In vivo optical imaging using fluorescence and bioluminescence is superior to other methods in terms of spatiotemporal resolution and specificity, and represents a new technology for comprehensively ...studying living organisms in a less invasive way. Nowadays, it is an indispensable technology for studying many aspects of cancer biology, including dynamic invasion and metastasis. In observations of fluorescence or bioluminescence signals in a living body, various problems were caused by optical characteristics such as absorption and scattering and, therefore, observation of deep tissue was difficult. Recent developments in techniques for observation of the deep tissues of living animals overcame this difficulty by improving bioluminescent proteins, fluorescent proteins, and fluorescent dyes, as well as detection technologies such as two‐photon excitation microscopy. In the present review, we introduce these technological developments and in vivo application of bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging, and discuss future perspectives on the use of in vivo optical imaging technology in cancer research.
In vivo imaging technology is a method for non‐invasively visualizing and analyzing various biological phenomena occurring within a living body. In recent years, image diagnostic technology capable of molecular‐level imaging has developed dramatically in the medical field. In this review, we introduce in vivo application of advanced bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging, and discuss future perspectives on the use of in vivo optical imaging technology in cancer research.
Elucidation of neural circuit functions requires visualization of the fine structure of neurons in the inner regions of thick brain specimens. However, the tissue penetration depth of laser scanning ...microscopy is limited by light scattering and/or absorption by the tissue. Recently, several optical clearing reagents have been proposed for visualization in fixed specimens. However, they require complicated protocols or long treatment times. Here we report the effects of 2,2'-thiodiethanol (TDE) solutions as an optical clearing reagent for fixed mouse brains expressing a yellow fluorescent protein. Immersion of fixed brains in TDE solutions rapidly (within 30 min in the case of 400-µm-thick fixed brain slices) increased their transparency and enhanced the penetration depth in both confocal and two-photon microscopy. In addition, we succeeded in visualizing dendritic spines along single dendrites at deep positions in fixed thick brain slices. These results suggest that our proposed protocol using TDE solution is a rapid and useful method for optical clearing of fixed specimens expressing fluorescent proteins.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Various fluorescence microscopy techniques require bright NIR‐emitting fluorophores with high chemical and photostability. Now, the significant performance improvement of phosphorus‐substituted ...rhodamine dyes (PORs) upon substitution at the 9‐position with a 2,6‐dimethoxyphenyl group is reported. The thus obtained dye PREX 710 was used to stain mitochondria in living cells, which allowed long‐term and three‐color imaging in the vis‐NIR range. Moreover, the high fluorescence longevity of PREX 710 allows tracking a dye‐labeled biomolecule by single‐molecule microscopy under physiological conditions. Deep imaging of blood vessels in mice brain has also been achieved using the bright NIR‐emitting PREX 710‐dextran conjugate.
Photostable NIR dye: PREX 710 is a P=O‐containing rhodamine dye that is substituted with a 2,6‐dimethoxyphenyl group at the C9 position. The NIR‐emission and high fluorescence longevity of PREX 710 allow multi‐color imaging, cell‐tracking, and long‐term single‐molecule tracking under physiological conditions as well as deep‐tissue imaging in vivo.
To decipher dynamic brain information processing, current genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) are limited in single action potential (AP) detection speed, combinatorial spectral ...compatibility, and two-photon imaging depth. To address this, here, we rationally engineered a next-generation quadricolor GECI suite, XCaMPs. Single AP detection was achieved within 3–10 ms of spike onset, enabling measurements of fast-spike trains in parvalbumin (PV)-positive interneurons in the barrel cortex in vivo and recording three distinct (two inhibitory and one excitatory) ensembles during pre-motion activity in freely moving mice. In vivo paired recording of pre- and postsynaptic firing revealed spatiotemporal constraints of dendritic inhibition in layer 1 in vivo, between axons of somatostatin (SST)-positive interneurons and apical tufts dendrites of excitatory pyramidal neurons. Finally, non-invasive, subcortical imaging using red XCaMP-R uncovered somatosensation-evoked persistent activity in hippocampal CA1 neurons. Thus, the XCaMPs offer a critical enhancement of solution space in studies of complex neuronal circuit dynamics.
