Fluorescence-activated cell sorting and quantitative real-time PCR to reveal VEGF-expressing macrophage populations in the Zebrafish larvae

Herman, Andrew; Greenhough, Alexander; Gurevich, David B.

Abstract

The transparent, genetically tractable zebrafish is increasingly recognized as a useful model to both live image and uncover mechanistic insight into cell interactions governing tissue homeostasis, pathology, and regeneration. Here, we describe a protocol for the isolation of macrophages from zebrafish wounds using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), and the identification of specific pro-angiogenic macrophage populations that express high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (vegf) using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The cell dissociation and FACS sorting techniques have been optimized for immune cells and successfully used to isolate other fluorescently marked populations within the wound such as neutrophils and endothelial cells. More broadly, this protocol can be easily adapted to other contexts where identification of pro-angiogenic immune cells is transformative for understanding, from development to pathologies such as infection, cancer, and diabetes.

• Online Publication Date: Apr 21, 2022
• Publication Date: Apr 21, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jun 10, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 22, 2024
• Publisher: Humana Press
• Pages: 325-337
• Series Title: Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB,volume 2475)
• Book Title: VEGF Signaling
• Chapter Number: 24
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2217-9_24
• Keywords: Zebrafish; Wounding; VEGF; Immune cells; Macrophages; FACS; Quantitative; PCR
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9621188
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/protocol/10.1007/978-1-0716-2217-9_24
• Contract Date: Apr 21, 2022