Name: organotypic slice cultures for studies of postnatal neurogenesis
Uploaded: 2015-03-04T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Organotypic Slice Cultures for Studies of Postnatal Neurogenesis at JoVE.com

This work was supported by a research grant MOP 119271 to JMW by the Canadian Institute of Health Research. The authors would like to thank Ms. Yao Fang Tan for her outstanding technical assistance.

NOTE: All animal procedures conformed to the animal health and welfare guidelines of the Department of Comparative Medicine at the University of Toronto.
1. Preparation of Hippocampal Slices
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	<li>Sterilize the following instruments using the dry autoclave at 125 &#176;C: Scalpel handle (#3) (2), Standard pattern forceps, large (1), Small dissector scissor (angled to side) (1), Micro spoon (spoon and flat spatula ends) (1), Micro-spatulas (rounded and rounded tapered ends) (2), Fine pain...

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A., Heimrich, B., Soriano, E., Schwegler, H., Frotscher, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Proliferation+and+differentiation+of+glial+fibrillary+acidic+protein-immunoreactive+glial+cells+in+organotypic+slice+cultures+of+rat+hippocampus.">Proliferation and differentiation of glial fibrillary acidic protein-immunoreactive glial cells in organotypic slice cultures of rat hippocampus.</a> Neuroscience. 43 (2-3), 335-347 (1991).</li><li>Ziemka-Nalecz, M., Stanaszek, L., Zalewska, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Oxygen-glucose+deprivation+promotes+gliogenesis+and+microglia+activation+in+organotypic+hippocampal+slice+culture:+involvement+of+metalloproteinases.">Oxygen-glucose deprivation promotes gliogenesis and microglia activation in organotypic hippocampal slice culture: involvement of metalloproteinases.</a> Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis. 73 (1), 130-142 (2013).</li><li>Subramanian, L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Transcription+factor+Lhx2+is+necessary+and+sufficient+to+suppress+astrogliogenesis+and+promote+neurogenesis+in+the+developing+hippocampus.">Transcription factor Lhx2 is necessary and sufficient to suppress astrogliogenesis and promote neurogenesis in the developing hippocampus.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108 (27), E265-E274 (2011).</li><li>Strassburger, M., Braun, H., Reymann, K. 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Following CldU (or BrdU) administration, the timeline of application of pharmacological agents can be chosen to target newborn DGCs during particular developmental windows. For example, a hypothetical agent can be applied during the second week post-CldU injection, which is proposed to coincide with the age of immature neurons that are at a developmental stage where GABA is depolarizing. Future studies using this protocol could adapt the pharmacological agent and the window of exposure to &#8220;tailor&#8221; the approac...

Adult neurogenesis in the mammalian hippocampus represents a remarkable example of the brain&#8217;s innate capacity for adaptability and plasticity. Dentate granule cells (DGCs) are generated from a renewable pool of neural progenitor cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, which is one of the two presently well-characterized neurogenic regions in the mammalian brain, and is thought to be particularly important for learning and memory. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system and has a deep location within the mammalian brain, which makes it a difficult target for precise pharmacological manipulation. Additionally, aberrant neurogenesis has been implicated in conditions, such as epilepsy, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, which has prompted interest in understanding the influence of various pharmacological agents during the maturation and survival of newborn neurons. The distinction between postnatal and adult neurogenesis is blurred and previous studies have shown that many features of in vivo neuronal development in the early postnatal period and adulthood are similar25. Here we emphasize postnatal neurogenesis and suggest possible applications to adult neurogenesis.
Organotypic slice cultures provide an efficient in vitro method for studying various physiological properties of the mammalian hippocampus. The value of slice cultures prepared from rodent brains can be summarized in three main qualities: 1) the protocol is straightforward and requires readily available materials; 2) slice cultures allow for pharmacological studies that eliminate complex variables such as the deep anatomic location of the hippocampus and circumvents the blood brain barrier1; and 3) the well characterized structure of the hippocampus and tri-synaptic circuit is preserved2. Previous investigators have used the organotypic hippocampal culture to study synaptic development and physiology3,4, gliogenesis5-7, ischemic brain damage8,9, neuroprotection and neurorepair10-12 as well as epilepsy13-15.The slice cultures could also provide a useful model system allowing for the monitoring of cell development in conjunction with labeling of cells with green fluorescent protein (GFP) or other vital markers.
Slice cultures have also been previously employed to study postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis16-19, but one important factor in the majority of these studies is the well-characterized degeneration that results from explanting tissue from adult animals after approximately 2 weeks in vitro20,21. For this reason, slice cultures are typically prepared from early post-natal (P5-P10) mice or rat pups, which utilizes the improved viability of early postnatal brain tissue for culturing22. While previous studies have shown that the early postnatal and adult hippocampus differ with regards to synaptic physiology and the expression of specific neuronal subtypes23,24, there is substantial conservation of the choreographed developmental program that newborn dentate granule cells proceed through during maturation25. Additionally, recent studies have suggested that the physiological characteristics of newborn DGCs in culture are very similar to immature neurons in the acute hippocampal slice preparation16.

