Name: optogenetic phase transition of tdp-43 in spinal motor neurons of zebrafish larvae
Uploaded: 2022-02-25T12:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Optogenetic Phase Transition of TDP-43 in Spinal Motor Neurons of Zebrafish Larvae at JoVE.com

This work was supported by SERIKA FUND (KA), KAKENHI Grant numbers JP19K06933 (KA) and JP20H05345 (KA).

All fish work was conducted in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (approval identification number 24-2) of the National Institute of Genetics (Japan), which has an Animal Welfare Assurance on file (assurance number A5561-01) at the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare of the National Institutes of Health (NIH, USA).
1. Construction of BACs for expression of optogenetic TDP-43 gene from the mnr2b ...

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The mnr2b-BAC-mediated expression of opTDP-43h and EGFP-TDP-43z in zebrafish provides a unique opportunity for live imaging of TDP-43 phase transition in the spinal motor neurons. The optical transparency of body tissues of zebrafish larvae allows for the simple and noninvasive optogenetic stimulation of opTDP-43h. Comparisons between single spinal motor neurons over time demonstrated that the light-dependent oligomerization of opTDP-43h causes its cytoplasmic clustering, which is reminiscent of ALS pathology.</...

Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules control a myriad of cellular activities in the nucleus and cytoplasm by assembling membrane-less partitions via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), a phenomenon in which a homogeneous fluid demixes into two distinct liquid phases1,2. The dysregulated LLPS of RNA-binding proteins that normally function as RNP granule components promote abnormal phase transition, leading to protein aggregation. This process has been implicated in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases3,4,5. The precise evaluation of a causal relationship between aberrant LLPS of RNA-binding proteins and disease pathogenesis is crucial for determining whether and how LLPS can be exploited as an effective therapeutic target. LLPS of RNA-binding proteins is relatively easy to study in vitro and in unicellular models but is difficult in multicellular organisms, especially in vertebrates. A critical requirement for analyzing such LLPS in individual cells within a tissue environment is to stably express a probe for the imaging and manipulation of LLPS in a disease-vulnerable cell type of interest.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an ultimately fatal neurological disorder in which motor neurons of the brain and spinal cord are selectively and progressively lost due to degeneration. To date, mutations in more than 25 genes have been associated with the heritable (or familial) form of ALS, which accounts for 5%-10% of total ALS cases, and some of these ALS-causing genes encode RNA-binding proteins consisting of RNPs, such as hnRNPA1, TDP-43, and FUS6,7. Moreover, the sporadic form of ALS, which accounts for 90%-95% of total ALS cases, is characterized by the cytoplasmic aggregation of TDP-43 deposited in degenerating motor neurons. A major characteristic of these ALS-associated RNA-binding proteins is their intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) or low-complexity domains that lack ordered three-dimensional structures and mediate weak protein-protein interactions with many different proteins that drive LLPS7,8. The fact that ALS-causing mutations often occur in the IDRs has led to the idea that aberrant LLPS and phase transition of these ALS-related proteins may underlie ALS pathogenesis9,10.
Recently, the optoDroplet method, a Cryptochrome 2-based optogenetic technique that allows the modulation of protein-protein interactions by light, was developed to induce phase transition of proteins with IDRs11. As this technique has been extended successfully to TDP-43, it has begun to uncover the mechanisms underlying pathological phase transition of TDP-43 and its associated cytotoxicity12,13,14,15. In this protocol, we outline a genetic method to deliver an optogenetic TDP-43 to ALS-vulnerable cell types, namely, spinal motor neurons in zebrafish using the BAC for the mnr2b/mnx2b gene encoding a homeodomain protein for motor neuron specification16,17. The high translucency of zebrafish larvae allows for simple, noninvasive light stimulation of the optogenetic TDP-43 that triggers its phase transition in the spinal motor neurons. We also present a basic workflow for the live imaging of the zebrafish spinal motor neurons and image analysis using the freely available Fiji/ImageJ software to characterize the responses of the optogenetic TDP-43 to the light stimulation. These methods allow for an investigation of TDP-43 phase transition in an ALS-vulnerable cellular environment and should help to explore its pathological consequences at cellular and behavioral levels.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Confocal microscope</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td>FV1200</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Epifluorescence microscope</td>
			<td>ZEISS</td>
			<td>Axioimager Z1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fluorescence stereomicroscope</td>
			<td>Leica</td>
			<td>MZ16FA</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass base dish</td>
			<td>IWAKI</td>
			<td>3910-035</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Incubator</td>
			<td>MEE</td>
			<td>CN-25C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LED panel</td>
			<td>Nanoleaf Limited</td>
			<td>Nanoleaf AURORA smarter kit</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mupid-2plus</td>
			<td>TAKARA</td>
			<td>AD110</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NucleoBond BAC100</td>
			<td>MACHEREY-NAGEL</td>
			<td>740579</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NuSieve GTG Agarose</td>
			<td>LONZA</td>
			<td>50181</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Objective lens</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td>XLUMPlanFL N 20&#215;/1.00</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Objective lens</td>
			<td>ZEISS</td>
			<td>Plan-Neofluar 5x/0.15</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Optical power meter</td>
			<td>HIOKI</td>
			<td>3664</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Optical sensor</td>
			<td>HIOKI</td>
			<td>9742-10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phenol red solution 0.5%</td>
			<td>Merck</td>
			<td>P0290-100ML</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PrimeSTAR GXL DNA Polymerase</td>
			<td>TAKARA</td>
			<td>R050A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit</td>
			<td>Qiagen</td>
			<td>28704</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Six-well dish</td>
			<td>FALCON</td>
			<td>353046</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Spectrometer probe BLUE-Wave</td>
			<td>StellerNet Inc.</td>
			<td>VIS-50</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Syringe needle</td>
			<td>TERUMO</td>
			<td>NN-2725R</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>TaKaRa Ex Taq</td>
			<td>TAKARA</td>
			<td>RR001A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tricane</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A5040</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Zebrafish BAC clone CH211-172N16</td>
			<td>BACPAC Genomics</td>
			<td>CH211-172N16</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

