Name: live imaging of dorsal root axons after rhizotomy
Uploaded: 2011-09-01T12:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Live Imaging of Dorsal Root Axons after Rhizotomy at JoVE.com

We thank Dr. Alan Tessler for comments and editorial help. This work was supported by NIH NS062320.

1. Microscope set up and imaging preparation
<ol>
 <li>Our imaging set up consists of a Leica MZ16 fluorescent stereomicroscope with a fast shutter and a cooled CCD camera controlled by Metamorph software.</li>
 <li>Prepare a thermostatically controlled heating pad and adjust output to 32.5&deg;C to maintain the animal's body temperature during and following surgery.</li>
 <li>Warm sterile Ringer's solution or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) to 32.5&deg;C in advance for irrigation of spinal cord during surgery.</...

<ol>
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Imaging DR regeneration directly in living mice is particularly challenging because it requires a substantial dorsal laminectomy to monitor axon growth over a wide area followed by multiple invasive surgical and anesthetic procedures in subsequent imaging sessions. Several strategies helped to overcome these challenges. First, successful imaging required reducing mouse mortality (approximately 25%) by minimizing the duration of anesthesia and bleeding, and by meticulous post-op care. The mortality was also reduced by usi...

<table border="1">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Name of the reagent</th>
			<th>Company</th>
			<th>Catalogue number</th>
			<th>Comments</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>H line thy1-YFP (2-4 months old, either sex) </td>
			<td>Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME)</td>
			<td>003782</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Xylazine (AnaSed injection, sterile solution) </td>
			<td>Lloyd Laboratories, (Shenandoah, LA)</td>
			<td>4811</td>
			<td>8 mg/kg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ketamine (Ketamine hydrochloride injection, USP) </td>
			<td>Hospira, Inc. (Lake Forest, IL)</td>
			<td>2051</td>
			<td>120 mg/kg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Buprenorphine (Buprenex injectable) (0.05 mg/kg)</td>
			<td>Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc.(Richmond, VA)</td>
			<td>7571</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Small animal hair clippers </td>
			<td>Oster Professional, (McMinnville, TN)</td>
			<td>76059-030</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hair removal lotion</td>
			<td>Church &amp; Dwight Co (Princeton, NJ)</td>
			<td>NAIR with Baby Oil</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Gauze sponges</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific, (Pittsburgh, PA)</td>
			<td>22-362-173</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cotton-tipped swabs</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific, (Pittsburgh, PA)</td>
			<td>14-960-3Q</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1 mL syringes</td>
			<td>Becton, Dickson and Company Franklin Lakes, NJ)</td>
			<td>309602</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Subcutaneous (Sub-Q) needles, 26ga.</td>
			<td>Becton, Dickson and Company (Franklin Lakes, NJ)</td>
			<td>305115</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Spring scissors and forceps</td>
			<td>Fine Science Tools, (Foster City, CA)</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2.5-mm curved rongeurs </td>
			<td>Fine Science Tools, (Foster City, CA)</td>
			<td>16221-14</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lactated Ringer's Injection USP</td>
			<td>B. Braun Medical Inc., (Irvine, CA)</td>
			<td>BBR-L7502</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile saline solution</td>
			<td>APP Pharmaceuticals, (Schaumburg, IL)</td>
			<td>918610</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Thin synthetic matrix membrane (Biobrane)</td>
			<td>Bertek Pharmaceuticals, (Morgantown, WV)</td>
			<td>62794-096-251</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Artificial dura</td>
			<td>Gore Preclude MVP Dura Substitute, W.L. Gore and Associates, (Flagstaff, AZ)</td>
			<td>1MVP40</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5-0 silk sutures</td>
			<td>Ethicon, Inc. (Somerville, NJ)</td>
			<td>K-580</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Wound clips</td>
			<td>Perfect &#x2013; Ets Bruneau, (Burnea, France)</td>
			<td>A75</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fluorescent stereomicroscope</td>
			<td>Leica Microsystems, (Wetzlar, Germany)</td>
			<td>MZ16</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CCD camera</td>
			<td>Hamamatsu, (Bridgewater, NJ)</td>
			<td>ORCA-Rx2</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Temperature Controller</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments (Sarasota, FL)</td>
			<td>ATC 1000</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Metamorph software</td>
			<td>Molecular Devices, (Sunnyvale, CA)</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Photoshop</td>
			<td>Adobe Systems, San Jose, CA</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

