Table of contents

6  Cell Line Extraction Methods

6.1 RNA (TRIzol)

The following method is adapted from the Invitrogen TRIzol reagent user guide
Prep

Required materials:

  • TRIzol
  • Chloroform
  • RNase-free glycogen
  • Isopropanol
  • Freshly prepared 75% ethanol

Before you begin:

  • Get ice
  • Set a heatblock to 60C

6.1.1 Lysis and Phase Separation

Lyse and homogenize samples in TRIzol Reagent according to your starting material:

6.1.1.1 Tissues

  1. Add 1mL of TRIzol Reagent per 50100mg of tissue to the sample and homogenize using a homogenizer

6.1.1.2 Cell grown in monolayer

6.1.1.2.1 Trypsinizing

If you are planning to measure %GFP+ or you are isolating cells from only one well of a multi-well plate e.g. during a time course experiment:

  1. In the hood, trypsinize the cells and transfer them to a 15mL conical
    • For a 6 well plate, trypsinize with 0.5mL trypsin and quench with 1mL medium.
    • At this point, you can measure %GFP+, for instance.
  2. Centrifuge at 300×g for 5 minutes
  3. Aspirate the supernatant
  4. Add 300μL TRIzol to the tube and transfer to a 1.5mL microfuge tube
6.1.1.2.2 Direct Lysis
  1. Aspirate the medium
  2. Add 0.30.4mL of TRIzol Reagent per 1×1051×107 cells directly to the culture dish to lyse the cells
  3. Use a cell scraper to scrape the cells off the plate
  4. Transfer the lysate to a 1.5mL microfuge tube

6.1.1.3 Cells grown in suspension:

  1. Pellet the cells by centrifugation and discard the supernatant.
  2. Add 0.75mL of TRIzol Reagent per 0.25mL of sample (510×106 cells from animal, plant, or yeast origin or 1×107 cells of bacterial origin) to the pellet.
  3. Pipet the lysate up and down several times to homogenize
Note

The sample volume should not exceed 10% of the volume of TRIzol Reagent used for lysis.

Note

Samples can be stored at 4C overnight or at 20C for up to a year.

Note

If samples have a high fat content, centrifuge the lysate for 5 minutes at 12,000×g at 4C, then transfer the clear supernatant to a new tube

6.1.1.4 Lysis and Phase Separation Cont.

  1. Vortex for 10 seconds
  2. Incubate for 5 minutes to permit complete dissociation of the nucleoproteins complex
  3. In the fume hood, add 0.2 mL of chloroform per 1 mL of TRIzol Reagent used for lysis, then securely cap the tube
    • For 300μL TRIzol, add 60μL chloroform
  4. Mix by shaking, for about 30 seconds
    • This is best done putting the tubes on one rack, then sandwiching another rack atop the lids. Grab the whole sandwich and shake it.
  5. Incubate for 3 minutes
  6. Centrifuge samples for 15 minutes at 12,000×g at 4C. The mixture separates into a lower red phenol-chloroform, and interphase, and a colorless upper aqueous phase
  7. Transfer the aqueous phase containing the RNA to a new tube by angling the tube at 45° and pipetting the solution out
    • For a 6-well with 300μL of TRIzol used, 200μL tends to be the right amount to take
    • Avoid transferring any of the interphase or organic layer when removing the aqueous phase.

6.1.1.5 Isolate RNA

6.1.1.5.1 Precipitate the RNA
  1. (Optional but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) Add 10μg of RNase-free glycogen as a carrier to the aqueous phase
  2. Add 0.5mL of isopropanol to the aqueous phase per 1mL of TRIzol used for lysis
    • For 300μL TRIzol, add 150μL isopropanol
  3. Vortex for a few seconds until mixed.
  4. Incubate for 10 minutes
  5. Centrifuge for 10 minutes at 12,000×g at 4C
    • Total RNA precipitate forms a white gel-like pellet at the bottom of the tube.
  6. Aspirate the supernatant
    • It is helpful to take most of the volume out with a P1000, then remove the liquid closer to the pellet with a P200

6.1.1.6 Wash the RNA

  1. Resuspend the pellet in 1mL of 75% ethanol per 1 mL of TRIzol Reagent used for lysis.
    • For 300μL TRIzol, add 300μL 75% ethanol
    • Note: The RNA can be stored in 75% ethanol for at least 1 year at 20C, or at least 1 week at 4C
  2. Vortex briefly
  3. Centrifuge for 5 minutes at 7500×g at 4C
  4. Aspirate the supernatant
    • It is helpful to take most of the volume out with a P1000, then remove the liquid closer to the pellet with a P200
    • You can speed up the drying time, and increase your 260/230 metrics, by gently flicking the pellet to dislodge the liquid from it, then using a P20 or aspirator to remove the dispersed droplets not containing the pellet.
  5. Let the pellet air dry, just before the pellet turns clear.
    • If the pellet overdries, it may not solubilize and may have a low A260/A280.
  6. Add 2050μL of RNAse-free water to each pellet
  7. Incubate at 60C for 10 minutes
  8. Store the RNA at 80C.

