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Serial cultivation of strains of human epidermal keratinocytes: the formation of keratinizing colonies from single cells.

Human diploid epidermis epidermal cells have been successfully grown in serial culture. To initiate colony formation, they require the presence of fibroblasts, but proliferation of fibroblasts must be controlled so that the epidermal cell population is not overgrown. Both conditions can be achieved by the use of lethally irradiated 3T3 cells at the correct density. When trypsinized human skin cells are plated together with the 3T3 cells, the growth of the human fibroblasts is largely suppressed, but epidermal cells grow from single cells into colonies. Each colony consists of keratinocytes ultimately forming a stratified squamous epithelium in which the dividing cells are confined to the lowest layer(s). Hydrocortisone is added to the medium, since in secondary and subsequent subcultures it makes the colony morphology more oderly and distinctive, and maintains proliferation at a slightly greater rate. Under these culture conditions, it is possible to isolate keratinocyte clones free of viable fibroblasts. Like human diploid fibroblasts, human diploid keratinocytes appear to have a finite culture lifetime. For 7 strains studied, the culture lifetime ranged from 20-50 cell generations. The plating efficiency of the epidermal cells taken directly from skin was usually 0.1-1.0%. On subsequent transfer of the cultures initiated from newborns, the plating efficiency rose to 10% or higher, but was most often in the range of 1-5% and dropped sharply toward the end of their culture life. The plating efficiency and culture lifetime were lower for keratinocytes of older persons.

Age Factors↗

Dissociated single cells from the inner ear: strial cells.

Using the enzyme dissociation technique, the authors successfully isolated strial marginal cells and intermediate cells from guinea pig and chinchilla cochleas. Dissociated cells were maintained for in vitro observation under the light microscope for up to 2 hours without gross evidence of cell damage. Such single cells were successfully prepared for scanning or transmission electron microscopic observation, which showed excellent cell shape and preservation of cell organelles. However, there was evidence of increased vesiculation in the dissociated marginal cells, which is interpreted to be evidence of increased pinocytotic activity.

Animals↗

A single cell gel electrophoresis technique for the detection of DNA damage induced by ACNU, an alkylating agent or irradiation in murine glioma cell lines.

A simple and convenient technique for in situ quantification of DNA damage induced by 1-(4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl) methyl-3-(2-chloro-ethyl)-3-nitrosourea hydrochloride (ACNU) an alkylating agent, or irradiation was demonstrated in C6 glioma cells using a single cell gel electrophoresis. Treatment with ACNU or irradiation caused a dose dependent DNA damage which was detected by measuring the length of migration of fragmentary DNA in individual cells. Wild type C6 cells treated with ACNU (0, 10, 30, 60 micrograms ml-1) for one hour showed longer distance of migration of DNA than the ACNU-resistant subtype cells (C6R), indicating that ACNU-sensitive C6 cells were more vulnerable to ACNU than C6R cells. The results of DNA migration in C6 and C6R cells treated with ACNU were consistent with that from MTT assay which had been regarded as a standard method for chemosensitivity test. Furthermore, a time course study for DNA repair activity of C6 and C6R cells was also performed by measuring the length of DNA migration after incubation (0, 15, 30, 60, 120 min) of cells treated with 60 micrograms ml-1 ACNU. C6R cells repaired DNA damage more rapidly than C6 cells. In addition, the technique was also used to measure the DNA damage in C6 cells exposed to 0, 2, 6, 8, 10 Gy of x-ray irradiation, and a dose-dependent DNA migration after radiation injury was observed. This technique appears to be simple and useful for assessing chemosensitivity or radiosensitivity in individual glioma cells.

Alkylating Agents↗

Single cell analysis of daunomycin uptake and efflux in multidrug-resistant and -sensitive KB cells: effects of verapamil and other drugs.

