The authors would like to acknowledge Detlef Schumann, Jennifer Sutton (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and Nathaniel Snyder (University of Pennsylvania) for valuable discussions on mass calibration and data processing.&#160; Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R00CA168997. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

1. Preparation of LC-MS Reagents, Establishment of a Chromatography Method, and Establishment of Instrument Operating Procedures
<ol>
	<li>Preparation of LC Solvents
	<ol>
		<li>Prepare 500 ml mobile phases. A is 20 mM ammonium acetate and 15 mM ammonium hydroxide in 3% acetonitrile/water, final pH 9.0;&#160;and B is 100% acetonitrile.</li>
		<li>Loosely cap the bottle, place it in a water bath sonicator, and sonicate for 10 min without extra heating. (This step is to ensure that all of the ammonium salts completely dissolve and that there are no residual air bubbles.)</li>
		<li>Transfer 250 ml of the solvent to a 250 ml glass bottle for LC-MS use, and keep the remainder at 4 &#176;C.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Prepare the low mass range calibration solution. It is important to use a customized low mass range calibration mixture for metabolomics applications to ensure that accurate masses are detected at low molecular weights.
	<ol>
		<li>Weigh 5 mg of both sodium fluoroacetate and homovanillic acid and dissolve them into 5 ml water to make a final concentration of 1 mg/ml. Dissolve diazinon in methanol to make a final concentration of 10 mg/ml.</li>
		<li>To prepare 1 ml of negative low mass calibration solution, mix 960 ml of thermo negative calibration solution with 20 ml of sodium fluoroaceate and homovanillic acid solution. To make 1 ml of positive low mass calibration solution, mix 990 ml of thermo positive calibration solution and 10 ml diazinon solution. (The low mass calibration solution should be stored at 4 &#176;C and be prepared fresh every 2&#160;months.)</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Calibration of QE-MS at a Low Mass Range
	<ol>
		<li>Before performing low mass range calibration, carry out a standard mass calibration (m/z, 150-2,000) in both positive and negative modes based on the manufacturer&#8217;s instructions.</li>
		<li>Once a regular mass calibration passes, adjust the scan range to 60-900 m/z in the instrument control panel and a source CID of 25 eV for positive mode and 35 eV for negative mode is applied. (This will give robust signals of the caffeine fragment ion and the sulfate ion. The scan range here is fixed, because the last m/z shouldn&#8217;t be larger than 15x&#160;of the starting m/z)</li>
		<li>Once the ion source is stable, then perform the customized calibration. Note: A stable source is defined as less than 10% of the total ion current variation in positive mode, and less than 15% in negative mode. The customized calibration ions and corresponding m/z are listed in Table 1.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Establish the LC-MS instrumentation for polar metabolite analysis. LC is coupled to a QE-MS for metabolite separation and detection.
	<ol>
		<li>Equip the QE-MS with a Heated electrospray ionization probe (H-ESI). Set the relevant tuning parameters for the probe as listed: heater temperature, 120 &#176;C; sheath gas, 30; auxiliary gas, 10; sweep gas, 3; spray voltage, 3.6 kV for positive mode and 2.5 kV for negative mode. Set the capillary temperature at 320 &#176;C, and S-lens at 55.</li>
		<li>Build a full scan method as follows: Full scan range: 60 to 900 (m/z); resolution: 70,000; maximum injection time: 200 msec with typical injection times around 50 msec; automatic gain control (AGC): 3,000,000 ions. These settings result in a duty cycle of around 550 msec to carry out scans in both positive and negative mode.</li>
		<li>Establish the chromatography method. Employ an amide column (100 x 2.1 mm i.d., 3.5 mm) for compound separation at room temperature13,15. The mobile phase A is as described above, and mobile phase B is acetonitrile. Use a linear gradient as follows: 0 min, 85% B; 1.5 min, 85% B, 5.5 min, 35% B; 10min, 35% B, 10.5 min, 35% B, 14.5 min, 35% B, 15 min, 85% B, and 20 min, 85% B. The flow rate is 0.15 ml/min from 0 to 10 min and 15 to 20 min, and 0.3 ml/min from 10.5 to 14.5 min.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
2. Preparation of Metabolite Samples
<ol>
	<li>Prepare an extraction solvent. Mix 40 ml methanol (LC-MS grade) and 10 ml water (LC-MS grade) in a 50 ml tube, and keep it in -80 &#176;C freezer for at least 1 hr before use. Note: This procedure and the steps below can be modified for the extraction of biological tissue and fluid samples.
	<ol>
		<li>Culture colon cancer HCT 8 cells in three 10 cm dishes or 6-well plates with full growth medium, RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10% heat inactivated Fetal Bovine Serum and 100,000 units/L penicillin and 100 mg/L streptomycin.</li>
		<li>When cells reach 80% confluence, quickly remove the medium, and place the dish or plate on top of dry ice13,15. Add 1 ml extraction solvent immediately (80% methanol/water), and transfer the plate to the -80 &#176;C freezer. For a 10 cm dish, add 3 ml of extraction solvent to each well. (Try to remove the medium as much as possible to avoid the ion suppression effect due to residual salts from medium.)</li>