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	<tbody>
		<tr height="26">
			<td height="46" rowspan="2" style="height:47px;width:265px;">Name of Reagent/ Equipment</td>
			<td rowspan="2" style="width:131px;">Company</td>
			<td rowspan="2" style="width:135px;">Catalog Number</td>
			<td rowspan="2" style="width:239px;">Comments/Description</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:265px;">5-chloro-2&#39;-deoxyuridine (CldU)</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">MP Biomedicals</td>
			<td align="right" style="width:135px;">105478</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Hazardous, Carcinogenic</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="80">
			<td height="80" style="height:80px;width:265px;">Cell culture inserts, 30mm diameter, 0.4&#181;m pore size</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Thermo scientific&#160;</td>
			<td align="right" style="width:135px;">140660</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Nuclon delta coating on these inserts provides better tissue adhesion and improves slice quality.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:265px;">Conical Centrifuge tubes (sterile)</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">14-432-22</td>
			<td style="width:239px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Dissector scissors (angled to side)</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Fine Science Tools&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">14082-09</td>
			<td style="width:239px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:265px;">Minimum essential medium (MEM)</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Gibco</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">11095; liquid</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Store at 4&#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:265px;">Eclipse Ni-U fluorescent microscope</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Nikon</td>
			<td style="width:135px;"></td>
			<td style="width:239px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="80">
			<td height="80" style="height:80px;width:265px;">Glue for tissue</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Krazy Glue</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">KG585</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Use minimum amount of glue to achieve adhesion as any tissue exposed to glue will be unusable for IHC.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Hank&#8217;s Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) (500 mL)</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Gibco</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">14025-092</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Store at 4&#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Horse Serum Heat Inactivated (500 mL)</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Gibco</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">16050-122</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Make 50 mL aliquots and store at -20&#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:265px;">Kimwipes</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Kimberly-Clarke</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">TW 31KYPBX</td>
			<td style="width:239px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="60">
			<td height="60" style="height:60px;width:265px;">Modified glass pipettes (bottom of Pasteur pipette removed and edge smoothed with Bunsen flame)</td>
			<td style="width:131px;"></td>
			<td style="width:135px;"></td>
			<td style="width:239px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Petri Dish (100mm x 15mm) and (60mm x 15mm)</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Fisher Brand</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">FB0875712 and FB0875713A</td>
			<td style="width:239px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Scalpel blades #11</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Fine Science Tools</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">10011-00</td>
			<td style="width:239px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Scalpel handle #3</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Fine Science Tools</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">10003-12</td>
			<td style="width:239px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Serological Pipettes</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Sorfa Medical Plastic Co.</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">P8050</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Standard Pattern forceps</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Fine Science Tools</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">11000-12</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Sterile vacuum filter</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Thermo-Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">565-0020</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Surgical Scissors</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Fine Science Tools</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">14054-13</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:265px;">Syringe driven filter unit</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Millipore-Millex</td>
			<td style="width:135px;">SLGP033RS</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:265px;">Tissue chopper with moveable stage</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">Stoelting&#160;</td>
			<td align="right" style="width:135px;">51425</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:265px;">Fine tip paintbrush</td>
			<td style="width:131px;"></td>
			<td style="width:135px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

