Microscopy is a basic tool in research into the biology of any organism given that the elements studied, the cells, are of microscopic and frequently nanoscopic size. Until now, existing microscopy methods to explore living brain tissue have been limited to imaging previously labelled cells only. Yet, owing to technical limitations, not all the cells in a specific region of the brain can be labelled simultaneously; this has restricted the way we see and therefore understand how brain cells, which are highly interconnected, are organised and interact with each other.
The article published in the journal Cell describes a new microscopy technique known as SUSHI designed to improve the imaging of cells in living brain tissue.
The new SUSHI (Super-resolution Shadow Imaging) technique allows the tiny space full of liquid surrounding brain cells (ECS) to be labelled in one sweep, thus obviating the need to individually label all the cells that one is intending to analyze.
SUSHI enables quantitative analysis of ECS structure and reveals dynamics on multiple scales in response to a variety of physiological stimuli. The extracellular labeling strategy greatly alleviates problems of photobleaching and phototoxicity associated with traditional imaging approaches.
Given that this "label" also remains outside the cells, a kind of negative image akin to the film used in old cameras is produced. So the negative image contains the same information about the brain cells as its corresponding positive image, but thanks to the fact that the labelling procedure is more straightforward, it is much easier to obtain this image and all the information contained in it.
According to the author "The SUSHI technique is revolutionary because it allows us to simultaneously image all the brain cells in a specific region of living brain tissue. In the past we used to come across blank spaces in the microscopy images, because we were unable to label all the cells at the same time. This fact was a big constraint for us. From now on, this technique will enable us to see all the cells in the area of study that we put under the microscope lens as well as all their interactions, and that will allow us to advance our knowledge of brain functions in a healthy organ and in a diseased one".
https://www.ehu.eus/en/-/mikroskopiako-teknika-iraultzaile-bat-garatu-dute-eta-garuneko-eskualde-jakin-bateko-zelula-guztiak-bistaratzea-ahalbidetzen-du
http://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(18)30151-X
Latest News
Abusive drugs hijack natura…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Mechanism of action of the…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Role of fat in rare neurolo…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
How protein synthesis in de…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Apr
Atlas of mRNA variants in d…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Apr
Other Top Stories
Mitochondrial signaling to control excessive inflammation
Read more
Monocyte-derived S1P in the lymph node regulates immune responses
Read more
Gut's immune system helps regulate food processing
Read more
How heart disease in the elderly is exacerbated?
Read more
Auto-aggressive immune cells attack liver cells to cause fatty liver
Read more
Protocols
A programmable targeted pro…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Publications
Sex-specific modulation of…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
Exploiting pancreatic cance…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Structure of antiviral drug…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Type-I-interferon-responsiv…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Selenium, diabetes, and the…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar