ABSTRACT:

FLUORESCENCE-ACTIVATED CELL
SORTING:
It provides a method for sorting a heterogeneous mixture of
biological cells into two or more containers, one cell at a time,
based upon the specific light scattering and fluorescent
characteristics of each cell. It is a useful scientific instrument, as it
provides fast, objective and quantitative recording of fluorescent
signals from individual cells as well as physical separation of cells of
particular interest. A common variation is to physically sort particles
based on their properties, so as to purify populations of interest.
History:
Fluorescence-activated cell sorting is a specialized type of flow cytometry. Flow
cytometry is a technique for counting and examining microscopic particles, such as
cells and chromosomes, by suspending them in a stream of fluid and passing them
by an electronic detection apparatus. It allows simultaneous multiparametric
analysis of the physical and/or chemical characteristics of up to thousands of
particles per second. The first fluorescence-based flow cytometry device (ICP 11)
was developed in 1968 by Wolfgang Gohde from the University of Munster. At that
time, absorption methods were still widely favored by other scientists over
fluorescence methods.

Name of the technology:

The original name of the flow cytometry technology was "pulse cytophotometry"
(German: Impulszytophotometrie). Only 20 years later in 1988, at the Conference of
the American Engineering Foundation in Pensacola, Florida, the name was changed
to "flow cytometry", a term that quickly became popular.

Principle of flow cytometry:

A beam of light, usually laser light, of a single wavelength is directed onto a hydro
dynamically focused stream of fluid. A number of detectors are aimed at the point
where the stream passes through the light beam: one in line with the light beam,
Forward Scatter or FSC, and several perpendicular to it, Side Scatter SSC, and one
or more fluorescent detectors. Each suspended particle from 0.2 to 150
micrometers passing through the beam scatters the light in some way, and
fluorescent chemicals found in the particle or attached to the particle may be
excited into emitting light at a longer wavelength than the light source. This
combination of scattered and fluorescent light is picked up by the detectors, and,
by analyzing fluctuations in brightness at each detector, i.e. one for each
fluorescent emission peak, it is then possible to derive various types of information
about the physical and chemical structure of each individual particle. FSC correlates
with the cell volume and SSC depends on the inner complexity of the particle i.e.,
shape of the nucleus, the amount and type of cytoplasmic granules or the
membrane roughness. Some flow cytometers on the market have eliminated the
need for fluorescence and use only light scatter for measurement. Other flow
cytometers form images of each cell's fluorescence, scattered light, and
transmitted light.

Flow cytometers:
Modern flow cytometers are able to analyze several thousand particles every
second, in "real time," and can actively separate and isolate particles having
specified properties. A flow cytometer is similar to a microscope, except that,
instead of producing an image of the cell, flow cytometry offers high throughput,
i.e. for a large number of cells, automated quantification of set parameters. To
analyze solid tissues, a single cell suspension must first be prepared.

A flow cytometer has 5 main components:

 a flow cell - liquid stream (sheath fluid), which carries and aligns the cells so
that they pass single file through the light beam for sensing
 an optical system - commonly used are lamps (mercury, xenon); high-power
water-cooled lasers (argon, krypton, dye laser); low-power air-cooled lasers
(argon (488 nm), red-HeNe (633 nm), green-HeNe, HeCd (UV)); diode lasers
(blue, green, red, violet) resulting in light signals
 a detector and Analogue-to-Digital Conversion (ADC) system - which
generates FSC and SSC as well as fluorescence signals from light into electrical
signals that can be processed by a computer
 an amplification system - linear or logarithmic
 a computer for analysis of the signals
Acquisition:
The process of collecting data from samples using the flow cytometer is termed
'Acquisition'. Acquisition is mediated by a computer physically connected to the
flow cytometer, and the software which handles the digital interface with the
cytometer. The software is capable of adjusting parameters, i.e. voltage,
compensation, etc, for the sample being tested, and also assists in displaying initial
sample information while acquiring sample data to insure that parameters are set
correctly. Early flow cytometers were, in general, experimental devices, but
technological advances have enabled widespread applications for use in a variety of
both clinical and research purposes. Due to these developments, a considerable
market for instrumentation, analysis software, as well as the reagents used in
acquisition such as fluorescently labeled antibodies has developed.

Modern instruments usually have multiple lasers and fluorescence detectors; the
current record for a commercial instrument is 4 lasers and 18 fluorescence
detectors. Increasing the number of lasers and detectors allows for multiple
antibodies labeling, and can more precisely identify a target population by their
phenotypic markers. Certain instruments can even take digital images of individual
cells, allowing for the analysis of fluorescent signal location within or on the surface
of cells.

Data analysis
Gating:
The data generated by flow cytometers can be plotted in a single dimension, to
produce a histogram, or in two-dimensional dot plots or even in three dimensions.
The regions on these plots can be sequentially separated, based on fluorescence
intensity, by creating a series of subset extractions, termed "gates." Specific gating
protocols exist for diagnostic and clinical purposes especially in relation to
hematology.
The plots are often made on logarithmic scales. Because different fluorescent dyes'
emission spectra overlap, signals at the detectors have to be compensated
electronically as well as computationally. Data accumulated using the flow
cytometer can be analyzed using software, e.g., WinMDI(depricated), Flowjo, or
CellQuest Pro. Once the data is collected, there is no need to stay connected to the
flow cytometer. For this reason, analysis is most often done on a separate
computer. This is especially necessary in core facilities where usage of these
machines is in high demand.
Computational analysis:
Recent progress on automated population identification using computational
methods has offered an alternative to traditional gating strategies. Automated
identification systems could potentially help findings of rare and hidden
populations. Representative automated methods include FLOCK in ImmPort, FLAME
in GenePattern and flowClust in Bioconductor. Collaborative efforts have resulted in
an open project called FlowCAPIM (Flow Cytometry: Critical Assessment of
Population Identification Methods) to provide an objective way to compare and
evaluate the flow cytometry data clustering methods, and to establish guidance
about appropriate use and application of these methods.

Fluorescence-activated cell sorting:

Fluorescence-activated cell sorting is a specialized type of flow cytometry. It
provides a method for sorting a heterogeneous mixture of biological cells into two
or more containers, one cell at a time, based upon the specific light scattering and
fluorescent characteristics of each cell. It is a useful scientific instrument, as it
provides fast, objective and quantitative recording of fluorescent signals from
individual cells as well as physical separation of cells of particular interest. The
acronym FACS is trademarked and owned by Becton Dickinson. While many
immunologists use this term frequently for all types of sorting and non-sorting
applications, it is not a generic term for flow cytometry. The first cell sorter was
invented by Mack Fulwyler in 1965, using the principle of Coulter volume, a
relatively difficult technique and one no longer used in modern instruments. The
technique was expanded by Len Herzenberg who was responsible for coining the
term FACS. Herzenberg won the Kyoto Prize in 2006 for his work in flow cytometry.

The cell suspension is entrained in the center of a narrow, rapidly flowing stream of
liquid. The flow is arranged so that there is a large separation between cells relative
to their diameter. A vibrating mechanism causes the stream of cells to break into
individual droplets. The system is adjusted so that there is a low probability of more
than one cell per droplet. Just before the stream breaks into droplets, the flow
passes through a fluorescence measuring station where the fluorescent character of
interest of each cell is measured. An electrical charging ring is placed just at the
point where the stream breaks into droplets. A charge is placed on the ring based
on the immediately prior fluorescence intensity measurement, and the opposite
charge is trapped on the droplet as it breaks from the stream. The charged droplets
then fall through an electrostatic deflection system that diverts droplets into
containers based upon their charge. In some systems, the charge is applied directly
to the stream, and the droplet breaking off retains charge of the same sign as the
stream. The stream is then returned to neutral after the droplet breaks off.