		<li>Leave the plate for 15 min. Remove it from the freezer, and scrape cells into the solvent on dry ice. Transfer the solution to 1.7 ml Eppendorf tubes, and centrifuge with the speed of 20,000 x g at 4 &#176;C for 10 min. (Prepare cell metabolites from three separate dishes to make three replicate samples. The purpose of keeping two tubes is to have one as a backup.)</li>
		<li>Transfer the supernatant to two new Eppendorf tubes, and dry them in a speed vacuum. This takes about 3-6 hr&#160;depending on the speed vacuum used. (The samples can also be dried overnight under nitrogen gas.)</li>
		<li>After drying, store tubes of each sample in the -80 &#176;C freezer. When ready, reconstitute one sample into 20 ml water (LC-MS grade), and inject 5 ml to LC-QE-MS for analysis.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
3. Setup of Sample Sequence
<ol>
	<li>Once the calibration has been properly carried out on the QE-MS, equilibrate LC column for 5 min with 85% A at a flow rate of 0.15 ml/min, which is the starting condition of the LC gradient.</li>
	<li>Set up the sample sequence in random order. Note: In this way, it distributes the fluctuations introduced by the LC-MS to each sample and ensures more accurate comparison between different samples. Every 6 samples, add a wash run, which shares the same MS method, except the LC gradient is 95% A for 10 min and followed by a 5 min column equilibration at 85% A with a flow rate of 0.15 ml/min. Add blank samples (100% water) after each wash run to assess the system background and carry over levels.</li>
	<li>Save the sequence and once the LC column shows stable pressure, around 400 psi, start the sequence run. If there is no other sample is to be run after this sequence, then add a stop run in the end of the sequence, which has a flow rate of 0 ml/min in the end of the gradient and choose &#8220;standby&#8221; after finishing the sequence.</li>
	<li>Re-run the same sample set 12 hr after calibration. (This is to assess the mass error fluctuation after calibration.)</li>
</ol>
4. Post Analysis Instrument Cleaning and Maintenance
<ol>
	<li>At the end of sequence, wash the column with 95% A at a flow rate of 0.2 ml/min for 2 hr, and if necessary, reverse the column before washing.</li>
	<li>Remove the LC column and directly connect the LC to the ion source by a union. Prepare cleaning solvent, water/methanol/formic acid (v:v:v, 90:10:0.2), set MS on standby mode, and wash LC-MS system at a flow rate of 0.1 ml/min for 1 hr to remove the residual precipitated salts or other impurities. Lower the flow rate if there is too much system pressure.</li>
	<li>Set the capillary temperature at 50 &#176;C, and remove the ion cage. Carefully take out the ion sweep cone and the ion transfer tube after the capillary temperature drops to 50 &#176;C. Use a rough mesh, such as sandpaper, to remove impurities left on the surface of the ion sweep cone.</li>
	<li>Place the ion transfer tube into a 15 ml Falcon tube containing 10 ml 90% water/methanol with 0.1% formic acid. After sonicating the tube in a water bath sonicator for 20 min, decant the solvent inside, replace it with 10 ml pure methanol and sonicate for another 20 min. (If necessary, the sonication can be done at 40 &#176;C or an even higher temperature to achieve better cleaning results.)</li>
</ol>
5. Analysis of LC-MS Data
<ol>
	<li>To ensure the sample sequence runs smoothly, after finishing the first two samples in the sequence, check peaks for unknown metabolites. Use a csv file listing metabolite names, neutral chemical formula and detection mode (either positive or negative), as the input file, and the output file contains extracted peaks and mass error in ppm. If the peak shape is abnormal or the mass error is off by more than 5 ppm, then the rest of the sequence needs to be stopped and troubleshooting needs to be done.</li>
	<li>Choose the method of &#8220;peak alignment and frame extraction&#8221; on commercially available software. Select raw data from LC-MS and group them. Pick samples in the middle of the run sequence as chromatography reference sample for peak alignment. Upload a frame seed including known metabolites for the targeted metabolites analysis with data collected and the corresponding frame seed.</li>
	<li>Perform data analysis in positive and negative mode separately. Use the default setting for other parameters. Turn off the database search function and run the workflow. Export the processed data as an excel sheet containing peak area of every frame. The first sets of frames correspond to the metabolites in the targeted list. Note: For a targeted metabolite analysis, the metabolites information is obtained based on the previous studies13,15.</li>
	<li>For an untargeted metabolite analysis, choose the method of &#8220;component extraction&#8221;. Load blank samples for background subtraction. Set peak intensity threshold at 105, m/z width of 10 ppm and signal to noise ratio of 3.</li>
	<li>Use human metabolome database for unknown compounds identification. Use a CV filter to remove the components with large CVs within replicate samples. Manually go through each component and pick those with well-defined peak or relatively big difference in different samples types for database search. Export data with hits in database. (Peak alignment could be bypassed if the peak alignment score is too low.)</li>
</ol>