The accumulation of daunomycin in drug-sensitive and multidrug-resistant human KB cells was examined using light microscopy to detect the inherent fluorescence of daunomycin. Intracellular accumulation of fluorescent drug occurred rapidly in parental KB cells and was markedly reduced in several multidrug-resistant mutants. The addition of verapamil, which reverses multidrug resistance, resulted in increased accumulation of daunomycin in resistant cells. In living cells, most of the daunomycin was found in the nucleus, but significant amounts were detected associated with the plasma membrane, in the cytoplasm, in organelles of the Golgi region, and in lysosomes. The nuclear fluorescence was measured using a photometer system, and the loss of daunomycin from the cells was determined under various conditions. When sensitive cells were allowed to accumulate daunomycin for 5 min at 37 degrees C and then placed in medium without the drug, daunomycin remained inside the nuclei for longer than 1 day. When resistant cells were loaded in the presence of verapamil and the verapamil was removed, the resistant cells lost daunomycin with a half-time of about 1 min. The continuous presence of verapamil markedly inhibited the loss of daunomycin from the cells. Similar results were obtained in separate experiments using [3H]daunomycin. Vinblastine, vincristine, and quinidine were also effective in stimulating daunomycin accumulation in multidrug-resistant cells and in preventing the loss of daunomycin from these resistant cells. This effect required half-maximal concentrations of 1-2 microM for verapamil, vinblastine, and quinidine. Ouabain, lanthanum, colchicine, amiloride, probenecid, and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine had no effect on this process. Quinine was effective at 10 microM and nifedipine was effective at 50 microM. Depletion of cellular adenosine triphosphate levels by preincubation of cells with azide and 2-deoxyglucose partially inhibited daunomycin loss from resistant cells. These single-cell measurements indicate that diminished daunomycin accumulation in multidrug-resistant cells results from accelerated energy-dependent efflux across the plasma membrane, and this efflux is inhibited by verapamil, quinidine, vincristine, and vinblastine.

Biological Transport↗

Automated single-cell sorting system based on optical trapping.

We provide a basis for automated single-cell sorting based on optical trapping and manipulation using human peripheral blood as a model system. A counterpropagating dual-beam optical-trapping configuration is shown theoretically and experimentally to be preferred due to a greater ability to manipulate cells in three dimensions. Theoretical analysis performed by simulating the propagation of rays through the region containing an erythrocyte (red blood cell) divided into numerous elements confirms experimental results showing that a trapped erythrocyte orients with its longest axis in the direction of propagation of the beam. The single-cell sorting system includes an image-processing system using thresholding, background subtraction, and edge-enhancement algorithms, which allows for the identification of single cells. Erythrocytes have been identified and manipulated into designated volumes using the automated dual-beam trap. Potential applications of automated single-cell sorting, including the incorporation of molecular biology techniques, are discussed.

Automation↗

Measuring single-cell susceptibility to antibiotics within monoclonal bacterial populations.

The emergence of new resistant bacterial strains is a worldwide challenge. A resistant bacterial population can emerge from a single cell that acquires resistance or persistence. Hence, new ways of tackling the mechanism of antibiotic response, such as single cell studies are required. It is necessary to see what happens at the single cell level, in order to understand what happens at the population level. To date, linking the heterogeneity of single-cell susceptibility to the population-scale response to antibiotics remains challenging due to the trade-offs between the resolution and the field of view. Here we present a platform that measures the ability of individual E. coli cells to form small colonies at different ciprofloxacin concentrations, by using anchored microfluidic drops and an image and data analysis pipelines. The microfluidic results are benchmarked against classical microbiology measurements of antibiotic susceptibility, showing an agreement between the pooled microfluidic chip and replated bulk measurements. Further, the experimental likelihood of a single cell to form a colony is used to provide a probabilistic antibiotic susceptibility curve. In addition to the probabilistic viewpoint, the microfluidic format enables the characterization of morphological features over time for a large number of individual cells. This pipeline can be used to compare the response of different bacterial strains to antibiotics with different action mechanisms.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Proteoform profiling of endogenous single cells from rat hippocampus at scale.

We perform intact proteoform profiling of 10,809 endogenous single cells from the rat hippocampus using single-cell proteoform imaging mass spectrometry (scPiMS). scPiMS directly extracts whole proteins and demonstrates high throughput for MS-based single-cell proteomics compared with existing approaches. We develop an informatics workflow dedicated to this datatype and use it to assign neurons, astrocytes or microglia cell types according to their proteoform signatures.

