University of Massachusetts Lowell

6 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Biology

Extraction of Venom and Venom Gland Microdissections from Spiders for Proteomic and Transcriptomic Analyses

¹Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell

This article provides a protocol for the extraction of venom from spiders using electrical stimulation in order to 1) conduct proteomic characterization, 2) stimulate venom gland gene expression, and 3) perform functional studies of venoms. This is followed by a description of venom gland microdissections for gene expression studies.

Neuroscience

Intra-Arterial Delivery of Neural Stem Cells to the Rat and Mouse Brain: Application to Cerebral Ischemia

Bei Zhang¹, Binoy Joseph², Kathryn E. Saatman², Lei Chen²

¹College of Public Health, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, ²Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky

A method for delivering neural stem cells, adaptable for injecting solutions or suspensions, through the common carotid artery (mouse) or external carotid artery (rat) after ischemic stroke is reported. Injected cells are distributed broadly throughout the brain parenchyma and can be detected up to 30 d after delivery.

Bioengineering

Open-source Toolkit: Benchtop Carbon Fiber Microelectrode Array for Nerve Recording

Julianna M. Richie¹, Paras R. Patel¹, Elissa J. Welle¹, Tianshu Dong², Lei Chen³, Albert J. Shih², Cynthia A. Chestek^1,4,5,6

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, ²Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, ³Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, ⁴Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, ⁵Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, ⁶Robotics Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Here, we describe fabrication methodology for customizable carbon fiber electrode arrays for recording in vivo in nerve and brain.

Genetics

C. elegans Gonad Dissection and Freeze Crack for Immunofluorescence and DAPI Staining

Deepshikha Ananthaswamy^*1, Jaime C. Croft^*1, Natilia Woozencroft¹, Teresa W. Lee¹

¹Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell

This is a commonly used method for C. elegans gonad dissection followed by freeze crack, which produces germline samples for immunofluorescence via antibody staining, or for simple DAPI staining to visualize DNA. This protocol has been successful for undergraduates in a research lab and in a course-based undergraduate research experience.

Biology

Visualizing Mitophagy with Fluorescent Dyes for Mitochondria and Lysosome

Bilin Liu^1,2, Anqi Li¹, Yuan Qin³, Lei Chen¹, Meng Gao¹, Guohua Gong^1,2

¹Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Tongji University, ²Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, ³Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University

Mitophagy is the primary mechanism of mitochondrial quality control. However, the evaluation of mitophagy in vivo is hindered by the lack of reliable quantitative assays. Presented here is a protocol for the observation of mitophagy in living cells using a cell-permeant green-fluorescent mitochondria dye and a red-fluorescent lysosome dye.

Chemistry

Aqueous Synthesis of Plasmonic Gold-Tin Alloy Nanoparticles

Ji Hyeon Cha¹, Samantha M. Silva¹, Anthony J. Branco¹, Michael B. Ross¹

¹Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Here, the synthesis of gold (Au) seeds is described using the Turkevich method. These seeds are then used to synthesize gold-tin alloy (Au-Sn) nanoparticles with tunable plasmonic properties.