Applications:
The technology has applications in a number of fields, including molecular biology,
pathology, immunology, plant biology and marine biology. In the field of molecular
biology, it is especially useful when used with fluorescence tagged antibodies.
These specific antibodies, which number tens of thousands against several
thousand genes, bind to antigens on the target cells and help to give information on
specific characteristics of the cells being studied in the cytometer. It has broad
application in medicine, especially in transplantation, hematology, tumor
immunology and chemotherapy, genetics and sperm sorting for sex pre-selection.
In marine biology, the auto fluorescent properties of photosynthetic plankton can be
exploited by flow cytometry in order to characterize abundance and community
structure. In protein engineering, flow cytometry is used in conjunction with yeast
display and bacterial display to identify cell surface-displayed protein variants with
desired properties.

FACS
The FACS Technique:
Resting lymphocytes comprise many functional subpopulations, which are identified
and distinguished from each others, based on their differential expression of cell
surface proteins, which can be detected using specific antibodies.

Flow Cytometry:
A powerful tool for defining and quantifying lymphocytes is the flow cytometer,
which detects and counts individual cells passing in a stream through a laser beam.
A flow cytometer equipped to separate the identified cells is called a fluorescence-
activated cell sorter (FACS). These instruments are used to study the properties of
cell subsets identified using monoclonal antibodies to cell-surface proteins.
Individual cells within a mixed population are first tagged by treatment with specific
monoclonal antibodies labeled with fluorescent dyes, or by specific antibodies
followed by labeled anti-immunoglobulin antibodies. The mixture of labeled cells is
then forced with a much arger volume of saline through a nozzle, creating a fine
stream of liquid containing cells spaced singly at intervals . As each cell passes
through a laser beam it scatters the laser light, and any dye molecules bound to the
cell will be excited and will fluoresce.

Sensitive photomultiplier tubes detect both the scattered light, which gives
information on the size and granularity of the cell, and the florescence emissions,
which give information on the binding of the labeled monoclonal antibodies and
therefore on the expression of cell-surface proteins by each cell. In the cell sorter,
the signals passed back to the computer are used to generate an electric charge,
which is passed from the nozzle through the liquid stream at the precise time that
the stream breaks up into droplets, each containing no more than a single cell;
droplets containing a charge can then be deflected from the main stream of
droplets as they pass between plates of opposite charge, so that positively charged
droplets are attracted to a negatively charged plate, and vice versa. In this way,
specific subpopulations of cells, distinguished by the binding of the labeled
antibody, can be purified from a mixed population of cells. Alternatively, to deplete
a population of cells, the same fluorochrome can be used to label different
antibodies directed at marker proteins expressed by the various undesired cell
types.

Cell Sorting :
The cell sorter can be used to direct labeled cells to a waste channel, retaining only
the unlabeled cells. When cells are labeled with a single fluorescent antibody, the
data from flow cytometer are usually displayed in the form of a histogram of
fluorescence intensity vs. cell numbers. If two or more antibodies are used, each
coupled to different fluorescent dye, then the data are more usually displayed in he
form of a two-dimensional scatter diagram or as a contour diagram, where the
fluorescence of one dye-labeled antibody is plotted against that of a second, with
the result that a population of cells labeling with one antibody can be further
subdivided by its labeling with the second antibody. By examining large numbers of
cells, flow cytometry can give quantitative data on the percentage of cells bearing
different molecules. As the power of FACS technology has grown, progressively
more antibodies labeled with distinct fluorescent dyes can be used at the same
time.

Three, four and even five color analyses can now be handled by very powerful
machines.

Sample Diluting System:

In order to carry out FACS, the individual cells in a resting lymphocyte pool must be
isolated. This is accomplished by suspending the cells in a fluid (i.e., saline). This
suspension of cells is then forced through a fine, high-pressure nozzle or fluidic
diluting system which distributes the cells into a single-file line or flow cell (Kidd and
Nicholson 229).

Light Source:
Light is an integral part of the FACS technique. Light striking each cell is scattered.
By using electronic devices that measure scattered light and fluorescence, different
types of cells and their sizes can be identified. In older FACS devices, the preferred
light source was a mercury arc lamp. The more recent development of lasers has
made the mercury arc lamp somewhat obsolete. Laser light has several
advantages: it has a low amount of divergence, a high degree of intensity, and it
can be adjusted to provide a variety of very specific wavelengths of light (Kidd and
Nicholson 229).

