Originally published as JHC exPRESS on September 6, 2007. doi:10.1369/jhc.7A7297.2007
Volume 55 (12): 1207-1211, 2007 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. LacZ Transgenic Mice and Immunoelectron Microscopy: An Ultrastructural Method for Dual Localization of ß-Galactosidase and Horseradish Peroxidase
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas Correspondence to: Dale R. Abrahamson, PhD, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, MS 3038, Kansas City, KS 66160. E-mail: dabrahamson{at}kumc.edu
Transgenic animals bearing the reporter gene, LacZ, encoding the histochemical enzyme, ß-galactosidase, are increasingly becoming available. Similarly, antibody conjugates consisting of specific IgGs coupled to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) are widely used for Western blotting, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry. Here we provide a detailed fixation and histochemical protocol for the simultaneous electron microscopic visualization and discrimination of ß-galactosidase and peroxidase reaction products within mouse kidney. After incubation of transgenic LacZ tissues with IgG–HRP conjugates, samples were lightly fixed with 2% paraformaldehyde and 0.4% glutaraldehyde and processed for peroxidase histochemistry. Tissues underwent ß-galactosidase histochemistry, were refixed with glutaraldehyde, osmicated, and embedded. In Flk1/LacZ mice, we immunolocalized anti-laminin ß1 chain IgG–HRP specifically to developing glomerular basement membranes, whereas Flk1/LacZ was expressed only by glomerular endothelial cells. In Epas1/LacZ mice, we immunolocalized anti-platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 specifically to glomerular endothelial plasma membranes, whereas Epas1/LacZ was expressed by both glomerular endothelial and mesangial cells. This dual ultrastructural localization technique should be broadly applicable for immunoelectron microscopic studies in LacZ transgenic animals, particularly those where LacZ expression and antibody–HRP binding are both relatively abundant. (J Histochem Cytochem 55:1207–1211, 2007)
Key Words: ß-galactosidase histochemistry Epas1 Flk1 endothelial cells glomerular basement membrane horseradish peroxidase laminin mesangial cells platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 peroxidase immunohistochemistry
DURING THE PAST few decades, a variety of enzymatic techniques for evaluating the microscopic distribution of gene and protein expression have been developed. Currently, temporospatial gene expression patterns are frequently studied in transgenic animals that express a transcriptional reporter gene tandemly linked to a target gene of interest. One of the most popular reporter genes is LacZ, which encodes the bacterial enzyme, ß-galactosidase. This enzyme cleaves the substrate, 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-ß-D-galactopyranoside (X-gal), to yield galactose and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-hydroxyindole. The later product is oxidized into 5,5'-dibromo-4,4'-dichloro-indigo, which is an insoluble blue dye easily seen by light microscopy, thereby marking tissue sites of LacZ gene transcription. Alternatively, tissues expressing ß-galactosidase can be incubated with a slightly different substrate, 5-bromo-3-indolyl-ß-D-galactoside (Bluo-gal), which results in the formation of fine, electron dense precipitates (Weis et al. 1991
With the advent of inducible and cell-selective transgene expression technologies, certain experiments in transgenics may require cellular identification of reporter gene expression by electron microscopy. These studies may also present opportunities for immunoelectron microscopy, and there may be instances where the dual localization of ß-galactosidase expression and immunoperoxidase labeling are desirable. Here we provide a detailed protocol for the simultaneous ultrastructural localization of ß-galactosidase and immunoperoxidase in kidneys of LacZ transgenic mice. In developing this combined ß-galactosidase and peroxidase technique, we needed outcomes in which both the transgene expression and antibody distribution patterns were already well understood. Therefore, we carried out immunolocalization of laminin ß1 chain within the developing glomerular basement membranes (GBMs) of Flk1/LacZ mice, which express LacZ specifically on endothelial cells (Robert et al. 1998
Reagents HRP (type VI) and DAB were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO), and Bluo-gal was obtained from Invitrogen Life Technologies (Carlsbad, CA). Rat anti-mouse laminin monoclonal IgG (MAb 5A2) was purified and characterized as previously described (Abrahamson et al. 1989
Transgenic Mice
Tissue Fixation Two 5-day-old Flk1/LacZ heterozygous mice received intraperitoneal injections of 75 µl rat anti-mouse laminin MAb 5A2 IgG-HRP (1.1 mg/ml in PBS). Eighteen hours later, mice were killed by halothane inhalation and cervical dislocation, and the left kidneys were fixed in situ by the injection of a mixture of 2% paraformaldehyde and 0.4% glutaraldehyde in PBS into the cortex (0.05 ml of fixative was gently injected using a 1.0-ml syringe fitted with a 30-gauge needle). Fixative was injected while simultaneously clamping the renal artery, vein, and ureter at the hilus with a hemostat. Kidneys were removed 5 min later, and cortical tissue was trimmed into 2-mm cubes and placed into vials of fixative for 90 min on ice. Samples were washed with PBS (three exchanges for 5 min each) and stored in the same buffer at 4C. Similarly, two 4-week-old Epas1/LacZ heterozygous mice received intraperitoneal injections of 100 µl rat anti-PECAM-1 IgG-HRP (0.35 mg/ml). Four hours after injection, kidneys were fixed exactly as described above, except 0.1 ml of fixative was injected into kidneys of these older mice. Kidney tissues from uninjected, wildtype mice served as controls.