Animals↗

AgentCell: a digital single-cell assay for bacterial chemotaxis.

MOTIVATION: In recent years, single-cell biology has focused on the relationship between the stochastic nature of molecular interactions and variability of cellular behavior. To describe this relationship, it is necessary to develop new computational approaches at the single-cell level. RESULTS: We have developed AgentCell, a model using agent-based technology to study the relationship between stochastic intracellular processes and behavior of individual cells. As a test-bed for our approach we use bacterial chemotaxis, one of the best characterized biological systems. In this model, each bacterium is an agent equipped with its own chemotaxis network, motors and flagella. Swimming cells are free to move in a 3D environment. Digital chemotaxis assays reproduce experimental data obtained from both single cells and bacterial populations.

Algorithms↗

Toward efficient analysis of mutations in single cells from ethanol-fixed, paraffin-embedded, and immunohistochemically stained tissues.

Only a few studies have demonstrated successful molecular analysis after whole genome amplification using single cells dissected from paraffin-embedded tissues. The results in these studies were limited by low-amplification efficiency and high rates of allele dropout. In the present study, the amplification rate using a thoroughly modified primer extension and preamplification-PCR protocol was improved significantly for single cells microdissected from paraffin-embedded and immunohistochemically stained tissues. Tissue fixation with ethanol (85%) and the addition of 0.2 mmol/L EDTA helped to achieve an amplification rate between 67% (segments 200 to 400 bp) and 72% (segments <200 bp). Normal tissue sections were immunohistochemically double stained for overabundance of p53 protein and proliferating cell nuclear antigen. Microdissection of single cells was performed with a manual micromanipulator equipped with a Tungsten needle. Sequence analysis of the TP53 gene was performed after improved primer extension preamplification-PCR and multiplex PCR from single microdissected cells. The rate of allele dropout was at least 68%. These technical advances facilitate routine mutation analysis using a single cell or a few cells microdissected from routinely processed paraffin-embedded normal and tumor tissues. Allele dropout still represents a serious problem in single-cell mutation analysis, especially in samples with limited template DNA and prone to DNA damage.

Breast↗

Trajectory inference from single-cell genomics data with a process time model.

Single-cell transcriptomics experiments provide gene expression snapshots of heterogeneous cell populations across cell states. These snapshots have been used to infer trajectories and dynamic information even without intensive, time-series data by ordering cells according to gene expression similarity. However, while single-cell snapshots sometimes offer valuable insights into dynamic processes, current methods for ordering cells are limited by descriptive notions of "pseudotime" that lack intrinsic physical meaning. Instead of pseudotime, we propose inference of "process time" via a principled modeling approach to formulating trajectories and inferring latent variables corresponding to timing of cells subject to a biophysical process. Our implementation of this approach, called Chronocell, provides a biophysical formulation of trajectories built on cell state transitions. The Chronocell model is identifiable, making parameter inference meaningful. Furthermore, Chronocell can interpolate between trajectory inference, when cell states lie on a continuum, and clustering, when cells cluster into discrete states. By using a variety of datasets ranging from cluster-like to continuous, we show that Chronocell enables us to assess the suitability of datasets and reveals distinct cellular distributions along process time that are consistent with biological process times. We also compare our parameter estimates of degradation rates to those derived from metabolic labeling datasets, thereby showcasing the biophysical utility of Chronocell. Nevertheless, based on performance characterization on simulations, we find that process time inference can be challenging, highlighting the importance of dataset quality and careful model assessment.

Single-Cell Analysis↗

Phototoxicity to diuretics and antidiabetics in the cultured keratinocyte cell line HaCaT: evaluation by clonogenic assay and single cell gel electrophoresis Comet assay).