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

The most critical steps for successful metabolite profiling in cells using this protocol are: 1) controlling the growth medium and careful extraction of the cells; 2) adjusting the LC method based on MS method setup to ensure there are enough (usually at least 10) data points across a peak for quantitation; 3) doing a low mass calibration before running samples; 4) injecting no more than 5 ml to avoid retention time shifting and peak broadening caused by water; and 5) preparing and running samples for comparison in the s...

Metabolomics, defined as an experiment that measures multiple metabolites simultaneously, has been an area of intense interest.&#160; Metabolomics provides a direct readout of molecular physiology and has provided insights into development and disease such as cancer1-4.&#160; Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) are among the most commonly used instruments5-9. &#160;NMR, especially has been used for flux experiments since heavy isotope labeled compounds, such as 13C labeled metabolites, are NMR-active10,11. &#160;However, this strategy requires relatively high sample purity and large sample quantity, which limits its applications in metabolomics. &#160;Meanwhile, data collected from NMR needs intensive analysis and compound assignment of complex NMR spectra is difficult.&#160;GC-MS has been widely used for polar metabolites and lipid studies, but it requires volatile compounds and therefore often derivatization of metabolites, which sometimes involves complex chemistry that can be time consuming and introduces experimental noise.
Liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry uses the first quadrupole for selecting the intact parent ions, which are then fragmented in the second quadrupole, while the third quadrupole is used to select characteristic fragments or daughter ions. &#160;This method, which records the transition from parent ions to specific daughter ions, is termed multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). &#160;MRM is a very sensitive, specific, and robust method for both small molecule and protein quantitation12-15,21.&#160; However, MRM does have its limitations. To achieve high specificity a MRM method needs to be built for each metabolite. This method consists of identifying a specific fragment and corresponding optimized collision energy, which requires pre-knowledge of the properties of the metabolites of interest, such as chemical structure information. Therefore, with some exceptions involving the neutral loss of common fragments, it is not possible to identify unknown metabolites with this method.&#160;

