | Pepro Tech | 100-26 | |
Nicotinamide | Sigma Aldrich | N0636 | |
Y-27632 ROCK Inhibitor | Sigma Aldrich | Y0503 | |
TGF-β Inhibitor | Tocris | 2939 | |
Ca2+/Mg2+ -free DPBS | Fisher | 21-031CV | |
Dulbecco's modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) | Life Technologies | 12634-010 | |
Fetal Bovine Serum | FBS | ||
OPTIMEM | Invitrogen | ||
0.22µM filter | Fisher | 099-720-004 | |
37 °C Water Bath | |||
Collagenase Type 1 | Worthington | LS004214 | |
Bovine Serum Albumin | Sigma Aldrich | A9418 | |
Kimwipes (tissue paper) | Fischer Scientific | 06-666C | |
125 mL round bottom flask | |||
1 in (25 mm) stir bar | |||
Rubber Septa | |||
Sterile Gauze | |||
Stir Plate | |||
Ring Stand | |||
Ring Stand Clamps | |||
Sterile petri dish | |||
18 G needles of 1.5 in length | Thermo Fisher | 305196 | |
20 G spinal needles of 3.5 in length | Thermo Fisher | 405182 | |
12-well cell culture treated plate | Midwest Scientific | 92012 | |
Growth Factor Reduced, Phenol Red-free MatrigelTM (Basement membrane matrix) | Fisher | CB-40230C | |
Sterile Razor Blades | |||
Wide-tip tweezers | |||
Curved Hemostatic Forceps | |||
200 µL wide pipette tips | Thermo Fisher | 02-707-134 | |
5 mL cell culture test tubes | Fisher | 14-956-3C | |
Oxygen Tank with rubber hosing | |||
1 g D-Sorbitol | |||
Sucrose | Fisher | SS-500 | |
Dissecting microscope | |||
Dissecting Tray | |||
Rocking Table | |||
Rat Tail Collagen Type 1 | Life Technologies | A10483-01 | |
Cell culture grade glacial acetic acid | Fisher | A38-212 | |
Cell culture grade water | Corning | 25-055-CV | |
2-well chamber slide | Thermo Fisher | 155380 | |
12-well Transwell (polyester membrane inserts) | Corning | 3460 | |
Cell scraper | Corning | 353086 | |
Accutase (cell detachment solution) | Stemcell Technologies | 7920 | |
263/8 G syringe | Thermo Fisher | 309625 | |
Razor blade | |||
L Cells | L cells, a Wnt3a producing cell line, were received as a gift from Dr. Hans Clevers (Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research, Netherlands). | N/A | |
HEK-293T Rspondin secreting cells | A modified HEK-293T R-spondin secreting cell line was obtained from Dr. Jeff Whitsett (Section of Neonatology, Perinatal and Pulmonary Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre and The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, USA ). | N/A | |
HK-ATPase Primary Antibody | Invitrogen | SC-374094 | |
E-Cadherinn | SantaCruz | sc-59778 | |
UEA1 | Sigma Aldrich | L9006 | |
Hoechst 33342 | Thermo Fisher | H3570 | |
Alexafluor 488 secondary antibody (Donkey anti-mouse 488 secondary antibody) | ThermoFisher Scientific | R37114 |