scholarly journals Neuronal activity controls transsynaptic geometry

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleg O. Glebov ◽  
Susan Cox ◽  
Lawrence Humphreys ◽  
Juan Burrone
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Synaptic Cleft ◽  
Synaptic Function ◽  
Confocal Imaging ◽  
Relative Positioning ◽  
Spatial Coupling ◽  
Presynaptic Vesicle

Abstract The neuronal synapse is comprised of several distinct zones, including presynaptic vesicle zone (SVZ), active zone (AZ) and postsynaptic density (PSD). While correct relative positioning of these zones is believed to be essential for synaptic function, the mechanisms controlling their mutual localization remain unexplored. Here, we employ high-throughput quantitative confocal imaging, super-resolution and electron microscopy to visualize organization of synaptic subdomains in hippocampal neurons. Silencing of neuronal activity leads to reversible reorganization of the synaptic geometry, resulting in a increased overlap between immunostained AZ and PSD markers; in contrast, the SVZ-AZ spatial coupling is decreased. Bayesian blinking and bleaching (3B) reconstruction reveals that the distance between the AZ-PSD distance is decreased by 30 nm, while electron microscopy shows that the width of the synaptic cleft is decreased by 1.1 nm. Our findings show that multiple aspects of synaptic geometry are dynamically controlled by neuronal activity and suggest mutual repositioning of synaptic components as a potential novel mechanism contributing to the homeostatic forms of synaptic plasticity.

scholarly journals Continuous rearrangement of the postsynaptic gephyrin scaffolding domain: a super-resolution quantified and energetic approach

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela C. Rodriguez ◽  
Leandro G. Almeida ◽  
Antoine Triller
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Scaffold Protein ◽  
Synaptic Function ◽  
Inhibitory Synapses ◽  
Spatial Reorganization ◽  
Nanoscopic Structure ◽  
Super Resolution Microscopy

AbstractSynaptic function and plasticity requires a delicate balance between overall structural stability and the continuous rearrangement of the components that make up the presynaptic active zone and the postsynaptic density (PSD). Photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM) has provided a detailed view of the nanoscopic structure and organization of some of these synaptic elements. Still lacking, are tools to address the morphing and stability of such complexes at super-resolution. We describe an approach to quantify morphological changes and energetic states of multimolecular assemblies over time. With this method, we studied the scaffold protein gephyrin, which forms postsynaptic clusters that play a key role in the stabilization of receptors at inhibitory synapses. Postsynaptic gephyrin clusters exhibit an internal microstructure composed of nanodomains. We found, that within the PSD, gephyrin molecules continuously undergo spatial reorganization. This dynamic behavior depends on neuronal activity and cytoskeleton integrity. The proposed approach also allowed access to the effective energy responsible for the tenacity of the PSD despite molecular instability.Significant statementSuper-resolution microscopy has become an important tool for the study of biological systems, allowing detailed, nano-scale structural reconstruction, single molecule tracking, particle counting, and interaction studies. However, quantification tools that take full advantage of the information provided by this technology are still lacking. We describe a novel quantification method to obtain information related to the size, directionality, dynamics, and stability of clustered structures from super-resolution microscopy. With this method, we studied the stability of gephyrin clusters, the main inhibitory scaffold protein. We found that gephyrin molecules continuously undergo reorganization based on neuronal activity and changes in the cytoskeleton.

scholarly journals Neuronal Aβ42 is enriched in small vesicles at the presynaptic side of synapses

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. e201800028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Yu ◽  
Daniel C Jans ◽  
Bengt Winblad ◽  
Lars O Tjernberg ◽  
Sophia Schedin-Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Long Term Potentiation ◽  
Synaptic Function ◽  
Amyloid Β Peptide ◽  
Term Potentiation ◽  
Super Resolution Microscopy

The amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) is a physiological ubiquitously expressed peptide suggested to be involved in synaptic function, long-term potentiation, and memory function. The 42 amino acid-long variant (Aβ42) forms neurotoxic oligomers and amyloid plaques and plays a key role in the loss of synapses and other pathogenic events of Alzheimer disease. Still, the exact localization of Aβ42 in neurons and at synapses has not been reported. Here, we used super-resolution microscopy and show that Aβ42 was present in small vesicles in presynaptic compartments, but not in postsynaptic compartments, in the neurites of hippocampal neurons. Some of these vesicles appeared to lack synaptophysin, indicating that they differ from the synaptic vesicles responsible for neurotransmitter release. The Aβ42-containing vesicles existed in presynapses connected to stubby spines and mushroom spines, and were also present in immature presynapses. These vesicles were scarce in other parts of the neurites, where Aβ42 was instead present in large, around 200–600 nm, vesicular structures. Three-dimensional super-resolution microscopy confirmed that Aβ42 was present in the presynapse and absent in the postsynapse.

scholarly journals Supramolecular Structures of the Dictyostelium Lamin NE81

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 162
Author(s):  
Marianne Grafe ◽  
Petros Batsios ◽  
Irene Meyer ◽  
Daria Lisin ◽  
Otto Baumann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Nuclear Envelope ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Nuclear Lamina ◽  
Stimulated Emission ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Nuclear Lamins

Nuclear lamins are nucleus-specific intermediate filaments (IF) found at the inner nuclear membrane (INM) of the nuclear envelope (NE). Together with nuclear envelope transmembrane proteins, they form the nuclear lamina and are crucial for gene regulation and mechanical robustness of the nucleus and the whole cell. Recently, we characterized Dictyostelium NE81 as an evolutionarily conserved lamin-like protein, both on the sequence and functional level. Here, we show on the structural level that the Dictyostelium NE81 is also capable of assembling into filaments, just as metazoan lamin filament assemblies. Using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, we show that NE81 expressed in Xenopous oocytes forms filamentous structures with an overall appearance highly reminiscent of Xenopus lamin B2. The in vitro assembly properties of recombinant His-tagged NE81 purified from Dictyostelium extracts are very similar to those of metazoan lamins. Super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) and expansion microscopy (ExM), as well as transmission electron microscopy of negatively stained purified NE81, demonstrated its capability of forming filamentous structures under low-ionic-strength conditions. These results recommend Dictyostelium as a non-mammalian model organism with a well-characterized nuclear envelope involving all relevant protein components known in animal cells.

scholarly journals TNFα-induced AMPA-receptor trafficking in CNS neurons; relevance to excitotoxicity?

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
DMITRI LEONOUDAKIS ◽  
STEVEN P. BRAITHWAITE ◽  
MICHAEL S. BEATTIE ◽  
ERIC C. BEATTIE
Keyword(s):  
Cell Death ◽  
Inflammatory Response ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Neuronal Damage ◽  
Neuronal Cell Death ◽  
Neuronal Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Synaptic Function ◽  
Ampar Trafficking ◽  
Novel Target

Injury and disease in the CNS increases the amount of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) that neurons are exposed to. This cytokine is central to the inflammatory response that occurs after injury and during prolonged CNS disease, and contributes to the process of neuronal cell death. Previous studies have addressed how long-term apoptotic-signaling pathways that are initiated by TNFα might influence these processes, but the effects of inflammation on neurons and synaptic function in the timescale of minutes after exposure are largely unexplored. Our published studies examining the effect of TNFα on trafficking of AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs) in hippocampal neurons demonstrate that glial-derived TNFα causes a rapid (<15 minute) increase in the number of neuronal, surface-localized, synaptic AMPARs leading to an increase in synaptic strength. This indicates that TNFα-signal transduction acts to facilitate increased surface localization of AMPARs from internal postsynaptic stores. Importantly, an excess of surface localized AMPARs might predispose the neuron to glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity and excessive intracellular calcium concentrations, leading to cell death. This suggests a new mechanism for excitotoxic TNFα-induced neuronal death that is initiated minutes after neurons are exposed to the products of the inflammatory response.Here we review the importance of AMPAR trafficking in normal neuronal function and how abnormalities that are mediated by glial-derived cytokines such as TNFα can be central in causing neuronal disorders. We have further investigated the effects of TNFα on different neuronal cell types and present new data from cortical and hippocampal neurons in culture. Finally, we have expanded our investigation of the temporal profile of the action of this cytokine relevant to neuronal damage. We conclude that TNFα-mediated effects on AMPAR trafficking are common in diverse neuronal cell types and very rapid in their onset. The abnormal AMPAR trafficking elicited by TNFα might present a novel target to aid the development of new neuroprotective drugs.

scholarly journals Super-resolution imaging of fluorescent dipoles via polarized structured illumination microscopy

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Zhanghao ◽  
Xingye Chen ◽  
Wenhui Liu ◽  
Meiqi Li ◽  
Yiqiong Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Imaging Modality ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Molecular Structures ◽  
Polarization Microscopy ◽  
Structured Illumination ◽  
Structured Illumination Microscopy ◽  
Resolution Imaging

Abstract Fluorescence polarization microscopy images both the intensity and orientation of fluorescent dipoles and plays a vital role in studying molecular structures and dynamics of bio-complexes. However, current techniques remain difficult to resolve the dipole assemblies on subcellular structures and their dynamics in living cells at super-resolution level. Here we report polarized structured illumination microscopy (pSIM), which achieves super-resolution imaging of dipoles by interpreting the dipoles in spatio-angular hyperspace. We demonstrate the application of pSIM on a series of biological filamentous systems, such as cytoskeleton networks and λ-DNA, and report the dynamics of short actin sliding across a myosin-coated surface. Further, pSIM reveals the side-by-side organization of the actin ring structures in the membrane-associated periodic skeleton of hippocampal neurons and images the dipole dynamics of green fluorescent protein-labeled microtubules in live U2OS cells. pSIM applies directly to a large variety of commercial and home-built SIM systems with various imaging modality.

scholarly journals Neuronal receptors display cytoskeleton-independent directed motion on the plasma membrane

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Taylor ◽  
M. Heine ◽  
N. J. Emptage ◽  
L. C. Andreae
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Particle Tracking ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Intracellular Transport ◽  
Transmembrane Proteins ◽  
Single Particle Tracking ◽  
Directed Motion ◽  
Surface Movement ◽  
Transport Vesicles

AbstractDirected transport of transmembrane proteins is generally believed to occur via intracellular transport vesicles. However, using single particle tracking in rat hippocampal neurons with a pH-sensitive quantum dot probe which specifically reports surface movement of receptors, we have identified a subpopulation of neuronal EphB2 receptors that exhibit directed motion between synapses within the plasma membrane itself. This receptor movement occurs independently of the cytoskeleton but is dependent on cholesterol and is regulated by neuronal activity.

scholarly journals Dynamin-related protein 1 is required for normal mitochondrial bioenergetic and synaptic function in CA1 hippocampal neurons

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. e1725-e1725 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Y Shields ◽  
H Kim ◽  
L Zhu ◽  
D Haddad ◽  
A Berthet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Synaptic Function ◽  
Related Protein
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