optogenetic phase transition of tdp-43 in spinal motor neurons of zebrafish larvae

Abnormal protein aggregation and selective neuronal vulnerability are two major hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases. Causal relationships between these features may be interrogated by controlling the phase transition of a disease-associated protein in a vulnerable cell type, although this experimental approach has been limited so far. Here, we describe a protocol to induce phase transition of the RNA/DNA-binding protein TDP-43 in spinal motor neurons of zebrafish larvae for modeling cytoplasmic aggregation of TDP-43 occurring in degenerating motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We describe a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based genetic method to deliver an optogenetic TDP-43 variant selectively to spinal motor neurons of zebrafish. The high translucency of zebrafish larvae allows for the phase transition of the optogenetic TDP-43 in the spinal motor neurons by a simple external illumination using a light-emitting diode (LED) against unrestrained fish. We also present a basic workflow of live imaging of the zebrafish spinal motor neurons and image analysis with freely available Fiji/ImageJ software to characterize responses of the optogenetic TDP-43 to the light illumination. This protocol enables the characterization of TDP-43 phase transition and aggregate formation in an ALS-vulnerable cellular environment, which should facilitate an investigation of its cellular and behavioral consequences.

Live imaging of optogenetic and non-optogenetic TDP-43 proteins in the mnr2b+ spinal motor neurons of zebrafish larvae 
To induce TDP-43 phase transition in the spinal motor neurons in zebrafish, a human TDP-43h that is tagged with mRFP1 and CRY2olig22 at the N- and C-termini, respectively, was constructed and designated as opTDP-43h14 (Figure 1A). The opTDP-43h gene fragment was ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Optogenetic Phase Transition of TDP-43 in Spinal Motor Neurons of Zebrafish Larvae at JoVE.com

Optogenetic Phase Transition of TDP-43 in Spinal Motor Neurons of Zebrafish Larvae

We describe a protocol to induce phase transition of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) by light in the spinal motor neurons using zebrafish as a model.