BACKGROUND: Potential phototoxicity has been described for a number of drugs and chemical substances. Psoralens, chlorpromazines and fluoroquinolones have been described as inducing photomutagenicity and photocarcinogenicity in vitro and in vivo. We wanted to investigate oral antidiabetics and diuretics for potential phototoxicity and possible DNA damage in the HaCaT cell line. METHODS: : The oral antidiabetics tolbutamide, glibenclamide and glipizide, and the diuretics bendroflumethiazide, butizide, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide and trichlormethiazide were dissolved in DMSO to final concentrations of 1 mM, 0.1 mM, and 0.01 mM, incubated together with the cells, and exposed to UVA1 (23 or 48 J/cm2). Cell survival was evaluated in a clonogenic assay and phototoxic DNA damage was investigated by single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay). To investigate possible inhibiting effects of antioxidants, L-ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol were added at a final concentration of 1 mM 24 h before treatment with the drugs. RESULTS: Bendroflumethiazide, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, trichlormethiazide and tolbutamide induced dose-dependent phototoxicity in the clonogenic assay. Cells incubated with bendroflumethiazide, tolbutamide and glibenclamide and irradiated with UVA1 demonstrated increased oxidative DNA damage, revealed as alkali-labile sites in the comet assay. Pretreatment with L-ascorbic acid or alpha-tocopherol suppressed the UVA-induced DNA damage in cells incubated with 1 mM bendroflumethiazide, furosemide, glibenclamide, glipizide, tolbutamide or trichloromethiazide. CONCLUSION: Several oral antidiabetics and diuretics show phototoxic effects in the HaCaT cell line. Inhibiting effects of antioxidants point towards involvement of reactive oxygen species in phototoxic DNA damage, suggesting a link between the phototoxic and photocancerogenic potential of the sulfonamide-derived oral antidiabetic and diuretic drugs. Excessive exposure to UV light may be deleterious for patients treated with oral antidiabetic and diuretic drugs.

Cell Death↗

[Application of single cell gelelectrophoresis assay in environmental hygiene].

The single cell gelelctrophoresis assay is a rapid, simple and sensitive technique for measuring DNA damage and repair at the single cell level. It is introduced into environmental hygiene and plays an important role in many aspects such as detecting and evaluating the genotoxity of environmental toxic substances. In this paper, the underlying principles of this assay in detecting DNA damage and repair, and its application in environmental hygiene are reviewed.

Air Pollutants↗

[Preliminary exploration of the influence factors on amplification of single cell duplex-nested PCR].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence factors on amplification of single cell duplex-nested PCR. METHODS: The mutational loci region CD41-42 and IVS-II 654 of beta-globin gene were amplified by duplex-nested PCR with different combination of primers concentration, different Taq DNA polymerases, different neutralization buffers and with or without predenaturation at 98 degrees C before the PCR amplification in single lymphocyte or single blastomere, thus, to investigate the influence of these factors on the amplification efficiency of PCR. RESULTS: TaKaRa EX Taq was the most efficient Taq DNA polymerase among different Taq DNA polymerases; primer pair R1+F1 at final concentration of 0.25 micromol/L and R2+F2 at 0.3 micromol/L were the most efficient ones in amplification among different combinations of primers concentrations; the amplification efficiency in neutralization buffer-1 (200 mmol/L Tricine) was obviously higher than that of neutralization buffer-2 (900 mmol/L Tris-HCl, pH 8.3/300 mmol/L KCl/200 mmol/L HCl)(P<0.05); there were no remarkable differences of the amplification efficiency while using whether predenaturation at 98 degrees C before the single cell PCR amplification or not (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: There were remarkable differences of the amplification efficiency of single cell duplex-nested PCR while using different combination of primers concentrations, different Taq DNA polymerases, different neutralization buffers. However, predenaturation at 98 degrees C before the single cell PCR amplification could not improve the PCR amplification efficiency.

Humans↗

Detailed investigation of factors influencing amplification efficiency and allele drop-out in single cell PCR: implications for preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of single gene disorders relies on PCR-based tests performed on single cells (polar bodies or blastomeres). Despite the use of increasingly robust protocols, allele drop-out (ADO; the failure to amplify one of the two alleles in a heterozygous cell) remains a significant problem for diagnosis using single cell PCR. In extreme cases ADO can affect >40% of amplifications and has already caused several PGD misdiagnoses. We suggest that an improved understanding of the origins of ADO will allow development of more reliable PCR assays. In this study we carefully varied reaction conditions in >3000 single cell amplifications, allowing factors influencing ADO rates to be identified. ADO was found to be affected by amplicon size, amount of DNA degradation, freezing and thawing, the PCR programme, and the number of cells simultaneously amplified. Factors found to have little or no affect on ADO were local DNA sequence, denaturing temperature (94 or 96 degrees C) and cell type. Consideration of the causal factors identified during this study should permit the design of PGD protocols that experience little ADO, thus improving the accuracy of PGD for single gene disorders.

