Obtaining Hemocytes from the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid Euprymna scolopes and Observing their Adherence to Symbiotic and Non-Symbiotic Bacteria

Studies concerning the role of the immune system in mediating molecular signaling between beneficial bacteria and their hosts have, in recent years, made significant contributions to our understanding of the co-evolution of eukaryotes with their microbiota. The symbiotic association between the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes and the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri has been utilized as a model system for understanding the effects of beneficial bacteria on animal development. Recent studies have shown that macrophage-like hemocytes, the sole cellular component of the squid host's innate immune system, likely play an important role in mediating the establishment and maintenance of this association. This protocol will demonstrate how to obtain hemocytes from E. scolopes and then use these cells in bacterial binding assays. Adult squid are first anesthetized before hemolymph is collected by syringe from the main cephalic blood vessel. The host hemocytes, contained in the extracted hemolymph, are adhered to chambered glass coverslips and then exposed to green fluorescent protein-labeled symbiotic Vibrio fischeri and non-symbiotic Vibrio harveyi. The hemocytes are counterstained with a fluorescent dye (Cell Tracker Orange, Invitrogen) and then visualized using fluorescent microscopy.