Microtransplantation of Synaptic Membranes to Reactivate Human Synaptic Receptors for Functional Studies

Summary

The protocol demonstrates that by performing microtransplantation of synaptic membranes into Xenopus laevis oocytes, it is possible to record consistent and reliable responses of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid and γ-aminobutyric acid receptors.

Abstract

Excitatory and inhibitory ionotropic receptors are the major gates of ion fluxes that determine the activity of synapses during physiological neuronal communication. Therefore, alterations in their abundance, function, and relationships with other synaptic elements have been observed as a major correlate of alterations in brain function and cognitive impairment in neurodegenerative diseases and mental disorders. Understanding how the function of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic receptors is altered by disease is of critical importance for the development of effective therapies. To gain disease-relevant information, it is important to record the electrical activity of neurotransmitter receptors that remain functional in the diseased human brain. So far this is the closest approach to assess pathological alterations in receptors' function. In this work, a methodology is presented to perform microtransplantation of synaptic membranes, which consists of reactivating synaptic membranes from snap frozen human brain tissue containing human receptors, by its injection and posterior fusion into the membrane of Xenopus laevis oocytes. The protocol also provides the methodological strategy to obtain consistent and reliable responses of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors, as well as novel detailed methods that are used for normalization and rigorous data analysis.

Introduction

Neurodegenerative disorders affect a large percentage of the population. Although their devastating consequences are well known, the link between the functional alterations of neurotransmitter receptors, which are critical for brain function, and their symptomatology is still poorly understood. Inter-individual variability, chronic nature of the disease, and insidious onset of symptoms are just some of the reasons that have delayed the understanding of the many brain disorders where chemical imbalances are well documented^1,2. Animal models have generated invaluable information and expanded our knowledge about ....

Protocol

All research is performed in compliance with institutional guidelines and approved by the institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of California Irvine (IACUC-1998-1388) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (IACUC-1803024). Temporal cortex from a non-Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain (female, 74 years old, postmortem interval 2.8 h) and an AD-brain (female, 74 years old, postmortem interval 4.5 h) were provided by the University of California Irvine Alzheimer's disease research center (UCI-ADRC). Informed consent for brain donation was obtained by UCI-ADRC.

NOTE: Unfixed human brain tissue should be treated a....

Results

Within a few hours after injection, the synaptic membranes, carrying their neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels, begin to fuse with the oocyte plasma membrane. Figure 1 shows recordings of AMPA and GABA_A receptors microtransplanted into Xenopus oocytes. For most of the analysis, the responses from two or three oocytes per sample were measured, using two or three batches of oocytes from different frogs, for a total of six to nine oocytes per sample. This is done for.......

Discussion

Analysis of native protein complexes from human brains is needed to understand homeostatic and pathological processes in brain disorders and develop therapeutic strategies to prevent or treat diseases. Thus, brain banks containing snap frozen samples are an invaluable source of a large and mostly untapped wealth of physiological information^29,30. An initial concern to use postmortem tissue is the clear possibility of mRNA or protein degradation that may confound .......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
For Microinjection
3.5" Glass Capillaries	Drummond	3-000-203-G/X
24 well, flat bottom Tissue Culture Plate	Thermofisher	FB012929
Flaming/Brown type micropipette puller	Sutter	P-1000
Injection Dish	Thermofisher	08-772B
Microcentrifuge Tubes	Thermofisher	02-682-002
Mineral Oil	Thermofisher	O121-1
Nanoject II	Drummond	3-000-204
Nylon mesh	Industrial Netting	WN0800
Parafilm	Thermofisher	S37440
Stereoscope	Fisher Scientific	03-000-037
Syringe	Thermofisher	14-841-31
Ultrasonic cleaning bath	Thermofisher	FS20D
Xenopus laevis frogs	Xenopus 1	4217
For Two Electrode Voltage clamp
15 cm long fire polished borosilicate glass capillaries	Sutter	B200-116-15
Any PC computer or laptop
Low-pass Bessel Filter	Warner Instruments	LPF-8
Stereoscope	Fisher Scientific	03-000-037
Two electrode voltage clamp workstation	Warner Instruments	TEV-700
ValveLink 8.2 Perfusion Controller	Automate Scientific	SKU:01-18
WInEDR Free software	University of Strathclyde Glasgow	https://spider.science.strath.ac.uk/sipbs/software_ses.htm
X Series Multifunction DAQ	National Instruments	NI USB-6341
Reagents
Calcium dichloride	Thermofisher	C79
Calcium nitrate tetrahydrate	Thermofisher	C109
Collagenase	Sigma-Aldrich	C0130
GABA	Sigma-Aldrich	A2129
HEPES (4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid)	Thermofisher	BP310
Kainic acid	Tocris	0222
Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate	Thermofisher	M63
Potassium chloride	Thermofisher	P217
Sodium bicarbonate	Thermofisher	S233
Sodium chloride	Thermofisher	S271-1
Ultrafree-0.1 µm MC filter,	Amicon