In the recent years, high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) instruments have been released, such as the LTQ-orbitrap and Exactive series, the QuanTof, and TripleTOF 560016-18,22. HRMS can provide a mass to charge ratio (m/z) of intact ions within an error of a few ppm. Therefore, an HRMS instrument operated by detecting all precursor ions (i.e. full scan mode) can obtain direct structural information from the exact mass and the resulting elemental composition of the analyte, and this information can be used to identify potential metabolites.&#160; Indeed, all information about a compound can be obtained with an exact mass, up to the level of structural isomers. &#160;Also, a full scan method does not require previous knowledge of metabolites and does not require method optimization. &#160;Moreover, since all ions with m/z falling into the scan range can be analyzed, HRMS has a nearly unlimited capacity in terms of the number of metabolites that can be quantified in a single run compared to the MRM method. HRMS is also comparable to a triple quadrupole MRM in quantitative capacity due to the short duty cycle resulting in a comparable number of data points that can be obtained in a full MS scan. Therefore, HRMS provides an alternative approach for quantitative metabolomics. Recently, an improved version of HRMS termed Q-Exactive mass spectrometry (QE-MS) can be operated under the switching between positive and negative modes with sufficiently fast cycle times in a single method, which expands the detection range19.&#160; Here we describe our metabolomics strategy using the QE-MS.&#160; &#160;

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:156px;">Positive calibration mix</td>
			<td style="width:117px;">Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:120px;">#88323</td>
			<td style="width:207px;">It is light sensitive. Store at 4 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Negative calibration mix</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>#88324</td>
			<td>Store at 4 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;">Diazinon</td>
			<td style="width:117px;">Sant Cruz Biotechnology</td>
			<td>#C0413</td>
			<td style="width:207px;">It causes eyes irritation, so work in hood. Store at 4 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="80">
			<td height="80" style="height:80px;">H-ESI needle insert</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>#1303200</td>
			<td style="width:207px;">This could be replaced or cleaned with 5 % Formic acid/water (remove rubber ring) if clogged.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;">Xbridge amide column</td>
			<td>Waters</td>
			<td>#186004860</td>
			<td style="width:207px;">Guard column is recommend to increase column lifetime.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

a strategy for sensitive, large scale quantitative metabolomics

Metabolite profiling has been a valuable asset in the study of metabolism in health and disease. However, current platforms have different limiting factors, such as labor intensive sample preparations, low detection limits, slow scan speeds, intensive method optimization for each metabolite, and the inability to measure both positively and negatively charged ions in single experiments. Therefore, a novel metabolomics protocol could advance metabolomics studies. Amide-based hydrophilic chromatography enables polar metabolite analysis without any chemical derivatization. High resolution MS using the Q-Exactive (QE-MS) has improved ion optics, increased scan speeds (256 msec at resolution 70,000), and has the capability of carrying out positive/negative switching. Using a cold methanol extraction strategy, and coupling an amide column with QE-MS enables robust detection of 168 targeted polar metabolites and thousands of additional features simultaneously.&#160; Data processing is carried out with commercially available software in a highly efficient way, and unknown features extracted from the mass spectra can be queried in databases.

The accuracy of metabolomics data highly depends on the LC-QE-MS instrument performance. To assess whether the instrument is operating in good condition, and whether the method applied is proper, several known metabolite LC peaks are extracted from the total ion chromatography (TIC), as shown in Figure 1. Polar metabolites, including amino acids, glycolysis intermediates, TCA intermediates, nucleotides, vitamins, ATP, NADP+ and so on have good retention on the column and good peak shapes in th...

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A Strategy for Sensitive, Large Scale Quantitative Metabolomics

Metabolite profiling has been a valuable asset in the study of metabolism in health and disease. Utilizing normal-phased liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry with polarity switching and a rapid duty cycle, we describe a protocol to analyze the polar metabolic composition of biological material with high sensitivity, accuracy, and resolution.

Metabolite profiling has been a valuable asset in the study of metabolism in health and disease. However, current platforms have different limiting ...

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JoVE Journal

Biology

20.9K Views.  Cornell University.  Metabolita profiling è stato un bene prezioso per lo studio del metabolismo in salute e malattia. Utilizzando cromatografia normale fasi liquida accoppiata alla spettrometria di massa ad alta risoluzione con commutazione di polarità e un ciclo rapido, si descrive un protocollo per analizzare la composizione metabolica polare di materiale biologico con elevata sensibilità, precisione e risoluzione. 

