title: Purification of native bone marrow megakaryocytes for studies of gene expression.
abstract: Megakaryocytes constitute less than 1% of all marrow cells, therefore purification of these giant platelet precursor cells represents a challenge. We describe two methods to ultra-purify mature megakaryocytes from murine marrow for the purpose of extracting RNA suitable for studies of gene expression. In the first approach, unit velocity gradients are used to enrich for megakaryocytes, which are then selected by fluorescence-activated cell sorting based upon size and high surface expression of CD41. In the second method, individual megakaryocytes, identified by their distinct morphology, are extracted using glass suction pipettes. Despite the small numbers of cells that can be isolated via the latter technique, recent studies have demonstrated how this pure population can be used to detect mRNA transcripts encoding ion channels and other proteins in the native megakaryocyte.
authors: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors: Gwen
authors: G
authors: Tolhurst
authors: Richard N
authors: RN
authors: Carter
authors: Nigel
authors: N
authors: Miller
authors: Martyn P
authors: MP
authors: Mahaut-Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000378:metabolism*; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008533:Megakaryocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger