Optimized Cell and Nuclei Isolation to Advance Cardiac Remodeling Studies
With the funding received from the Berne University Research Foundation, we acquired the gentleMACS™ Octo Dissociator with Heaters (Miltenyi Biotec), a state-of-the-art, high-performance system that combines automated mechanical and enzymatic tissue dissociation. This instrument has significantly enhanced our ability to isolate various cell types and nuclei from complex tissues with high reproducibility and efficiency. It has been instrumental in advancing our cardiac remodeling research and supports the development of innovative therapeutic strategies.
Using the gentleMACS technology, we have optimized dissociation protocols for:
- T cells from spleen, enabling their integration into experimental models of cardiac remodeling
- Cardiomyocytes and non-cardiomyocytes from the heart, crucial for studying atrial and ventricular remodeling and understanding disease mechanisms
- Isolation of intact nuclei, allowing detailed transcriptomic analyses of fibrotic and non-fibrotic cardiac regions for downstream applications
In combination with magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS), we can select and enrich specific cell populations with high purity. These enriched cells and nuclei can then be used for cell culture experiments or directly processed for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), enabling us to explore transcriptomic profiles at single-cell resolution and gain detailed insights into the cellular mechanisms driving atrial fibrillation, cardiac fibrosis, and remodeling.
The acquisition of this instrument has been crucial for improving sample quality, reducing processing times, and expanding our experimental capabilities, particularly in the context of precision medicine strategies for cardiac remodeling.
The gentleMACS™ Octo Dissociator (Miltenyi Biotec) enables automated, reproducible dissociation of complex cardiac and immune tissues, supporting optimized cell and nuclei isolation for downstream analyses.
Representative images from atrial and ventricular cell isolations using the gentleMACS™ Octo Dissociator. Top: Phase-contrast images of live primary non-cardiomyocyte cultures (left: atria, right: ventricle) and single cardiomyocytes (atrial vs. ventricular). Bottom: Pseudo-colored fluorescence images showing F-actin (green), nuclei (red), and distinct morphological organization in atrial vs. ventricular non-cardiomyocytes.
PD Dr. Ange Maguy
Atrial Fibrillation & Therapeutic Innovation Group
Department of Physiology, University of Bern