Video: A Strategy for Sensitive, Large Scale Quantitative Metabolomics

Large-Scale Screens of Metagenomic Libraries

Metagenomic libraries archive large fragments of contiguous genomic sequences from microorganisms without requiring prior cultivation. Generating a streamlined procedure for creating and screening metagenomic libraries is therefore useful for efficient high-throughput investigations into the genetic and metabolic properties of uncultured microbial assemblages. Here, key protocols are presented on video, which we propose is the most useful format for accurately describing a long process that alternately depends on robotic instrumentation and (human) manual interventions. First, we employed robotics to spot library clones onto high-density macroarray membranes, each of which can contain duplicate colonies from twenty-four 384-well library plates. Automation is essential for this procedure not only for accuracy and speed, but also due to the miniaturization of scale required to fit the large number of library clones into highly dense spatial arrangements. Once generated, we next demonstrated how the macroarray membranes can be screened for genes of interest using modified versions of standard protocols for probe labeling, membrane hybridization, and signal detection. We complemented the visual demonstration of these procedures with detailed written descriptions of the steps involved and the materials required, all of which are available online alongside the video.

Metagenomic libraries archive large fragments of contiguous genomic sequences from microorganisms without requiring prior cultivation.  Generating a ...

Batch Immunostaining for Large-Scale Protein Detection in the Whole Monkey Brain

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is one of the most widely used laboratory techniques for the detection of target proteins in situ. Questions concerning the expression pattern of a target protein across the entire brain are relatively easy to answer when using IHC in small brains, such as those of rodents. However, answering the same questions in large and convoluted brains, such as those of primates presents a number of challenges. Here we present a systematic approach for immunodetection of target proteins in an adult monkey brain. This approach relies on the tissue embedding and sectioning methodology of NeuroScience Associates (NSA) as well as tools developed specifically for batch-staining of free-floating sections. It results in uniform staining of a set of sections which, at a particular interval, represents the entire brain. The resulting stained sections can be subjected to a wide variety of analytical procedures in order to measure protein levels, the population of neurons expressing a certain protein.

Large-scale immunodetection of target proteins across the entire primate brain is possible by employing novel tissue embedding and sectioning methods combined with the use of creative apparatus for batch staining of multiple free-floating sections at a given time.

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is one of the most widely used laboratory techniques for the detection of target proteins in situ. Questions concerning the ...

Quantitative Phosphoproteomics in Fatty Acid Stimulated Saccharomyces cerevisiae

This protocol describes the growth and stimulation, with the fatty acid oleate, of isotopically heavy and light S. cerevisiae cells. Cells are ground using a cryolysis procedure in a ball mill grinder and the resulting grindate brought into solution by urea solubilization. This procedure allows for the lysis of the cells in a metabolically inactive state, preserving phosphorylation and preventing reorientation of the phosphoproteome during cell lysis.  Following reduction, alkylation, trypsin digestion of the proteins, the samples are desalted on C18 columns and the sample complexity reduced by fractionation using hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). HILIC columns preferentially retain hydrophilic molecules which is well suited for phosphoproteomics.  Phosphorylated peptides tend to elute later in the chromatographic profile than the non phosphorylated counterparts. After fractionation, phosphopeptides are enriched using immobilized metal chromatography, which relies on charge-based affinities for phosphopeptide enrichment. At the end of this procedure the samples are ready to be quantitatively analyzed by mass spectrometry.

Quantitative Phosphoproteomics in Fatty Acid Stimulated Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Description of a quantitative phosphorylation procedure using cryolysis, urea solubilziation, HILIC fractionation and IMAC enrichment of phosphorylated peptides.

This protocol describes the growth and stimulation, with the fatty acid oleate, of isotopically heavy and light S. cerevisiae cells. Cells are ground ...

Isolation and Large Scale Expansion of Adult Human Endothelial Colony Forming Progenitor Cells

This paper introduces a novel recovery strategy for endothelial colony forming progenitor cells (ECFCs) from heparinized but otherwise unmanipulated adult human peripheral blood within a mean of 12 days. After large scale expansion &gt;1x108 ECFCs can be obtained for further tests. Advantageously by using pHPL the contact of human cells with bovine serum antigens can be excluded. By flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry the isolated cells can be characterized as ECFC and their in vitro functionality to form vascular like structures can be tested in a matrigel assay. Further these cells can be subcutaneously injected in a mouse model to form functional, perfused vessels in vivo. After long term expansion and cryopreservation proliferation, function and genomic stability appear to be preserved. 3,4
This animal-protein free isolation and expansion method is easily applicable to generate a large quantity of ECFCs.