Abnormal protein aggregation and selective neuronal vulnerability are two major hallmarks of neurodegenerative diseases. Causal relationships between ...

So this protocol enables us to induce pathological phase transitions of TDP-43 and address their cellular consequence in the spinal motor neurons in vivo, which is relevant for understanding why motor neurons degenerate in ALS. Due to the high transparency of zebrafish larvae, the motor neurons in the spinal cord are directly visible. So one can visualize the dynamic behavior of TDP-43 undergoing phase transitions in single spinal motor neurons.This method offers a novel animal model of ALS. We believe that any method that can prevent the light induced TDP-43 phase transition and aggregation in this ALS model may be a potential candidate for ALS therapy. Other ALS related proteins with intrinsically disordered regions can be expressed to explore neurotoxicity associated with the abnormal phase transitions.The key to success in this approach is to express the optogenetic TDP-43 in the spinal motor neurons at the nontoxic level. BAC transgenesis is a time consuming step, but once you create a proper transgenic fish, the following steps are relatively easier and straightforward. To begin, turn on the light emitting diode, or LED panel, by using the associated application installed on a tablet or phone.Next, place the spectrometer probe into an empty well of a 6-well dish. Then using the application, adjust the LED light to a wavelength peaking at 456 nm. Place the optical sensor of an optical power meter in the empty well and adjust the power of the LED light.Then place the dish with the LED panel setting into an incubator at 28 C.For imaging of the zebra fish larvae expressing optogenetic TDP-43, dechorionate the double-transgenic fish and anesthetize them in E3 buffer containing 250 g/mL of Tricane. Next, preheat 1%low melting temperature agarose containing 250 g/mL of ethyl 3-aminobenzoate methanesulfonate at 42 C.Then put a drop of the agarose on the glass base dish. The diameter of the dome-shaped agarose drop on the glass dish should be 8 to 10 mm.Next, using a Pasteur pipette, add the anesthetized fish to the agarose on the glass based dish. Minimize the amount of E3 buffer added to the agarose along with the fish. Then, mix by pipetting a few times.During solidification of the agarose, maintain the fish on its side using a syringe needle, such that the spinal cord is in an appropriate horizontal position. After the agarose has solidified, add a couple drops of E3 buffer onto the dome-shaped agarose-mounted fish. Using a confocal microscope equipped with a 20 times water immersion objective lens, acquire serial confocal z-sections of the spinal cord.Include the cloaca on the ventral side of the fish in the regions of interest as a reference to identify and compare the spinal segments across the time points. As soon as the imaging is complete, use a syringe needle to carefully crack the agarose and remove the fish from the agarose. Keep the amount of time the fish is embedded in the agarose as short as possible, although agarose embedding for less than 30 minutes does not affect the viability of the fish.Add 7.5 mL of E3 buffer to one well of a 6-well dish and place the imaged double-transgenic fish into that well. Then, place the dish on the LED panel, keeping the dish and LED panel 5 mm apart with a spacer, and turn on the blue LED light. Keep some double-transgenic fish in a separate 6-well dish covered with aluminum foil for unilluminated control fish.After the desired illumination time, imaged the spinal cord of the illuminated fish as demonstrated earlier. Cytoplasmic relocation of the opTDP-43h in single spinal motor neurons was visualized by separating the z-series images acquired at 48. and 72 hours post fertilization into each EGFP-TDP-43z and opTDP-43h channel.From max intensity projection images of EGFP-TDP-43z, a single isolated spinal neuron identifiable at both 48. and 72 hours post fertilization was selected. Regions of interest covering the somas of the motor neurons were set by tracing the edge of the EGFP signal at 48.and 72 hours post fertilization. The normalized fluorescent intensity along the major axis of the soma was plotted. And at 48 hours post fertilization, the patterns of both the signals largely overlapped each other.In contrast, at 72 hours, the peak for opTDP-43h signal was found in the region where the EGFP-TDP-43z signal was low, indicating the cytoplasmic relocation of opTDP-43h. To quantify the opTDP-43h and EGFP-TDP-43z signals before and after blue light stimulation, some slices projection images for each channel of the same z-series images were produced at 48. and 72 hours post fertilization.Of the four mnr2b+cells that were investigated, cell 1, notably displayed a saturated EGFP-TDP-43z signal. Relative amounts of opTDP-43h to EGFP-TDP-43z were calculated by dividing the RFP value by the GFP value. Cells 2 to 4 displayed decreasing opTDP-43h levels after blue light illumination.It is important to minimize the time the fish are embedded in the agarose to keep them healthy. By adjusting the intensity and duration of LED illumination, we control TDP-43 phase transition in a temporary regulated manner, which can help dissect progression of pathological TDP-43 phase transition in the motor neuron.

