An optimized protocol for isolation of hepatic leukocytes retrieved from murine and NASH liver biopsies

Immune dysregulation and inflammation by hepatic-resident leukocytes is considered a key step in disease progression of Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) toward cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here we provide a robust protocol for isolation and characterization of liver-resident immune cells from fine needle biopsies of rodent model and human. Various downstream applications can then be applied to gain an appreciation of the functional activity of liver-resident leukocyte populations. Immune-cell FACS of liver needle biopsy tissue from mice using varying input cell numbers: 2,500 (n=3), 5,000 (n=3), 10,000 (n=3) and 20,000 (n=3) cells and bulk liver tissue as control (n=2)