Labeling GAPs

The intestinal epithelium is a major interface between the body and the environment; it acts as a barrier to pathogenic infection while allowing the underlying immune system to sample luminal antigens and contribute to immune surveillance. Goblet cells in the epithelium can form goblet cell–associated antigen passages (GAPs). The formation of GAPs is an essential process for the delivery of luminal antigens to immune cells in the lamina propria and for subsequent induction of antigen-specific T cell responses.

In this first Protocol following our new format, Kathryn Knoop and colleagues from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis describe a step-by-step procedure to visualize intestinal GAPs in mice by intraluminal injection of fluorescent dextran, tissue sectioning for slide preparation, and imaging with fluorescence microscopy. This procedure might be useful to study the intestinal epithelium and other mucosal surfaces and to further understand how antigens cross the epithelium in the steady state or breach the barrier in times of inflammation.

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Cephalopods in the city

Cephalopods—squid, octopus, and cuttlefish—are unique organisms that are growing in popularity as lab animals in a number of research areas, including neuroscience, genetics, regeneration, and behavior. But to work with a particular animal, you need to be able to keep it happy and healthy in the lab environment. Cephalopods come with unique challenges as aquatic lab animals, but with the right resources they can be worth the effort.

Columbia University in New York City recently joined the ranks of institutions capable of culturing cephalopods, with a new set up to raise and work with the dwarf cuttlefish, Sepia bandensis. Aquatics manager Josh Barber and veterinarian Rebecca Ober share what went in to establishing that facility and what it takes for cuttlefish to make it big in the big city.

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