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Neuroscience

Dissection and Culture of Commissural Neurons from Embryonic Spinal Cord

Commissural neurons have been widely used to investigate the mechanisms underlying axon guidance during embryonic spinal cord development. The cell bodies of these neurons are located in the dorsal spinal cord and their axons follow stereotyped trajectories during embryonic development. Commissural axons initially project ventrally towards the floorplate. After crossing the midline, these axons turn anteriorly and project towards the brain. Each of these steps is regulated by the action of several guidance cues. Cultures highly enriched in commissural neurons are ideally suited for many experiments addressing the mechanisms of axon pathfinding, including turning assays, immunochemistry and biochemistry. Here, we describe a method to dissect and culture commissural neurons from E13 rat dorsal spinal cord. First, the spinal cord is isolated and dorsal strips are dissected out. The dorsal tissue is then dissociated into a cell suspension by trypsinization and mechanical disruption. Neurons are plated onto poly-L-lysine-coated glass coverslips or tissue-culture dishes. After 30 hours in vitro, most neurons have extended an axon. The purity of the culture (Yam et al. 2009), typically over 90%, can be assessed by immunolabeling with the commissural neuron markers DCC, LH2 and TAG1 (Helms and Johnson, 1998). This neuronal preparation is a useful tool for in vitro studies of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of commissural axon growth and guidance during spinal cord development.

This video demonstrates a method to dissect and culture commissural neurons from E13 rat dorsal spinal cord. Dissociated commissural neurons are useful to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of axon growth and guidance.

Commissural neurons have been widely used to investigate the mechanisms underlying axon guidance during embryonic spinal cord development. The cell bodies ...

Optogenetic Activation of Zebrafish Somatosensory Neurons using ChEF-tdTomato

Larval zebrafish are emerging as a model for describing the development and function of simple neural circuits. Due to their external fertilization, rapid development, and translucency, zebrafish are particularly well suited for optogenetic approaches to investigate neural circuit function. In this approach, light-sensitive ion channels are expressed in specific neurons, enabling the experimenter to activate or inhibit them at will and thus assess their contribution to specific behaviors. Applying these methods in larval zebrafish is conceptually simple but requires the optimization of technical details. Here we demonstrate a procedure for expressing a channelrhodopsin variant in larval zebrafish somatosensory neurons, photo-activating single cells, and recording the resulting behaviors. By introducing a few modifications to previously established methods, this approach could be used to elicit behavioral responses from single neurons activated up to at least 4 days post-fertilization (dpf). Specifically, we created a transgene using a somatosensory neuron enhancer, CREST3, to drive the expression of the tagged channelrhodopsin variant, ChEF-tdTomato. Injecting this transgene into 1-cell stage embryos results in mosaic expression in somatosensory neurons, which can be imaged with confocal microscopy. Illuminating identified cells in these animals with light from a 473 nm DPSS laser, guided through a fiber optic cable, elicits behaviors that can be recorded with a high-speed video camera and analyzed quantitatively. This technique could be adapted to study behaviors elicited by activating any zebrafish neuron. Combining this approach with genetic or pharmacological perturbations will be a powerful way to investigate circuit formation and function.