6.2 RNA (mirVana)

The following method is adapted from the mirVana miRNA Isolation Kit protocol

This kit is much more expensive per sample than TRIzol, but tends to produce purer results. It’s typically only necessary for higher-stakes experiments like sequencing, but not for qPCR.

Prep

The night before, plate cells in a 6 well plate. 200K cells/mL is a good number.

Before you begin:

  • Get a bucket of ice
  • Set the heatblock to 95C and add a microfuge tube with nuclease free H2O. You will need at least 50uL per sample - be generous with this!
  • For each sample, label 4 tubes - two standard 1.5mL microfuge tubes, two collection tubes

6.2.1 Lysing Cells

  1. Take 6 well plate from incubator.
  2. Aspirate off medium, then gently add 2mL PBS/well.
  3. Aspirate off PBS, then add 300μL lysis buffer/well
  4. Incubate at RT for 3 minutes
  5. Use a cell scraper to scrape cells from the bottom of the well
  • 1 Cat# 83.3950

    • Don’t forget to get all the edges
    • Try not to let the scraper skip
    • After scraping the bottom of the well, tilt the plate and sweep the lysate to the bottom to allow for easy transfer.
    • Use a new scraper for each well
    1. Transfer lysate to regular 1.5mL microfuge tube
    2. Put on ice

    6.2.2 Organic Extraction

    1. Add 110vol miRNA Homogenate Additive
    2. Vortex 15 seconds
    3. Put on ice for 10 minutes
    4. Add 1 vol phenol:chloroform
  • 2 A ‘volume’ refers to the pre-miRNA-Homogenate-Additive volume. If you follow this protocol, 110vol is 30μL

  • Warning

    Perform addition of phenol:chloroform and transfer of upper phase to a new tube under the fume hood - phenol:chloroform vapors are toxic.

    1. Vortex for 45 seconds
    2. Centrifuge at max speed for 5 minutes
    3. Put phenol:chloroform away
    4. Remove upper phase, transfer to fresh 1.5mL microfuge tube
    Warning

    Err on the side of caution to avoid disturbing lower phase. As a rule of thumb, if you add 300uL lysis buffer, remove ~200uL. Your mileage may vary.

    Make sure to note the volume of upper phase removed.

    6.2.3 Total RNA Isolation

    1. Add 1.25 vol 100% EtOH
    2. Vortex 15 seconds
    3. Spin up to 600μL sample through filter cartridge into collection tube
    4. Aspirate flow through
    5. Add 600μL Wash Solution 1, spin, and aspirate
    6. Add 500μL Wash Solution 2/3, spin, and aspirate
    7. Add 500μL Wash Solution 2/3, spin, aspirate, and spin for 1 minute
    8. Transfer filter to fresh collection tube
    9. Add 50μL 95C H2O, spin
    10. Measure concentration, 260/280, and 260/230 via NanoDrop
  • 3 Henceforth for this protocol, ‘spin’ = 30 seconds at 10000×g

  • 6.2.4 TURBO DNA-free Treatment

    Adapted from Cat# AM1907 publication 1907M, revision H
    Prep

    Before you begin:

    • Remove reagents from refrigerator, leave on ice.
    • Turn heat block to 37C
    • Label one set of 1.5mL microfuge tubes, another set of 0.5mL microfuge tubes.
    • If you have many samples, a 96 well plate (with V bottoms) may be a better idea.
    • You should still prepare a set of labelled tubes for storage
    • If RNA concentration >200ng/μL, dilute to 200ng/μL
    Tip

    Anywhere between 10100μL sample is typical, with 50μL being typical

    1. Add 0.1 volume of 10X TURBO DNase Buffer to RNA
    2. Add 1μL TURBO DNase to RNA
    3. Mix gently
    4. Incubate at 37C for 30 minutes
    5. Vortex DNase Inactivation Reagent to resuspend, then add 0.1 volume (minimum 2μL)
    Tip

    If the reagent is dried up and can’t be pipetted, determine how much volume of reagent there is, then add 25% of that volume of nuclease-free water.