Endothelial colony forming progenitor cells (ECFCs) are a promising tool to study vascular homeostasis and repair.1,2 This paper introduces a novel animal-serum free method for isolation and expansion of ECFC from heparinised adult human peripheral blood with pooled human platelet lysate (pHPL) diminishing the risk of anti-bovine immunisation.

This paper introduces a novel recovery strategy for endothelial colony forming progenitor cells (ECFCs) from heparinized but otherwise unmanipulated adult ...

Large Scale Zebrafish-Based In vivo Small Molecule Screen

Given their small embryo size, rapid development, transparency, fecundity, and numerous molecular, morphological and physiological similarities to mammals, zebrafish has emerged as a powerful in vivo platform for phenotype-based drug screens and chemical genetic analysis. Here, we demonstrate a simple, practical method for large-scale screening of small molecules using zebrafish embryos.

Large Scale Zebrafish-Based In vivo Small Molecule Screen

Zebrafish has emerged as a powerful in vivo platform for phenotype-based drug screens and chemical genetic analysis. Here, we demonstrate a simple, practical method for large-scale screening of small molecules using zebrafish embryos.

Given their small embryo size, rapid development, transparency, fecundity, and numerous molecular, morphological and physiological similarities to ...

Infinium Assay for Large-scale SNP Genotyping Applications

Genotyping variants in the human genome has proven to be an efficient method to identify genetic associations with phenotypes. The distribution of variants within families or populations can facilitate identification of the genetic factors of disease. Illumina&#39;s panel of genotyping BeadChips allows investigators to genotype thousands or millions of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or to analyze other genomic variants, such as copy number, across a large number of DNA samples. These SNPs can be spread throughout the genome or targeted in specific regions in order to maximize potential discovery. The Infinium assay has been optimized to yield high-quality, accurate results quickly. With proper setup, a single technician can process from a few hundred to over a thousand DNA samples per week, depending on the type of array. This assay guides users through every step, starting with genomic DNA and ending with the scanning of the array. Using propriety reagents, samples are amplified, fragmented, precipitated, resuspended, hybridized to the chip, extended by a single base, stained, and scanned on either an iScan or Hi Scan high-resolution optical imaging system. One overnight step is required to amplify the DNA. The DNA is denatured and isothermally amplified by whole-genome amplification; therefore, no PCR is required. Samples are hybridized to the arrays during a second overnight step. By the third day, the samples are ready to be scanned and analyzed. Amplified DNA may be stockpiled in large quantities, allowing bead arrays to be processed every day of the week, thereby maximizing throughput.

A protocol is described that uses Illumina&#39;s Infinium assays to perform large-scale genotyping. These assays can reliably genotype millions of SNPs across hundreds of individual DNA samples in three days. Once generated, these genotypes can be used to check for associations with a variety of different diseases or phenotypes.

Genotyping variants in the human genome has proven to be an efficient method to identify genetic associations with phenotypes. The distribution of ...

ODELAY: A Large-scale Method for Multi-parameter Quantification of Yeast Growth

Growth phenotypes of microorganisms are a strong indicator of their underlying genetic fitness and can be segregated into 3 growth regimes: lag-phase, log-phase, and stationary-phase. Each growth phase can reveal different aspects of fitness that are related to various environmental and genetic conditions. High-resolution and quantitative measurements of all 3 phases of growth are generally difficult to obtain. Here we present a detailed method to characterize all 3 growth phases on solid media using an assay called One-cell Doubling Evaluation of Living Arrays of Yeast (ODELAY). ODELAY quantifies growth phenotypes of individual cells growing into colonies on solid media using time-lapse microscopy. This method can directly observe population heterogeneity with each growth parameter in genetically identical cells growing into colonies. This population heterogeneity offers a unique perspective for understanding genetic and epigenetic regulation, and responses to genetic and environmental perturbations. While the ODELAY method is demonstrated using yeast, it can be utilized on any colony forming microorganism that is visible by bright field microscopy.

We present a method for quantifying growth phenotypes of individual yeast cells as they grow into colonies on solid media using time-lapse microscopy termed, One-cell Doubling Evaluation of Living Arrays of Yeast (ODELAY). Population heterogeneity of genetically identical cells growing into colonies can be directly observed and quantified.

