Long-distance three-color neuronal tracing in fixed tissue using NeuroVue dyes.

Dissecting development of neuronal connections is critical for understanding neuronal function in both normal and diseased states. Charting the development of the multitude of connections is a monumental task, since a given neuron typically receives hundreds of convergent inputs from other neurons and provides divergent outputs for hundreds of other neurons. Although progress is being made utilizing various mutants and/or genetic constructs expressing fluorescent proteins like GFP, substantial work remains before a database documenting the development and final location of the neuronal pathways in an adult animal is completed. The vast majority of developing neurons cannot be specifically labeled with antibodies and making specific GFP-expressing constructs to tag each of them is an overwhelming task. Fortunately, fluorescent lipophilic dyes have emerged as very useful tools to systematically compare changes in neuronal networks between wild-type and mutant mice. These dyes diffuse laterally along nerve cell membranes in fixed preparations, allowing tracing of the position of a given neuron within the neuronal network in murine mutants fixed at various stages of development. Until recently, however, most evaluations have been limited to one, or at most, two color analyses. We have previously reported three color neuronal profiling using the novel lipophilic dyes NeuroVue (NV) Green, Red and Maroon (Fritzsch et al., Brain. Res. Bull. 66: 249-258, 2005). Unfortunately such three color experiments have been limited by the fact that NV Green and its brighter successor, NV Emerald, both exhibit substantially decreased signal intensities when times greater than 48 hours at 37 degrees C are required to achieve neuronal profile filling (unpublished observations). Here we describe a standardized test system developed to allow comparison of candidate dyes and its use to evaluate a series of 488 nm-excited green-emitting lipophilic dyes. The best of these, NV Jade, has spectral properties well matched to NV Red and NV Maroon, better solubility in DMF than DiO or DiA, improved thermostability compared with NV Emerald, and the ability to fill neuronal profiles at rates of 1 mm per day for periods of at least 5 days. Use of NV Jade in combination with NV Red and NV Maroon substantially improves the efficiency of connectional analysis in complex mutants and transgenic models where limited numbers of specimens are available.

CellVue Claret, a new far-red dye, facilitates polychromatic assessment of immune cell proliferation.

Flow cytometric analyses of immune cell proliferation, differentiation, and function are limited by the number of different fluorochromes that can be resolved simultaneously. Additional colors to expand functional analytic capability will facilitate higher dimensional analyses of heterogeneous cell populations by basic and clinical scientists. Our aim in these studies was to evaluate CellVue Claret, a fluorescent, far-red emitting, membrane intercalating dye (excitation maximum: 655 nm, emission maximum 677 nm), as an alternative and/or complementary probe to PKH26 and CFSE(1) for polychromatic studies of immune cell proliferation and function. Using a BD FACSCalibur and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 8 different donors (2 donors studied twice), we compared CellVue Claret with the two most commonly used visible-emitting proliferation dyes, PKH26 and CFSE, in terms of: (1) compatibility with 7-Amino-actinomycin D (7-AAD) as a viability marker; (2) effect of dye labeling on lymphocyte viability; and (3) the proliferative response of CD3+ T lymphocytes from 0-96 hours as assessed by dilution of each of the 3 cell tracking dyes in cultures stimulated with anti-CD3 plus IL-2. Post-labeling recoveries and viabilities were similar for all 3 dyes, with modestly higher initial staining intensities and coefficients of variation for CellVue Claret than for CFSE or PKH26. Lymphocyte viabilities in stimulated or unstimulated cultures were also unaffected by choice of dye. Proliferative responses of viable CD3+ lymphocytes were comparable for all three dyes, whether results were reported as Proliferative Fraction (percent of cells that had divided one or more times) or as Precursor Frequency (percent of parent population that had gone on to proliferate in response to anti-CD3 plus IL-2). In summary, T cell proliferation analysis using CellVue Claret gives results equivalent to those obtained with PKH26 or CFSE, expanding the choice of proliferation dyes suitable for use in high dimensional polychromatic studies on flow cytometers with far red (633 nm-658 nm) excitation capabilities.

Novel lipophilic tracking dyes for monitoring cell proliferation.

The advent of contemporary digital instrumentation has enhanced both the potential and the complexity of flow cytometric experiments, allowing for the detailed dissection of immune cell subsets and their functions. The use of cell tracking labels such as PKH26 and CFSE has been important in observing such cellular functions, but their visible emission characteristics have limited the design of such analyses. As the demand for multiparametric flow cytometry intensifies, it will become increasingly important to utilize a broader range of cell tracking reagents to optimize the measurement of fluorescence signals and to provide flexibility in the use of commercially available fluorochrome - antibody combinations. We report on the evaluation of three lipophilic membrane dyes, CellVue Lavender, CellVue Plum and CellVue NIR780; with fluorescence emissions in the violet, far-red and near infrared wavelength regions, respectively. These reagents are similar to established tracking dyes such as PKH26 and CFSE in terms of staining procedure, membrane stability, optimal concentration, and lack of effect on cellular proliferation. The CellVue dyes however, exhibit different spectral characteristics than existing tracking compounds, and capitalize upon the increased number of lasers incorporated into commercially available instrumentation; thus permitting measurement of labeled populations in underexploited regions of the spectrum.