Optogenetic techniques have made it possible to study the contribution of specific neurons to behavior. We describe a method in larval zebrafish for activating single somatosensory neurons expressing a channelrhodopsin variant (ChEF) with a diode-pumped solid state (DPSS) laser and recording the elicited behaviors with a high-speed video camera.

Larval  zebrafish are emerging as a model for describing the development and function  of simple neural circuits. Due to their  external fertilization, ...

Extracellularly Identifying Motor Neurons for a Muscle Motor Pool in Aplysia californica

In animals with large identified neurons (e.g. mollusks), analysis of motor pools is done using intracellular techniques1,2,3,4. Recently, we developed a technique to extracellularly stimulate and record individual neurons in Aplysia californica5. We now describe a protocol for using this technique to uniquely identify and characterize motor neurons within a motor pool.
This extracellular technique has advantages. First, extracellular electrodes can stimulate and record neurons through the sheath5, so it does not need to be removed. Thus, neurons will be healthier in extracellular experiments than in intracellular ones. Second, if ganglia are rotated by appropriate pinning of the sheath, extracellular electrodes can access neurons on both sides of the ganglion, which makes it easier and more efficient to identify multiple neurons in the same preparation. Third, extracellular electrodes do not need to penetrate cells, and thus can be easily moved back and forth among neurons, causing less damage to them. This is especially useful when one tries to record multiple neurons during repeating motor patterns that may only persist for minutes. Fourth, extracellular electrodes are more flexible than intracellular ones during muscle movements. Intracellular electrodes may pull out and damage neurons during muscle contractions. In contrast, since extracellular electrodes are gently pressed onto the sheath above neurons, they usually stay above the same neuron during muscle contractions, and thus can be used in more intact preparations.
To uniquely identify motor neurons for a motor pool (in particular, the I1/I3 muscle in Aplysia) using extracellular electrodes, one can use features that do not require intracellular measurements as criteria: soma size and location, axonal projection, and muscle innervation4,6,7. For the particular motor pool used to illustrate the technique, we recorded from buccal nerves 2 and 3 to measure axonal projections, and measured the contraction forces of the I1/I3 muscle to determine the pattern of muscle innervation for the individual motor neurons.
We demonstrate the complete process of first identifying motor neurons using muscle innervation, then characterizing their timing during motor patterns, creating a simplified diagnostic method for rapid identification. The simplified and more rapid diagnostic method is superior for more intact preparations, e.g. in the suspended buccal mass preparation8 or in vivo9. This process can also be applied in other motor pools10,11,12 in Aplysia or in other animal systems2,3,13,14.

Extracellularly Identifying Motor Neurons for a Muscle Motor Pool in Aplysia californica

In animals with large identified neurons (e.g. mollusks), analysis of motor pools is done using intracellular techniques1,2,3,4. Recently, we developed a technique to extracellularly stimulate and record individual neurons in Aplysia californica5. We now describe a protocol for using this technique to uniquely identify and characterize motor neurons within a motor pool.

In animals with large  identified neurons (e.g. mollusks), analysis of motor pools is done using  intracellular techniques1,2,3,4. Recently,  we developed ...

