In vivo Imaging of Fully Active Brain Tissue in Awake Zebrafish Larvae and Juveniles by Skull and Skin Removal

Summary

Here we present a method to image the zebrafish embryonic brain in vivo upto larval and juvenile stages. This microinvasive procedure, adapted from electrophysiological approaches, provides access to cellular and subcellular details of mature neuron and can be combined with optogenetics and neuropharmacological studies for characterizing brain function and drug intervention.

Abstract

Understanding the ephemeral changes that occur during brain development and maturation requires detailed high-resolution imaging in space and time at cellular and subcellular resolution. Advances in molecular and imaging technologies have allowed us to gain numerous detailed insights into cellular and molecular mechanisms of brain development in the transparent zebrafish embryo. Recently, processes of refinement of neuronal connectivity that occur at later larval stages several weeks after fertilization, which are for example control of social behavior, decision making or motivation-driven behavior, have moved into focus of research. At these stages, pigmentation of the zebrafish skin interferes with light penetration into brain tissue, and solutions for embryonic stages, e.g., pharmacological inhibition of pigmentation, are not feasible anymore.

Therefore, a minimally invasive surgical solution for microscopy access to the brain of awake zebrafish is provided that is derived from electrophysiological approaches. In teleosts, skin and soft skull cartilage can be carefully removed by micro-peeling these layers, exposing underlying neurons and axonal tracts without damage. This allows for recording neuronal morphology, including synaptic structures and their molecular contents, and the observation of physiological changes such as Ca²⁺ transients or intracellular transport events. In addition, interrogation of these processes by means of pharmacological inhibition or optogenetic manipulation is feasible. This brain exposure approach provides information about structural and physiological changes in neurons as well as the correlation and interdependence of these events in live brain tissue in the range of minutes or hours. The technique is suitable for in vivo brain imaging of zebrafish larvae up to 30 days post fertilization, the latest developmental stage tested so far. It, thus, provides access to such important questions as synaptic refinement and scaling, axonal and dendritic transport, synaptic targeting of cytoskeletal cargo or local activity-dependent expression. Therefore, a broad use for this mounting and imaging approach can be anticipated.

Introduction

Over the recent decades, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has evolved as one of the most popular vertebrate model organisms for embryonic and larval developmental studies. The large fecundity of zebrafish females coupled with the rapid ex utero development of the embryo and its transparency during early embryonic developmental stages are just a few key factors that make zebrafish a powerful model organism to adress developmental questions¹. Advances in molecular genetic technologies combined with high resolution in vivo imaging studies allowed for addressing cell biological mechanisms underlying developmental processes

Protocol

All animal work described here is in accordance with legal regulations (EU-Directive 2010/63). Maintenance and handling of fish have been approved by local authorities and by the animal welfare representative of the Technische Universität Braunschweig.

1. Preparation of artificial cerebro spinal fluid (ACSF), low melting agarose and sharp glass needles

1. Prepare the ACSF by dissolving the listed chemicals at following concentrations in distilled water. 134 mM NaCl (58.44 g/mol),.......

Discussion

The presented method provides an alternative approach to brain isolation or the treatment of zebrafish larvae with pharmaceuticals inhibiting pigmentation for recording high resolution images of neurons in their in vivo environment. The quality of images recorded with this method is comparable to images from explanted brains, yet under natural conditions.

Furthermore, a loss in intensity of fluorescence is avoided, because there is no need for treatment with fixatives

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Calcium chloride	Roth	A119.1
Confocal Laser scanning microscope	Leica	TCS SP8
d-Glucose	Sigma	G8270-1KG
d-Tubocurare	Sigma-Aldrich	T2379-100MG
Glass Capillary type 1	WPI	1B150F-4
Glass Capillary type 2	Harvard Apparatus	GC100F-10
Glass Coverslip	deltalab	D102424
HEPES	Roth	9105.4
Hoechst 33342	Invitrogen (Thermo Fischer)	H3570
Imaging chamber	Ibidi	81156
Potassium chloride	Normapur	26764298
LM-Agarose	Condalab	8050.55
Magnesium chloride (Hexahydrate)	Roth	A537.4
Microscope Camera	Leica	DFC9000 GTC
Needle-Puller type 1	NARISHIGE	Model PC-10
Needle-Puller type 2	Sutter Instruments	Model P-2000
Pasteur-Pipettes 3ml	A.Hartenstein	20170718
Sodium chloride	Roth	P029.2
Sodium hydroxide	Normapur	28244262
Tricain	Sigma-Aldrich	E10521-50G
Waterbath	Phoenix Instrument	WB-12
35 mm petri dish	Sarstedt	833900
90 mm petri dish	Sarstedt	821473001