Growth phenotypes of microorganisms are a strong indicator of their underlying genetic fitness and can be segregated into 3 growth regimes: lag-phase, ...

A Semiautomated ChIP-Seq Procedure for Large-scale Epigenetic Studies

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-Seq) is a powerful and widely used approach to profile chromatin DNA associated with specific histone modifications, such as H3K27ac, to help identify cis-regulatory DNA elements. The manual process to complete a ChIP-Seq is labor intensive, technically challenging, and often requires large-cell numbers (&#62;100,000 cells). The method described here helps to overcome those challenges. A complete semiautomated, microscaled H3K27ac ChIP-Seq procedure including cell fixation, chromatin shearing, immunoprecipitation, and sequencing library preparation, for batch of 48 samples for cell number inputs less than 100,000 cells is described in detail. The semiautonomous platform reduces technical variability, improves signal-to-noise ratios, and drastically reduces labor. The system can thereby reduce costs by allowing for reduced reaction volumes, limiting the number of expensive reagents such as enzymes, magnetic beads, antibodies, and hands-on time required. These improvements to the ChIP-Seq method suit perfectly for large-scale epigenetic studies of clinical samples with limited cell numbers in a highly reproducible manner.

This paper describes a semiautomated, microscaled ChIP-Seq protocol of DNA regions associated with a specific histone modification (H3K27ac) using a ChIP liquid-handler platform, followed by library preparation using tagmentation. The procedure includes control assessment for quality and quantity purposes and can be adopted to other histone modifications or transcription factors.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-Seq) is a powerful and widely used approach to profile chromatin DNA associated with specific ...

Large-Scale Preparation of Synovial Fluid Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes by 3D Bioreactor Culture

Exosomes secreted by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been suggested as promising candidates for cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis treatment. Exosomes for clinical application require large-scale production. To this aim, human synovial fluid MSCs (hSF-MSCs) were grown on microcarrier beads, and then cultured in a dynamic three-dimension (3D) culture system. Through utilizing 3D dynamic culture, this protocol successfully obtained large-scale exosomes from SF-MSC culture supernatants. Exosomes were harvested by ultracentrifugation and verified by a transmission electron microscope, nanoparticle transmission assay, and western blotting. Also, the microbiological safety of exosomes was detected. Results of exosome detection suggest that this approach can produce a large number of good manufacturing practices (GMP)-grade exosomes. These exosomes could be utilized in exosome biology research and clinical osteoarthritis treatment.

Here, we present a protocol to produce a large number of GMP-grade exosomes from synovial fluid mesenchymal stem cells using a 3D bioreactor.

Exosomes secreted by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been suggested as promising candidates for cartilage injuries and osteoarthritis treatment. ...

A Robust Method for the Large-Scale Production of Spheroids for High-Content Screening and Analysis Applications

High-content screening (HCS) and high-content analysis (HCA) are technologies that provide researchers with the ability to extract large-scale quantitative phenotypic measurements from cells. This approach has proved powerful for deepening our understanding of a wide range of both fundamental and applied events in cell biology. To date, the majority of applications for this technology have relied on the use of cells grown in monolayers, although it is increasingly realized that such models do not recapitulate many of the interactions and processes that occur in tissues. As such, there has been an emergence in the development and use of 3-dimensional (3D) cell assemblies, such as spheroids and organoids. Although these 3D models are particularly powerful in the context of cancer biology and drug delivery studies, their production and analysis in a reproducible manner suitable for HCS and HCA present a number of challenges. The protocol detailed here describes a method for the generation of multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS), and demonstrates that it can be applied to three different cell lines in a manner that is compatible with HCS and HCA. The method facilitates the production of several hundred spheroids per well, providing the specific advantage that when used in a screening regime, data can be obtained from several hundred structures per well, all treated in an identical manner. Examples are also provided, which detail how to process the spheroids for high-resolution fluorescence imaging and how HCA can extract quantitative features at both the spheroid level as well as from individual cells within each spheroid. This protocol could easily be applied to answer a wide range of important questions in cell biology.

This protocol details a method for the production of three different types of spheroids in a manner that makes them suitable for large-scale high-content screening and analysis. In addition, examples are presented showing how they can be analyzed at spheroid and individual cell levels.