Electroretinogram Analysis of the Visual Response in Zebrafish Larvae

The electroretinogram (ERG) is a noninvasive electrophysiological method for determining retinal function. Through the placement of an electrode on the surface of the cornea, electrical activity generated in response to light can be measured and used to assess the activity of retinal cells in vivo. This manuscript describes the use of the ERG to measure visual function in zebrafish. Zebrafish have long been utilized as a model for vertebrate development due to the ease of gene suppression by morpholino oligonucleotides and pharmacological manipulation. At 5-10 dpf, only cones are functional in the larval retina. Therefore, the zebrafish, unlike other animals, is a powerful model system for the study of cone visual function in vivo. This protocol uses standard anesthesia, micromanipulation and stereomicroscopy protocols that are common in laboratories that perform zebrafish research. The outlined methods make use of standard electrophysiology equipment and a low light camera to guide the placement of the recording microelectrode onto the larval cornea. Finally, we demonstrate how a commercially available ERG stimulator/recorder originally designed for use with mice can easily be adapted for use with zebrafish. ERG of larval zebrafish provides an excellent method of assaying cone visual function in animals that have been modified by morpholino oligonucleotide injection as well as newer genome engineering techniques such as Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs), Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs), and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9, all of which have greatly increased the efficiency and efficacy of gene targeting in zebrafish. In addition, we take advantage of the ability of pharmacological agents to penetrate zebrafish larvae to evaluate the molecular components that contribute to the photoresponse. This protocol outlines a setup that can be modified and used by researchers with various experimental goals.

We present a method for the electroretinographic (ERG) analysis of zebrafish larvae utilizing micromanipulation and electroretinography techniques. This is a simple and straightforward method for assaying visual function of zebrafish larvae in vivo.

The electroretinogram (ERG) is a noninvasive electrophysiological method for determining retinal function. Through the placement of an electrode on the ...

Zebrafish In Situ Spinal Cord Preparation for Electrophysiological Recordings from Spinal Sensory and Motor Neurons

Zebrafish, first introduced as a developmental model, have gained popularity in many other fields. The ease of rearing large numbers of rapidly developing organisms, combined with the embryonic optical clarity, served as initial compelling attributes of this model. Over the past two decades, the success of this model has been further propelled by its amenability to large-scale mutagenesis screens and by the ease of transgenesis. More recently, gene-editing approaches have extended the power of the model.
For neurodevelopmental studies, the zebrafish embryo and larva provide a model to which multiple methods can be applied. Here, we focus on methods that allow the study of an essential property of neurons, electrical excitability. Our preparation for the electrophysiological study of zebrafish spinal neurons involves the use of veterinarian suture glue to secure the preparation to a recording chamber. Alternative methods for recording from zebrafish embryos and larvae involve the attachment of the preparation to the chamber using a fine tungsten pin1,2,3,4,5. A tungsten pin is most often used to mount the preparation in a lateral orientation, although it has been used to mount larvae dorsal-side up4. The suture glue has been used to mount embryos and larvae in both orientations. Using the glue, a minimal dissection can be performed, allowing access to spinal neurons without the use of an enzymatic treatment, thereby avoiding any resultant damage. However, for larvae, it is necessary to apply a brief enzyme treatment to remove the muscle tissue surrounding the spinal cord. The methods described here have been used to study the intrinsic electrical properties of motor neurons, interneurons, and sensory neurons at several developmental stages6,7,8,9.

Zebrafish In Situ Spinal Cord Preparation for Electrophysiological Recordings from Spinal Sensory and Motor Neurons

This manuscript describes methods for electrophysiological recordings from spinal neurons of zebrafish embryos and larvae. The preparation maintains neurons in situ and often involves minimum dissection. These methods allow for the electrophysiological study of a variety of spinal neurons, from the initial electrical excitability acquisition through the early larval stages.

Zebrafish, first introduced as a developmental model, have gained popularity in many other fields. The ease of rearing large numbers of rapidly developing ...

Retrograde Neuroanatomical Tracing of Phrenic Motor Neurons in Mice

Phrenic motor neurons are cervical motor neurons originating from C3 to C6 levels in most mammalian species. Axonal projections converge into phrenic nerves innervating the respiratory diaphragm. In spinal cord slices, phrenic motor neurons cannot be identified from other motor neurons on morphological or biochemical criteria. We provide the description of procedures for visualizing phrenic motor neuron cell bodies in mice, following intrapleural injections of cholera toxin subunit beta (CTB) conjugated to a fluorophore. This fluorescent neuroanatomical tracer has the ability to be caught up at the diaphragm neuromuscular junction, be carried retrogradely along the phrenic axons and reach the phrenic cell bodies. Two methodological approaches of intrapleural CTB delivery are compared: transdiaphragmatic versus transthoracic injections. Both approaches are successful and result in similar number of CTB-labeled phrenic motor neurons. In conclusion, these techniques can be applied to visualize or quantify the phrenic motor neurons in various experimental studies such as those focused on the diaphragm-phrenic circuitry.

