Neutrophil Lifespan Extension with CLON-G and an In Vitro Spontaneous Death Assay

The average lifespan of a neutrophil is less than 24 h, which limits basic research on neutrophils and the application of neutrophil studies. Our previous research indicated that multiple pathways could mediate the spontaneous death of neutrophils. A cocktail was developed by simultaneously targeting these pathways, caspases-lysosomal membrane permeabilization-oxidant-necroptosis inhibition plus granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (CLON-G), which prolonged the neutrophil lifespan to greater than 5 days without significantly compromising the neutrophil function. Concurrently, a reliable and stable protocol for assessing and evaluating neutrophil death was also developed. In this work, we show that CLON-G can prolong the neutrophil lifespan in vitro to more than 5 days, and we exhibit the lengthening of the neutrophil lifespan with FACS and confocal fluorescence microscopy. This report introduces procedures for the preparation of CLON-G and showcases an in vitro spontaneous death assay of neutrophils, which can be used for the study of neutrophils and for subsequently interrogating neutrophil death, thus providing a reliable resource for the neutrophil community.