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Fei C, Nie L, Zhang J, Chen J. Potential Applications of Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) and Droplet-Based Microfluidics in Promoting the Discovery of Specific Antibodies for Characterizations of Fish Immune Cells. Front Immunol 2021; 12:771231. [PMID: 34868030 PMCID: PMC8635192 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.771231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Akin to their mammalian counterparts, teleost fish possess a complex assortment of highly specialized immune cells that are capable of unleashing potent innate immune responses to eradicate or mitigate incoming pathogens, and also differentiate into memory lymphocytes to provide long-term protection. Investigations into specific roles and functions of fish immune cells depend on the precise separation of each cell type. Commonly used techniques, for example, density gradient centrifugation, rely on immune cells to have differing sizes or densities and thus fail to separate between similar cell types (e.g. T and B lymphocytes). Furthermore, a continuously growing database of teleost genomic information has revealed an inventory of cellular markers, indicating the possible presence of immune cell subsets in teleost fish. This further complicates the interpretation of results if subsets of immune cells are not properly separated. Consequently, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against specific cellular markers are required to precisely identify and separate novel subsets of immune cells in fish. In the field of fish immunology, mAbs are largely generated using the hybridoma technology, resulting in the development of mAbs against specific cellular markers in different fish species. Nevertheless, this technology suffers from being labour-intensive, time-consuming and most importantly, the inevitable loss of diversities of antibodies during the fusion of antibody-expressing B lymphocytes and myeloma cells. In light of this, the focus of this review is to discuss the potential applications of fluorescence-activated cell sorting and droplet-based microfluidics, two emerging technologies capable of screening and identifying antigen-specific B lymphocytes in a high-throughput manner, in promoting the development of valuable reagents for fish immunology studies. Our main goal is to encourage the incorporation of alternative technologies into the field of fish immunology to promote the production of specific antibodies in a high-throughput and cost-effective way, which could better allow for the precise separation of fish immune cells and also facilitate the identification of novel immune cell subsets in teleost fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenjie Fei
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Li Nie
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Jianhua Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Jiong Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
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Swann JB, Weyn A, Nagakubo D, Bleul CC, Toyoda A, Happe C, Netuschil N, Hess I, Haas-Assenbaum A, Taniguchi Y, Schorpp M, Boehm T. Conversion of the thymus into a bipotent lymphoid organ by replacement of FOXN1 with its paralog, FOXN4. Cell Rep 2014; 8:1184-97. [PMID: 25131198 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2014] [Revised: 05/22/2014] [Accepted: 07/14/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The thymus is a lymphoid organ unique to vertebrates, and it provides a unique microenvironment that facilitates the differentiation of immature hematopoietic precursors into mature T cells. We subjected the evolutionary trajectory of the thymic microenvironment to experimental analysis. A hypothetical primordial form of the thymus was established in mice by replacing FOXN1, the vertebrate-specific master regulator of thymic epithelial cell function, with its metazoan ancestor, FOXN4, thereby resetting the regulatory and coding changes that have occurred since the divergence of these two paralogs. FOXN4 exhibited substantial thymopoietic activity. Unexpectedly, histological changes and a functional imbalance between the lymphopoietic cytokine IL7 and the T cell specification factor DLL4 within the reconstructed thymus resulted in coincident but spatially segregated T and B cell development. Our results identify an evolutionary mechanism underlying the conversion of a general lymphopoietic organ to a site of exclusive T cell generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy B Swann
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Annelies Weyn
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Daisuke Nagakubo
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Conrad C Bleul
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- Comparative Genomics Laboratory, Center for Genetic Resource Information, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan
| | - Christiane Happe
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nikolai Netuschil
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Isabell Hess
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Annette Haas-Assenbaum
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Yoshihito Taniguchi
- Department of Radiation Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshida Konoe, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Michael Schorpp
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Boehm
- Department of Developmental Immunology, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany.
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