live imaging of dorsal root axons after rhizotomy

The primary sensory axons injured by spinal root injuries fail to regenerate into the spinal cord, leading to chronic pain and permanent sensory loss. Regeneration of dorsal root (DR) axons into spinal cord is prevented at the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ), the interface between the CNS and PNS. Our understanding of the molecular and cellular events that prevent regeneration at DREZ is incomplete, in part because complex changes associated with nerve injury have been deduced from postmortem analyses. Dynamic cellular processes, such as axon regeneration, are best studied with techniques that capture real-time events with multiple observations of each living animal. Our ability to monitor neurons serially in vivo has increased dramatically owing to revolutionary innovations in optics and mouse transgenics. Several lines of thy1-GFP transgenic mice, in which subsets of neurons are genetically labeled in distinct fluorescent colors, permit individual neurons to be imaged in vivo1. These mice have been used extensively for in vivo imaging of muscle2-4 and brain5-7, and have provided novel insights into physiological mechanisms that static analyses could not have resolved. Imaging studies of neurons in living spinal cord have only recently begun. Lichtman and his colleagues first demonstrated their feasibility by tracking injured dorsal column (DC) axons with wide-field microscopy8,9. Multi-photon in vivo imaging of deeply positioned DC axons, microglia and blood vessels has also been accomplished10. Over the last few years, we have pioneered in applying in vivo imaging to monitor regeneration of DR axons using wide-field microscopy and H line of thy1-YFP mice. These studies have led us to a novel hypothesis about why DR axons are prevented from regenerating within the spinal cord11.
In H line of thy1-YFP mice, distinct YFP+ axons are superficially positioned, which allows several axons to be monitored simultaneously. We have learned that DR axons arriving at DREZ are better imaged in lumbar than in cervical spinal cord. In the present report we describe several strategies that we have found useful to assure successful long-term and repeated imaging of regenerating DR axons. These include methods that eliminate repeated intubation and respiratory interruption, minimize surgery-associated stress and scar formation, and acquire stable images at high resolution without phototoxicity.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Live Imaging of Dorsal Root Axons after Rhizotomy at JoVE.com

Live Imaging of Dorsal Root Axons after Rhizotomy

An in vivo imaging protocol to monitor primary sensory axons following dorsal root crush is described. The procedures utilize wide-field fluorescence microscopy and thy1-YFP transgenic mice, and permit repeated imaging of axon regeneration over 4 cm in the PNS and axon interactions with the interface of the CNS.

The primary sensory axons injured by spinal root injuries fail to regenerate into the spinal cord, leading to chronic pain and permanent sensory loss. ...

Research

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In a mammalian nervous system, myelin provides an electrical insulation by enwrapping the axon fibers in a multilayered spiral. Inspired by its ...

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Investigating Mammalian Axon Regeneration: In Vivo Electroporation of Adult Mouse Dorsal Root Ganglion

Electroporation is an essential non-viral gene transfection approach to introduce DNA plasmids or small RNA molecules into cells. A sensory neuron in the ...

Rapid Isolation of Dorsal Root Ganglion Macrophages

There are growing interests to study the molecular and cellular interactions among immune cells and sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia after ...

In Vitro Myelination of Peripheral Axons in a Coculture of Rat Dorsal Root Ganglion Explants and Schwann Cells

The process of myelination is essential to enable rapid and sufficient signal transduction in the nervous system. In the peripheral nervous system, ...

Enrichment of Adult Mouse Dorsal Root Ganglia Neuron Cultures by Immunopanning

Dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) are peripheral structures adjacent to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, which house the cell bodies of sensory neurons as ...