Histochemistry
In this study, we developed a detailed protocol to carry out immunoelectron microscopic localization of IgG–HRP conjugates while simultaneously visualizing the expression of the LacZ gene product, ß-galactosidase.
In infant Flk1/LacZ mice that received injections of anti-laminin ß1 IgG–HRP, the ß-galactosidase and peroxidase reaction products were distinctly different qualitatively and localized to discrete structures (Figure 1
). Specifically, ß-galactosidase produced a crystalline, extremely electron dense reaction product on intracellular and plasma membranes of kidney glomerular endothelial cells, confirming the endothelial expression of LacZ seen previously in tissue sections processed for light microscopy with X-gal (Robert et al. 1998
In 4-week-old Epas1/LacZ mice that received injections of anti-PECAM-1–HRP, the reaction products for ß-galactosidase and peroxidase also differed (Figure 2 ). In this case, a heavy ß-galactosidase reaction product occurred on membranous structures of both glomerular endothelial and mesangial cells, confirming expression of Epas/LacZ by these cells as observed before (Steenhard et al 2007
Optimization of fixation conditions was critically important for the dual localization of ß-galactosidase and HRP reaction products. Among various fixative concentrations tested, mixtures consisting of 2% paraformaldehyde and 0.4% glutaraldehyde preserved adequate cell ultrastructure and allowed sufficient enzyme activity. Higher concentrations of paraformaldehyde and glutaraldehyde resulted in much weaker and inconsistent dual labeling (data not shown). On the other hand, lower concentrations of aldehydes resulted in poor tissue morphology. Similarly, the sequence in which tissues were incubated with DAB and Bluo-gal substrates also affected results. Development of tissue for ß-galactosidase histochemistry before peroxidase provided good ß-galactosidase localization but weak or no labeling for HRP, possibly because of the prolonged incubation of tissue at 37C. To determine whether formation of DAB or Bluo-gal reaction products was compromised by performing the dual peroxidase and ß-galactosidase histochemical reactions on the same tissue, separate Vibratome sections from anti-laminin ß1 IgG–HRP–injected Flk1/LacZ mouse kidneys were processed for peroxidase histochemistry alone or Bluo-gal reaction alone. Slides from each individual reaction were compared with those that had undergone dual peroxidase and Bluo-gal development. In both cases, kidney tissue that underwent individual reactions contained similar amounts of DAB and Bluo-gal reaction products as those that had been serially reacted in the sequence described here. Additionally, ultrathin sections taken from the outermost surfaces of Vibratome sections produced the most consistent dual labeling. Sections taken from deeper regions within the blocks were weakly labeled, signifying the importance of thorough exposure of reactive tissues to the ß-galactosidase and peroxidase substrates.
Using the methods described here, we developed an approach for the dual ultrastructural localization of ß-galactosidase and immunoperoxidase in LacZ transgenic mice. In the two separate cases presented, we could clearly distinguish the separate ß-galactosidase and HRP reaction products in the electron microscope. Nevertheless, all of the usual caveats regarding tissue histochemistry and immunolocalization apply. Although the reaction product for ß-galactosidase appeared similarly electron dense and in approximately equal amounts for both Flk1/LacZ and Epas1/LacZ mice, this will not occur for every transgenic mouse expressing the LacZ reporter. Indeed, the distribution and relative abundance of reaction product will likely vary depending on the cell expressing the transgenic reporter gene and the level of its transcription. Additionally, the ability to detect and discriminate an immunoperoxidase reaction product will certainly depend on the amount of bound antibody and its distribution. Moreover, in both cases described here, antibody–HRP conjugates were administered in vivo that bound to antigens accessible through the bloodstream. Whether this combined reporter gene/immunohistochemical approach will work for detection of cryptic, intracellular epitopes is therefore uncertain. On the other hand, successful immunolabeling of intracellular antigens can usually be achieved through the application of antibody conjugates to lightly fixed tissue sections, and the conditions used here may work satisfactorily for many antibodies. Increasingly, new transgenic animals expressing the LacZ reporter gene are becoming available. Additionally, numerous antibody–HRP conjugates are available commercially or readily prepared in the laboratory as described here. In view of the versatility of immunoperoxidase techniques for immunolocalization, Western blotting, and ELISA, an ability to simultaneously localize immunoperoxidase in LacZ transgenics should therefore be advantageous. We conclude that, in cases where standard light microscopic approaches show that relatively high levels of LacZ expression and bound antibody are both present, the methods described here can be used reliably for the dual localization of LacZ transgenic cells and immunoperoxidase at the electron microscopic level.
This study was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants DK052483 and DK065123. We thank Eileen Roach for help with the figures and Larysa Stroganova for genotyping.
Received for publication July 26, 2007; accepted August 9, 2007
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