Here, we describe a protocol for identifying phrenic motor neurons in mice after intrapleural delivery of fluorophore conjugated cholera toxin subunit beta. Two techniques are compared to inject the pleural cavity: transdiaphragmatic versus transthoracic approaches.

Phrenic motor neurons are cervical motor neurons originating from C3 to C6 levels in most mammalian species. Axonal projections converge into phrenic ...

Tracking Drosophila Larval Behavior in Response to Optogenetic Stimulation of Olfactory Neurons

The ability of insects to navigate toward odor sources is based on the activities of their first-order olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). While a considerable amount of information has been generated regarding ORN responses to odorants, the role of specific ORNs in driving behavioral responses remains poorly understood. Complications in behavior analyses arise due to different volatilities of odorants that activate individual ORNs, multiple ORNs activated by single odorants, and the difficulty in replicating naturally observed temporal variations in olfactory stimuli using conventional odor-delivery methods in the laboratory. Here, we describe a protocol that analyzes Drosophila larval behavior in response to simultaneous optogenetic stimulation of its ORNs. The optogenetic technology used here allows for specificity of ORN activation and precise control of temporal patterns of ORN activation. Corresponding larval movement is tracked, digitally recorded, and analyzed using custom written software. By replacing odor stimuli with light stimuli, this method allows for a more precise control of individual ORN activation in order to study its impact on larval behavior. Our method could be further extended to study the impact of second-order projection neurons (PNs) as well as local neurons (LNs) on larval behavior. This method will thus enable a comprehensive dissection of olfactory circuit function and complement studies on how olfactory neuron activities translate in to behavior responses.

Tracking Drosophila Larval Behavior in Response to Optogenetic Stimulation of Olfactory Neurons

This protocol analyzes navigational behavior of Drosophila larva in response to simultaneous optogenetic stimulation of its olfactory neurons. Light of 630 nm wavelength is used to activate individual olfactory neurons expressing a red-shifted channel rhodopsin. Larval movement is simultaneously tracked, digitally recorded, and analyzed using custom-written software.

The ability of insects to navigate toward odor sources is based on the activities of their first-order olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). While a ...

Isolation and Culture of Oculomotor, Trochlear, and Spinal Motor Neurons from Prenatal Islmn:GFP Transgenic Mice

Oculomotor neurons (CN3s) and trochlear neurons (CN4s) exhibit remarkable resistance to degenerative motor neuron diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) when compared to spinal motor neurons (SMNs). The ability to isolate and culture primary mouse CN3s, CN4s, and SMNs would provide an approach to study mechanisms underlying this selective vulnerability. To date, most protocols use heterogeneous cell cultures, which can confound the interpretation of experimental outcomes. To minimize the problems associated with mixed-cell populations, pure cultures are indispensable. Here, the first protocol describes in detail how to efficiently purify and cultivate CN3s/CN4s alongside SMNs counterparts from the same embryos using embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5) IslMN:GFP transgenic mouse embryos. The protocol provides details on the tissue dissection and dissociation, FACS-based cell isolation, and in vitro cultivation of cells from CN3/CN4 and SMN nuclei. This protocol adds a novel in vitro CN3/CN4 culture system to existing protocols and simultaneously provides a pure species- and age-matched SMN culture for comparison. Analyses focusing on the morphological, cellular, molecular, and electrophysiological characteristics of motor neurons are feasible in this culture system. This protocol will enable research into the mechanisms that define motor neuron development, selective vulnerability, and disease.

Isolation and Culture of Oculomotor, Trochlear, and Spinal Motor Neurons from Prenatal Islmn:GFP Transgenic Mice

This work presents a protocol to yield homogeneous cell cultures of primary oculomotor, trochlear, and spinal motor neurons. These cultures can be used for comparative analyses of the morphological, cellular, molecular, and electrophysiological characteristics of ocular and spinal motor neurons.

