Niigata University View Institution's Website 5 articles published in JoVE Biology Isolation and Culture of Primary Oral Keratinocytes from the Adult Mouse Palate Yen Xuan Ngo1,2,3, Kenta Haga4, Ayako Suzuki4, Hiroko Kato4, Hiromi Yanagisawa1,5, Kenji Izumi4, Aiko Sada1,3 1Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, 2Ph.D. Program in Human Biology, School of Integrative and Global Majors, University of Tsukuba, 3International Research Center for Medical Sciences (IRCMS), Kumamoto University, 4Division of Biomimetics, Faculty of Dentistry and Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, 5Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba The present protocol describes the isolation and culture of oral keratinocytes derived from the adult mouse palate. An evaluation method using immunostaining is also reported. Neuroscience Analyzing Synaptic Modulation of Drosophila melanogaster Photoreceptors after Exposure to Prolonged Light Atsushi Sugie1,2,5, Christoph Möhl3, Satoko Hakeda-Suzuki4, Hideaki Matsui1,2, Takashi Suzuki*4, Gaia Tavosanis*5 1Department of Neuroscience of Disease, Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Niigata University, 2Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, 3Image and Data Analysis Facility, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 4Graduate School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Titech), 5Dendrite Differentiation, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Here we show how to quantify the number and spatial distribution of synaptic active zones in Drosophila melanogaster photoreceptors, highlighted with a genetically encoded molecular marker, and their modulation after prolonged exposure to light. Engineering In Situ Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles without Aggregation in the Interlayer Space of Layered Titanate Transparent Films Kazuhisa Sasaki1, Kazuki Matsubara1, Shiori Kawamura1, Kenji Saito1, Masayuki Yagi1, Tatsuto Yui1 1Department of Material Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Niigata University Here, we present a protocol for the in situ synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) within the interlayer space of layered titanate films without the aggregation of AuNPs. No spectral change was observed even after 4 months. The synthesized material has expected applications in catalysis, photo-catalysis, and the development of cost-effective plasmonic devices. Neuroscience Stereotaxic Injection of a Viral Vector for Conditional Gene Manipulation in the Mouse Spinal Cord Perrine Inquimbert1, Martin Moll2, Tatsuro Kohno3, Joachim Scholz2 1Département Nociception et Douleur, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 2Departments of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, Columbia University, 3Department of Anesthesiology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences Viral vectors allow for targeted gene manipulation. We demonstrate a method for conditional gene expression or ablation in the mouse spinal cord, using stereotaxic injection of a viral vector into the dorsal horn, a prominent site of synaptic contact between primary somatosensory afferents and neurons of the central nervous system. Immunology and Infection A Cell Free Assay System Estimating the Neutralizing Capacity of GM-CSF Antibody using Recombinant Soluble GM-CSF Receptor Shinya Urano1, Ryushi Tazawa1, Takahito Nei1, Natsuki Motoi1, Masato Watanabe2, Takenori Igarashi3, Masahiro Tomita3, Koh Nakata1 1Bioscience Medical Research Center, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, 2First department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyorin University, 3Neosilk Laboratory, Immuno Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd. We designed a cell-free receptor binding assay in order to estimate the binding of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) to the receptors. It enables us to evaluate competitive inhibition of biotinylated GM-CSF binding to soluble GM-CSF receptor alpha by GM-CSF autoantibody with excellent reproducibility.