Data Collecting Devices:

FACSs have two types of data collecting hardware: light scatter sensors and
photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). The light scatter sensors measure the light that is
scattered by each cell from two different angles. The forward angle light scatter
sensor (FALS) gathers light scattered in the forward direction. This type of scattered
light gives a clue as to a cell's size. Right angle, orthogonal, or side light scatter
(SS) sensors gather light scattered at 90° from the original direction of the light
source. This light reveals cell granularity, refractiveness, and the presence of
intracellular structures that reflect light (Darzynkiewicz, et al. 335). Scatter sensors
are useful in distinguishing cells based on the cells' different structures.
Neutrohphiles, for example, display more SS than lymphocytes (Kidd and Nicholson
229). In addition, different cell lineages or cells at different stages of development
(i.e., pre B cells versus plasma B cells) can be distinguished based on their forward
and side scatters (Kantor, Merrill, and Hillson 13.1). Finally, PMTs detect fluorescent
emissions from the fluorescent dyes on antibodies bound to cells or from auto-
fluorescence of the cells.

Integration Computer:
This part of the FACS hardware is essential for collecting information from the data
collecting devices and integrating it. The integrated information will be used in the
formation of an electric field that will select out cells that meet certain scatter and
fluorescent criteria.

Charged Plates:
To collect selected cells, the cells are passed through an electric field generated by
oppositely-charged plates. By changing the direction of the electric field between
the plates, selected cells can be directed into precise collection areas.
Fluorescent labels:
The fluorescence labels that can be used for FACS will depend on the lamp or laser used to excite the
fluorochromes and on the detectors available:

Blue argon laser (488 nm):

This is an air cooled laser and therefore cheaper to set up and run. It is the most commonly available
laser on single laser machines.
Green (usually labelled FL1): FITC, Alexa Fluor 488, GFP, CFSE, CFDA-SE, DyLight 488
Orange (usually FL2): PE, PI
Red channel (usually FL3): PerCP, PerCP-Cy5.5, PE-Alexa Fluor 700, PE-Cy5 (TRI-COLOR), PE-Cy5.5.
Infra-red (usually FL4; not provided by all FACS machines as standard): PE-Alexa Fluor 750, PE-Cy7
Red diode laser (635 nm):
APC
APC-Cy7, APC-eFluor 780
Alexa Fluor 700
Cy5
Draq-5
Violet laser (405 nm)
Pacific Orange
Amine Aqua
Pacific Blue
DAPI
Alexa Fluor 405
eFluor 450
eFluor 605 Nanocrystals
eFluor 625 Nanocrystals
eFluor 650 Nanocrystals

Measurable parameters:
This list is very long and constantly expanding.
➢ Volume and morphological complexity of cells
➢ Cell pigments such as chlorophyll or phycoerythrin
➢ DNA, cell cycle analysis, cell kinetics, proliferation, etc.
➢ RNA
➢ Chromosome analysis and sorting, library construction, chromosome paint
➢ Protein expression and localization
➢ Protein modifications, phospho-proteins
➢ Transgenic products in vivo, particularly the green fluorescent protein or related fluorescent * cell
surface antigens i.e. cluster of differentiation (cd) markers
➢ Intracellular antigens, various cytokines, secondary mediators, etc.
➢ Nuclear antigens
➢ Enzymatic activity
➢ Ph, intracellular ionized calcium, magnesium, membrane potential
➢ Membrane fluidity
➢ Apoptosis, quantification, measurement of DNA degradation, mitochondrial membrane potential,
permeability changes, caspase activity
➢ Cell viability
➢ Monitoring electro-permeabilization of cells
➢ Oxidative burst
➢ Characterising multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells
➢ Glutathione
➢ Various combinations e.g. DNA/surface antigens, etc.
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