A perfusion-independent high-throughput method to isolate liver sinusoidal endothelial cells

Abstract Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) critically regulate homeostatic liver function and liver pathogenesis. However, the isolation of LSECs remains a major technological bottleneck in studying molecular mechanisms governing LSEC functions. Current techniques to isolate LSECs, relying...

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Main Authors: Anna Babin-Ebell Gonçalves, Yifang Mao, Tinja Baljkas, Felix Wiedmann, Larissa Eis, Franziska Pilz, Manuel Winkler, Sina W. Kürschner-Zacharias, Marlene Hoffarth, Charlotta Funaya, Réza Shahidi, Cyrill Géraud, Chi-Chung Wu, Constanze Schmidt, Sergij Goerdt, Philipp-Sebastian Reiners-Koch, Mahak Singhal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-01-01
Series:Communications Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07458-5
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author Anna Babin-Ebell Gonçalves
Yifang Mao
Tinja Baljkas
Felix Wiedmann
Larissa Eis
Franziska Pilz
Manuel Winkler
Sina W. Kürschner-Zacharias
Marlene Hoffarth
Charlotta Funaya
Réza Shahidi
Cyrill Géraud
Chi-Chung Wu
Constanze Schmidt
Sergij Goerdt
Philipp-Sebastian Reiners-Koch
Mahak Singhal
author_facet Anna Babin-Ebell Gonçalves
Yifang Mao
Tinja Baljkas
Felix Wiedmann
Larissa Eis
Franziska Pilz
Manuel Winkler
Sina W. Kürschner-Zacharias
Marlene Hoffarth
Charlotta Funaya
Réza Shahidi
Cyrill Géraud
Chi-Chung Wu
Constanze Schmidt
Sergij Goerdt
Philipp-Sebastian Reiners-Koch
Mahak Singhal
author_sort Anna Babin-Ebell Gonçalves
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) critically regulate homeostatic liver function and liver pathogenesis. However, the isolation of LSECs remains a major technological bottleneck in studying molecular mechanisms governing LSEC functions. Current techniques to isolate LSECs, relying on perfusion-dependent liver digestion, are cumbersome with limited throughput. We here describe a perfusion-independent high-throughput procedure to isolate LSECs with high purity. Indifferently from previous perfusion-independent approaches, chopped liver tissue was incubated in the digestion mix for 30 minutes with intermittent mixing with a serological pipette. This led to the safeguarding of LSEC integrity and yielded 10 ± 1.0 million LSECs per adult mouse liver, which is far higher than previous perfusion-independent protocols and comparable yield to established perfusion-dependent protocols for isolating LSECs. Combining magnetic and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), LSECs from different zones of the hepatic sinusoid can now be isolated in high numbers in less than two hours for downstream applications including proteomics. Our protocol enables the isolation of LSECs from fibrotic liver tissues from mice and healthy liver tissues from higher vertebrate species (pigs), where traditional perfusion-based digestion protocols have very limited application. In conclusion, these technical advancements reduce post-mortem changes in the LSEC state and aid in reliable investigation of LSEC functions.
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spelling doaj-art-fe5f4f0a2fe844b59898f9f8b579f4ee2025-08-20T02:40:36ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422025-01-018111010.1038/s42003-025-07458-5A perfusion-independent high-throughput method to isolate liver sinusoidal endothelial cellsAnna Babin-Ebell Gonçalves0Yifang Mao1Tinja Baljkas2Felix Wiedmann3Larissa Eis4Franziska Pilz5Manuel Winkler6Sina W. Kürschner-Zacharias7Marlene Hoffarth8Charlotta Funaya9Réza Shahidi10Cyrill Géraud11Chi-Chung Wu12Constanze Schmidt13Sergij Goerdt14Philipp-Sebastian Reiners-Koch15Mahak Singhal16AngioRhythms in Health and Disease, European Center for Angioscience (ECAS), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityAngioRhythms in Health and Disease, European Center for Angioscience (ECAS), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Center of Excellence in Dermatology, University Medical Center and Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Cardiology, University Medical Center and Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg UniversityElectron Microscopy Core Facility, Heidelberg UniversityAngioRhythms in Health and Disease, European Center for Angioscience (ECAS), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Center of Excellence in Dermatology, University Medical Center and Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Center of Excellence in Dermatology, University Medical Center and Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityAngioRhythms in Health and Disease, European Center for Angioscience (ECAS), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityElectron Microscopy Core Facility, Heidelberg UniversityElectron Microscopy Core Facility, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Center of Excellence in Dermatology, University Medical Center and Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityHelmholtz-Institute for Translational AngioCardioScience (HI-TAC) of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) at Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Cardiology, University Medical Center and Medical Faculty Heidelberg, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Center of Excellence in Dermatology, University Medical Center and Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Center of Excellence in Dermatology, University Medical Center and Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityAngioRhythms in Health and Disease, European Center for Angioscience (ECAS), Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg UniversityAbstract Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) critically regulate homeostatic liver function and liver pathogenesis. However, the isolation of LSECs remains a major technological bottleneck in studying molecular mechanisms governing LSEC functions. Current techniques to isolate LSECs, relying on perfusion-dependent liver digestion, are cumbersome with limited throughput. We here describe a perfusion-independent high-throughput procedure to isolate LSECs with high purity. Indifferently from previous perfusion-independent approaches, chopped liver tissue was incubated in the digestion mix for 30 minutes with intermittent mixing with a serological pipette. This led to the safeguarding of LSEC integrity and yielded 10 ± 1.0 million LSECs per adult mouse liver, which is far higher than previous perfusion-independent protocols and comparable yield to established perfusion-dependent protocols for isolating LSECs. Combining magnetic and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), LSECs from different zones of the hepatic sinusoid can now be isolated in high numbers in less than two hours for downstream applications including proteomics. Our protocol enables the isolation of LSECs from fibrotic liver tissues from mice and healthy liver tissues from higher vertebrate species (pigs), where traditional perfusion-based digestion protocols have very limited application. In conclusion, these technical advancements reduce post-mortem changes in the LSEC state and aid in reliable investigation of LSEC functions.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07458-5
spellingShingle Anna Babin-Ebell Gonçalves
Yifang Mao
Tinja Baljkas
Felix Wiedmann
Larissa Eis
Franziska Pilz
Manuel Winkler
Sina W. Kürschner-Zacharias
Marlene Hoffarth
Charlotta Funaya
Réza Shahidi
Cyrill Géraud
Chi-Chung Wu
Constanze Schmidt
Sergij Goerdt
Philipp-Sebastian Reiners-Koch
Mahak Singhal
A perfusion-independent high-throughput method to isolate liver sinusoidal endothelial cells
Communications Biology
title A perfusion-independent high-throughput method to isolate liver sinusoidal endothelial cells
title_full A perfusion-independent high-throughput method to isolate liver sinusoidal endothelial cells
title_fullStr A perfusion-independent high-throughput method to isolate liver sinusoidal endothelial cells
title_full_unstemmed A perfusion-independent high-throughput method to isolate liver sinusoidal endothelial cells
title_short A perfusion-independent high-throughput method to isolate liver sinusoidal endothelial cells
title_sort perfusion independent high throughput method to isolate liver sinusoidal endothelial cells
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07458-5
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