organotypic slice cultures for studies of postnatal neurogenesis

Here we describe a technique for studying hippocampal postnatal neurogenesis in the rodent brain using the organotypic slice culture technique. This method maintains the characteristic topographical morphology of the hippocampus while allowing direct application of pharmacological agents to the developing hippocampal dentate gyrus. Additionally, slice cultures can be maintained for up to 4 weeks and thus, allow one to study the maturation process of newborn granule neurons. Slice cultures allow for efficient pharmacological manipulation of hippocampal slices while excluding complex variables such as uncertainties related to the deep anatomic location of the hippocampus as well as the blood brain barrier. For these reasons, we sought to optimize organotypic slice cultures specifically for postnatal neurogenesis research.

Determining if organotypic cultures would be suitable for adult neurogenesis research required that they satisfy two main criteria: 1) that slices maintain characteristic morphological features of hippocampal slices after 10-21 days in vitro (DIV), and 2) that newborn DGCs can be quantified using standard immunohistochemical techniques commonly employed in adult neurogenesis research. Regarding the first criterion, Figure 1A and 1B highlight the preserved hippocampal morphology....

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Organotypic Slice Cultures for Studies of Postnatal Neurogenesis at JoVE.com

Organotypic Slice Cultures for Studies of Postnatal Neurogenesis

Here we describe a technique for studying hippocampal postnatal neurogenesis using the organotypic slice culture technique. This method allows for in vitro manipulation of adult neurogenesis and allows for the direct application of pharmacological agents to the cultured hippocampus.

Here we describe a technique for studying hippocampal postnatal neurogenesis in the rodent brain using the organotypic slice culture technique. This ...

Research

JoVE Journal

Developmental Biology

Ex Utero Electroporation and Organotypic Slice Culture of Mouse Hippocampal Tissue

Ex Utero Electroporation and Organotypic Slice Culture of Mouse Hippocampal Tissue

Mouse genetics offers a powerful tool determining the role of specific genes during development. Analyzing the resulting phenotypes by immunohistochemical ...

Generation of Genetically Modified Organotypic Skin Cultures Using Devitalized Human Dermis

Organotypic cultures allow the reconstitution of a 3D environment critical for cell-cell contact and cell-matrix interactions which mimics the function ...

Generating Primary Fibroblast Cultures from Mouse Ear and Tail Tissues

Primary cells are derived directly from tissue and are thought to be more representative of the physiological state of cells in vivo than established cell ...

Imaging Cleared Embryonic and Postnatal Hearts at Single-cell Resolution

Single clonal tracing and analysis at the whole-heart level can determine cardiac progenitor cell behavior and differentiation during cardiac development, ...

Visualization of Cell Cycle Variations and Determination of Nucleation in Postnatal Cardiomyocytes

Cardiomyocytes are prone to variations of the cell cycle, such as endoreduplication (continuing rounds of DNA synthesis without karyokinesis and ...

Dissection and Coronal Slice Preparation of Developing Mouse Pituitary Gland

The pituitary gland or hypophysis is an important endocrine organ secreting hormones essential for homeostasis. It consists of two glands with separate ...

Three-dimensional Organotypic Cultures of Vestibular and Auditory Sensory Organs

The sensory organs of the inner ear are challenging to study in mammals due to their inaccessibility to experimental manipulation and optical observation. ...

Single-cell Transcriptomic Analyses of Mouse Pancreatic Endocrine Cells

Pancreatic endocrine cells, which are clustered in islets, regulate blood glucose stability and energy metabolism. The distinct cell types in islets, ...

Neurogenesis Using P19 Embryonal Carcinoma Cells

The P19 cell line derived from a mouse embryo-derived teratocarcinoma has the ability to differentiate into the three germ layers. In the presence of ...

Quantification of Self-renewal in Murine Mammosphere Cultures

The mammary gland is characterized by extensive regeneration capacity, as it goes through massive hormonal changes throughout the life cycle of a female. ...