Oculomotor neurons (CN3s) and trochlear neurons (CN4s) exhibit remarkable resistance to degenerative motor neuron diseases such as amyotrophic lateral ...

Measuring Glucose Uptake in Drosophila Models of TDP-43 Proteinopathy

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disorder causing progressive muscle weakness and death within 2-5 years following diagnosis. Clinical manifestations include weight loss, dyslipidemia, and hypermetabolism; however, it remains unclear how these relate to motor neuron degeneration. Using a Drosophila model of TDP-43 proteinopathy that recapitulates several features of ALS including cytoplasmic inclusions, locomotor dysfunction, and reduced lifespan, we recently identified broad ranging metabolic deficits. Among these, glycolysis was found to be upregulated and genetic interaction experiments provided evidence for a compensatory neuroprotective mechanism. Indeed, despite upregulation of phosphofructokinase, the rate limiting enzyme in glycolysis, an increase in glycolysis using dietary and genetic manipulations was shown to mitigate locomotor dysfunction and increased lifespan in fly models of TDP-43 proteinopathy. To further investigate the effect on TDP-43 proteinopathy on glycolytic flux in motor neurons, a previously reported genetically encoded, FRET-based sensor, FLII12Pglu-700&#181;&#948;6, was used. This sensor is comprised of a bacterial glucose-sensing domain and cyan and yellow fluorescent proteins as the FRET pair. Upon glucose binding, the sensor undergoes a conformational change allowing FRET to occur. Using FLII12Pglu-700&#181;&#948;6, glucose uptake was found to be significantly increased in motor neurons expressing TDP-43G298S, an ALS causing variant. Here, we show how to measure glucose uptake, ex vivo, in larval ventral nerve cord preparations expressing the glucose sensor FLII12Pglu-700&#181;&#948;6 in the context of TDP-43 proteinopathy. This approach can be used to measure glucose uptake and assess glycolytic flux in different cell types or in the context of various mutations causing ALS and related neurodegenerative disorders.

Measuring Glucose Uptake in Drosophila Models of TDP-43 Proteinopathy

Glucose uptake is increased in Drosophila motor neurons affected by TAR DNA binding protein (TDP-43) proteinopathy, as indicated by a FRET-based, genetically encoded glucose sensor.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disorder causing progressive muscle weakness and death within 2-5 years following diagnosis. Clinical ...

In Vivo Wireless Optogenetic Control of Skilled Motor Behavior

Fine motor skills are essential in everyday life and can be compromised in several nervous system disorders. The acquisition and performance of these tasks require sensory-motor integration and involve precise control of bilateral brain circuits. Implementing unimanual behavioral paradigms in animal models will improve the understanding of the contribution of brain structures, like the striatum, to complex motor behavior as it allows manipulation and recording of neural activity of specific nuclei in control conditions and disease during the performance of the task. 
Since its creation, optogenetics has been a dominant tool for interrogating the brain by enabling selective and targeted activation or inhibition of neuronal populations. The combination of optogenetics with behavioral assays sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of specific brain functions. Wireless head-mounted systems with miniaturized light-emitting diodes (LEDs) allow remote optogenetic control in an entirely free-moving animal. This avoids the limitations of a wired system being less restrictive for animals' behavior without compromising light emission efficiency. The current protocol combines a wireless optogenetics approach with high-speed videography in a unimanual dexterity task to dissect the contribution of specific neuronal populations to fine motor behavior.

In Vivo Wireless Optogenetic Control of Skilled Motor Behavior

The present protocol describes how to use wireless optogenetics combined with high-speed videography in a single pellet reach-to-grasp task to characterize the neural circuits involved in the performance of skilled motor behavior in freely moving mice.

Fine motor skills are essential in everyday life and can be compromised in several nervous system disorders. The acquisition and performance of these ...