    1. Incubate at RT for 5 minutes, flicking every 1.5 minutes
    2. Centrifuge at 10,000×g for 1.5 minutes for 1.5mL tubes, or 2000×g for 5 minutes for 96-well plates.
    3. Transfer supernatant to labelled tube for storage. Store at 20C
    Warning

    Ensure you do not get any of the pellet.

    6.3 DNA

    The following method is adapted from a modified version of the DNeasy Blood & Tissue Kit (April 2016) protocol, and assumes you are using cell lines.
    1. Centrifuge 5×106 cells for 5 minutes at 300×g
    2. Remove supernatant
    3. Add 200μL PBS
    4. Add 20μL proteinase K
    5. Add 20μL 5mg/mL RNAse A. Incubate for 5 minutes at RT.
    6. Add 200μL Buffer AL
    7. Add 200μL 100% ethanol. Vortex thoroughly.
    8. Transfer solution to DNeasy Mini spin column place in a 2mL collection tube.
    9. Spin for 1 minute at 6000×g
    10. Discard collection tube and replace with a fresh one.
    11. Add 500μL Buffer AW1
    12. Spin for 1 minute at 6000×g
    13. Discard collection tube and replace with a fresh one.
    14. Add 500μL Buffer AW2
    15. Spin for 3 minutes at 20000×g
    16. Discard collection tube and replace with a permanent collection tube.
    17. Add 40μL nuclease-free H2O
    18. Incubate for 1 minute
    19. Spin for 1 minute at 6000×g

    6.4 Protein

    See Obtaining Protein Lysates

    6.5 Histones

    Adapted from ab113476
    Prep

    Get ice

    6.5.1 Reagent Preparation

    Note

    Briefly centrifuge small vials at low speed prior to opening. Prepare fresh reagents immediately prior to use.

    6.5.1.1 1X Pre-Lysis Buffer

    1. Dilute 1mL of 10X Pre-Lysis Buffer with 9mL nano-pure water

    6.5.1.2 Balance-DTT Buffer

    1. Add 1μL of DTT Solution to 500μL of Balance Buffer

    6.5.2 Sample Preparation

    6.5.2.1 Tissues

    1. Weigh the sample and record its mass
    2. Cut the sample into small pieces (1-2 mm³) with a scalpel or scissors.
    3. Transfer the tissue pieces to a Dounce homogenizer.
    4. Add 5μL/mg tissue of 1X Pre-Lysis buffer to homogenizer
    5. Disaggregate tissue pieces by 50-60 strokes
    6. If total mixture volume is less than 1mL, transfer mixture to a 1.5mL microfuge tube and centrifuge at 10,000×g for 1 minute at 4°C. Otherwise, transfer homogenized mixture to a 15 mL conical tube and centrifuge at 2000×g for 5 min at 4°C.
    7. Remove supernatant.

    6.5.2.2 Cells

    1. In the hood, trypsinize and resuspend cells in medium in a 15mL conical
    2. Count the number of cells to determine the volume of reagents required for each sample (see info box)

    7 Calculating Required Reagent Volume

    Calculate the total number of cells suspension by multiplying the volume of the suspension by the concentration of cells

    To calculate the amount of:

    • Pre-lysis buffer needed, divide the number of cells by 10 cells/mL

    • Lysis buffer needed, divide the number of cells by 5×10 cells/mL

    • BDTT needed, multiply the amount of lysis buffer needed by 0.3

    1. Pellet the cells at 200×g for 5 minutes at 4°C and remove the supernatant
    2. Re-suspend cells in the 1X Pre-Lysis Buffer at 107 cells/mL
    3. Lyse cells on ice for 10 minutes, flicking every 3 minutes
    4. If lysates were prepared in a 1.5mL microfuge tube, centrifuge at 10,000×g for 1 minute at 4°C. If prepared in a 15mL conical, centrifuge at 2000×g for 5 minutes at 4°C.
    5. Remove supernatant.

    7.0.1 Extraction Protocol

    1. Re-suspend pellet in 3 volumes (approximately 200 µL/10^7 cells or 100 mg of tissue) of Lysis Buffer. If not in a 1.5mL tube, transfer it to one.
    2. Incubate on ice for 30 minutes
    3. Centrifuge at 15,000×g for 5 minutes at 4°C
    4. Transfer the supernatant fraction (containing acid-soluble proteins) to a fresh 1.5mL microfuge tube
    5. Immediately add 0.3 volumes of the Balance-DTT Buffer to the supernatant (e.g., 0.3 mL of Balance-DTT Buffer to 1 ml of supernatant).
    6. Store the extract at 20°C for several days, or 80°C for long-term storage. Avoid repeated thawing and freezing.