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•Developing XCaMPs, a spectrally resolved, quadricolor (BGYR) suite of linear GECIs•Resolving PV interneuron spike trains and non-invasive imaging of hippocampal CA1•Cell-type-specific excitation-inhibition dynamics revealed by 3-color fiber photometry•Local dendritic inhibition identified in vivo via paired axon and dendrite recording
Quadricolor suite of genetically encoded calcium indicators for multiplex recording in the brain.
In vivo two-photon microscopy utilizing a nonlinear optical process enables, in living mouse brains, not only the visualization of morphologies and functions of neural networks in deep regions but ...also their optical manipulation at targeted sites with high spatial precision. Because the two-photon excitation efficiency is proportional to the square of the photon density of the excitation laser light at the focal position, optical aberrations induced by specimens mainly limit the maximum depth of observations or that of manipulations in the microscopy. To increase the two-photon excitation efficiency, we developed a method for evaluating the focal volume in living mouse brains. With this method, we modified the beam diameter of the excitation laser light and the value of the refractive index in the immersion liquid to maximize the excitation photon density at the focal position. These two modifications allowed the successful visualization of the finer structures of hippocampal CA1 neurons, as well as the intracellular calcium dynamics in cortical layer V astrocytes, even with our conventional two-photon microscopy system. Furthermore, it enabled focal laser ablation dissection of both single apical and single basal dendrites of cortical layer V pyramidal neurons. These simple modifications would enable us to investigate the contributions of single cells or single dendrites to the functions of local cortical networks.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The spatio-temporal variation in the hybridization status of non-native distributed rosy bitterlings
Rhodeus ocellatus
subspecies,
Rhodeus ocellatus kurumeus
and
Rhodeus ocellatus ocellatus
, in the ...rivers of the Himi region, Toyama Prefecture, central Japan was examined. Genetic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA showed that individuals with genetic characteristics of both subspecies inhabit these rivers. The molecular phylogenetic tree suggests that such hybrids might have been unintentionally introduced to the Himi region from the Osaka region. Hybridization between the two subspecies was thought to be repeated in the Himi region, and the frequency of occurrence of hybrid individuals showed spatio-temporal variation possibly due to random fluctuations. The detection of the
R. o. kurumeus
haplotype, which has not been reported in natural habitats, in the Himi region suggests that a genetic legacy remains among individuals artificially introduced to various regions via hybrid individuals.
The therapeutic effects of C16, which is an inhibitor of RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR), on growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and tumor progression in vitro and in vivo were ...evaluated. Huh7 cells, a human HCC cell line, were used. The effects of C16 on cell viability were evaluated with the MTT assay, and real-time RT-PCR was performed. Huh7 cells were grafted into immunodeficient mice, and the in vivo effects of C16 on tumorigenesis were examined. C16 suppressed proliferation of HCC cells in a dose-dependent manner in vitro. Mouse models with xenograft transplantation showed that the inhibitor suppressed the growth of HCC cells in vivo. Moreover, C16 decreased angiogenesis in HCC tissue in the xenograft model. Consistent with these results in mice, transcript levels of vascular endothelial growth factor-A and factor-B, platelet-derived growth factor-A and factor-B, fibroblast growth factor-2, epidermal growth factor, and hepatocyte growth factor, which are angiogenesis-related growth factors, were significantly decreased by C16 in vitro. In conclusion, the PKR inhibitor C16 blocked tumor cell growth and angiogenesis via a decrease in mRNA levels of several growth factors. C16 may be useful in the treatment of HCC.
Insulin balls, localized insulin amyloids formed at the site of repeated insulin injections in patients with diabetes, cause poor glycemic control and cytotoxicity. Our previous study has shown that ...insulin forms two types of amyloids; toxic amyloid formed from the intact insulin ((i)-amyloid) and less-toxic amyloid formed in the presence of the reducing reagent TCEP ((r)-amyloid), suggesting insulin amyloid polymorphism. However, the differences in the formation mechanism and cytotoxicity expression are still unclear. Herein, we demonstrate that the liquid droplets, which are stabilized by electrostatic interactions, appear only in the process of toxic (i)-amyloid formation, but not in the less-toxic (r)-amyloid formation process. The effect of various additives such as arginine, 1,6-hexanediol, and salts on amyloid formation was also examined to investigate interactions that are important for amyloid formation. Our results indicate that the maturation processes of these two amyloids were significantly different, whereas the nucleation by hydrophobic interactions was similar. These results also suggest the difference in the formation mechanism of two different insulin amyloids is attributed to the difference in the intermolecular interactions and could be correlated with the cytotoxicity.