Visualizing Astrocyte Morphology Using Lucifer Yellow Iontophoresis

Summary

Astrocytes are morphologically complex cells, exemplified by their multiple processes and bushy territories. To analyze their elaborate morphology, we present a reliable protocol to perform intracellular Lucifer yellow iontophoresis in lightly fixed tissue.

Abstract

Astrocytes are essential components of neural circuits. They tile the entire central nervous system (CNS) and are involved in a variety of functions, which include neurotransmitter clearance, ion regulation, synaptic modulation, metabolic support to neurons, and blood flow regulation. Astrocytes are complex cells that have a soma, several major branches, and numerous fine processes that contact diverse cellular elements within the neuropil. In order to assess the morphology of astrocytes, it is necessary to have a reliable and reproducible method to visualize their structure. We report a reliable protocol to perform intracellular iontophoresis of astrocytes using fluorescent Lucifer yellow (LY) dye in lightly fixed brain tissue from adult mice. This method has several features that are useful to characterize astrocyte morphology. It allows for three-dimensional reconstruction of individual astrocytes, which is useful to perform morphological analyses on different aspects of their structure. Immunohistochemistry together with LY iontophoresis can also be utilized to understand the interaction of astrocytes with different components of nervous system and to evaluate the expression of proteins within the labelled astrocytes. This protocol can be implemented in a variety of mouse models of CNS disorders to rigorously examine astrocyte morphology with light microscopy. LY iontophoresis provides an experimental approach to evaluate astrocyte structure, especially in the context of injury or disease where these cells are proposed to undergo significant morphological changes.

Introduction

Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cells in the central nervous system (CNS). They play roles in ion homeostasis, blood flow regulation, synapse formation as well as elimination, and neurotransmitter uptake¹. The wide range of astrocyte functions is reflected in their complex morphological structure^2,3. Astrocytes contain several primary and secondary branches which divide into thousands of finer branchlets and leaflets that directly interact with synapses, dendrites, axons, blood vessels, and other glial cells. Astrocyte morphology varies across different brain regions, which may h....

Protocol

The animal experiments in this study were performed in accordance with the National Institute of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and were approved by the Chancellor's Animal Research Committee at the University of California, Los Angeles. Adult mice (6−8 weeks old) of mixed gender were used in all experiments.

1. Solution Preparation

1. Artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) solution
   1. Prepare fresh ACSF solution (135 mM NaCl, 5 mM KCl, 1 mM MgCl₂, 14.7 mM NaHCO₃, 11 mM D-glucose, 1.25 mM Na₂HPO₄, and 2 mM CaCl₂) befor....

Results

The data reported in this study are from 7−12 cells from 4 mice in each experiment. Average data are reported in the figure panels where appropriate.

To assess astrocyte morphology, we performed intracellular iontophoresis using LY dye to fill astrocytes in the CA1 stratum radiatum, which is summarized in Figure 1. Figure 2 depicts a representative astrocyte and its elaborate morphological structure. The cell was imaged post-fixation with the 60x .......

Discussion

The method outlined in this paper describes a way to visualize astrocyte morphology using intracellular iontophoresis of LY dye in lightly fixed brain slices. There are several critical factors highlighted in this protocol that contribute to successful LY iontophoresis and morphological reconstruction of the cells. One factor is the quality and reproducibility of the images, which is determined largely by the age of the mouse and the outcome of the perfusion. In this study, we used C57/BL6N mice 6−8 weeks old. A su.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
10% Buffered Formalin Phosphate	Fisher	SF 100-20	An identical alternative can be used
Acrodisc Syringe Filters with Supor Membrane	Pall	4692	An identical alternative can be used
Ag/AgCl ground pellet	WPI	EP2	A similar alternative can be used
Alexa Fluor 546 goat anti-chicken IgG (H+L)	Thermo Scientific	A-11040	A similar alternative can be used
Alexa Fluor 647 goat anti-rabbit IgG (H+L)	Thermo Scientific	A27040	A similar alternative can be used
Anti Aquaporin-4 antibody	Novus Biologicals	NBP1-87679	A similar alternative can be used
Anti GFAP antibody	Abcam	ab4674	A similar alternative can be used
Borosilicate glass pipettes with filament	World precision instruments	1B150F-4
C57BL/6NTac mice	Taconic Stock	B6	A similar alternative can be used
Calcium Chloride	Sigma	21108	An identical alternative can be used
Confocal laser-scanning microscope	Olympus	FV1000MPE	A similar alternative can be used
D-glucose	Sigma	G7528	An identical alternative can be used
Disodium Phosphate	Sigma	255793	An identical alternative can be used
Electrode puller- Model P-97	Sutter	P-97	A similar alternative can be used
Fluoromount-G	Southern Biotech	0100-01	An identical alternative can be used
Heparin sodium injection (1,000 USP per mL)	Sagent Pharmaceuticals	400-10	An identical alternative can be used
Imaris software (Version 7.6.5)	Bitplane Inc.		A similar alternative can be used
Isofluorane	Henry Schein Animal Health	29404	An identical alternative can be used
Lidocaine Hydrochloride Injectable (2%)	Clipper	1050035	An identical alternative can be used
Lucifer Yellow CH dilithium salt	Sigma	L0259
Lucifer Yellow CH dipotassium salt	Sigma	L0144
Magnesium Chloride	Sigma	M8266	An identical alternative can be used
Microscope Cover Glass	Thermo Scientific	24X60-1	An identical alternative can be used
Microscope Slides	Fisher	12-544-2	An identical alternative can be used
Normal Goat Serum	Vector Laboratories	S-1000	An identical alternative can be used
Objective lens (40x)	Olympus	LUMPLFLN 40XW	A similar alternative can be used
Objective lens (60x)	Olympus	PlanAPO 60X	A similar alternative can be used
PBS tablets, 100 mL	VWR	VWRVE404	An identical alternative can be used
Pipette micromanipulator- Model ROE-200	Sutter	MP-285 / ROE-200 / MPC-200	A similar alternative can be used
Potassium Chloride	Sigma	P3911	An identical alternative can be used
Sodium Bicarbonate	Sigma	S5761	An identical alternative can be used
Sodium Chloride	Sigma	S5886	An identical alternative can be used
Stimulator- Model Omnical 2010	World precision instruments	Omnical 2010	A similar alternative can be used
Triton X 100	Sigma	T8787	An identical alternative can be used
Vibratome- Model #3000	Pelco	100-S	A similar alternative can be used