Alleles↗

Unsupervised multiscale clustering of single-cell transcriptomes to identify hierarchical structures of cell subtypes.

BACKGROUND: Cell clustering is an essential step in uncovering cellular architectures in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. However, the existing cell clustering approaches are not well designed to dissect complex structures of cellular landscapes at a finer resolution. RESULTS: Here, we develop a multiscale clustering (MSC) approach to construct a sparse cell-cell correlation network for unsupervised identification of de novo cell types and subtypes across multiple resolutions. Based upon simulated silver- and gold-standard data as well as real scRNA-seq data in diseases, MSC demonstrates significantly improved performance compared to established benchmark methods and reveals a biologically meaningful cell hierarchy to facilitate the discovery of novel disease-associated cell subtypes and mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: We present MSC as a new single-cell multiscale clustering framework as a powerful tool for advancing discoveries in disease-associated cell populations using single-cell sequencing data.

Single-Cell Analysis↗

Transport, location, and quantal release monitoring of single cells on a microfluidic device.

A novel microfluidic device has been developed for on-chip transport, location, and quantal release monitoring of single cells. The microfluidic device consists of a plate of PDMS containing channels for introducing cells and stimulants and a glass substrate into which a cell micro-chamber was etched. The two tightly reversibly sealed plates can be separated for respective cleaning, which significantly extends the lifetime of the microchip that is frequently clogged in cell analysis experiments. Using hydraulic pressure, single cells were transported and located on the microfluidic chip. After location of a single PC12 cell on the microfluidic chip, the cell was stimulated by nicotine that was also introduced through the micro-channels, and the quantum release of dopamine from the cell was amperometricly detected with our designed carbon fiber microelectrode. The results have demonstrated the convenience and efficiency of using the microfluidic chip for monitoring of quantal release from single cells and have offered a facile method for the analysis of single cells on microfluidic devices.

Journal Article↗

Adoptively transferred Th1 cell populations lose IFNgamma+ cells by cytokine down-regulation on single-cell level.

Against the background of effector T cell heterogenity in terms of their in situ cytokine expression, IFNgamma production has been argued to define distinct Th1 lineages: whereas IFNgamma- Th1 cells survive and differentiate in vivo, IFNgamma+ Th1 cells eventually undergo apoptosis. Alternatively, lineage commitment might not be directly associated with the actual IFNgamma production. To address this issue, we adoptively transferred in vitro-polarized Th1 cell populations. Although absolute numbers of total Th1 cells after 3 days in vivo remained unchanged, numbers of IFNgamma+ within the Th1 cells declined by approximately 50%. This was not affected by the initial frequencies of IFNgamma+ cells within the transferred Th1 cell populations and by the presence of the antigen. Arguing against positive selection of IFNgamma non-producers in vivo, cell division rates of IFNgamma+ and IFNgamma- Th1 cells were comparable. Our data suggest that the 'loss' of IFNgamma+ cells within the transferred Th1 cell population might be rather caused by down-regulation of the cytokine expression on single-cell level than by deletion of individual IFNgamma+ cells. Thus, our findings are more in line with the hypothesis that actual cytokine expression does not define distinct differentiation states and polarization-specific genes remain accessible also in IFNgamma- Th1 effector cells.

Adoptive Transfer↗

Preparation of single cell suspensions from hepatoma cells in culture.

Fundamental examination was carried out on the liberation of single cells from hepatoma cells in culture. dRLa-74 cells derived from rat hepatoma, which hardly disperse as single cell suspensions with several proteolytic enzymes or EDTA alone, dispersed with a high yield of single cells by the combination of trypsin and EDTA. HUH-6 cells derived from human hepatoblastoma also showed similar results. The degree of cell dissociation by the combination was dependent on the incubation temperature or pH.

Animals↗