Universitat de Barcelona

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Biochemistry

Brain Membrane Fractionation: An Ex Vivo Approach to Assess Subsynaptic Protein Localization

Xavier Morató^*1,2, Marc López-Cano^*1,2, Paula M. Canas³, Rodrigo A. Cunha³, Francisco Ciruela^1,2

¹Unitat de Farmacologia, Departament Patologia i Terapèutica Experimental, Facultat de Medicina, IDIBELL, Universitat de Barcelona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, ²Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, ³Center for Neurosciences of Coimbra, Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra

Here, we present a brain membrane fractionation protocol that represents a robust procedure to isolate proteins belonging to different synaptic compartments.

Neuroscience

Generation of 3-D Collagen-based Hydrogels to Analyze Axonal Growth and Behavior During Nervous System Development

Vanessa Gil^1,2,3,4, José Antonio Del Río^1,2,3,4

¹Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Parc Científic de Barcelona, ²Department of Cell Biology, Physiology, and Immunology, Universitat de Barcelona, ³Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), ⁴Institute of Neuroscience, University of Barcelona

Here, we provide a method for analyzing the behavior of growing axons in 3D matrices, mimicking their natural development.

Neuroscience

Hippocampal Neuronal Cultures to Detect and Study New Pathogenic Antibodies Involved in Autoimmune Encephalitis

Marina Cunquero¹, Esther Aguilar², Pablo Loza-Alvarez¹, Jesús Planagumà^1,2

¹ICFO-Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, ²Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona

Autoimmune encephalitis is a new category of antibody-mediated diseases of the central nervous system. Hippocampal neurons can be used to discover and characterize these antibodies. This article provides a protocol for primary cell culture and immunostaining to determine autoantibodies in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients.