Highlights d Design of illumination devices for optogenetic photostimulation of multiwell plates d Spatiotemporal control of canonical Wnt signaling in human embryonic stem cells d Dose-dependent optogenetic Wnt activation d Spatial light patterns model embryonic presentation of Wnt signals in vitro
20Spatially and temporally varying patterns of morphogen signals during development drive cell fate 21 specification at the proper location and time. However, current in vitro methods typically do not 22 allow for precise, dynamic, spatiotemporal control of morphogen signaling and are thus 23 insufficient to readily study how morphogen dynamics impact cell behavior. Here we show that 24 optogenetic Wnt/b-catenin pathway activation can be controlled at user-defined intensities, 25 temporal sequences, and spatial patterns using novel engineered illumination devices for 26 optogenetic photostimulation and light activation at variable amplitudes (LAVA). The optical 27 design of LAVA devices was optimized for uniform illumination of multi-well cell culture plates to 28 enable high-throughput, spatiotemporal optogenetic activation of signaling pathways and protein-29 protein interactions. Using the LAVA devices, variation in light intensity induced a dose-dependent 30 response in optoWnt activation and downstream Brachyury expression in human embryonic stem 31 cells (hESCs). Furthermore, time-varying and spatially localized patterns of light revealed tissue 32 patterning that models embryonic presentation of Wnt signals in vitro. The engineered LAVA 33 devices thus provide a low-cost, user-friendly method for high-throughput and spatiotemporal 34 optogenetic control of cell signaling for applications in developmental and cell biology.101 user-defined intensities (0 -20 µWmm -2 , 0.005 µWmm -2 resolution), temporal sequences (10 ms 102 resolution), and spatial patterns (100 µm resolution). We demonstrate LAVA board performance 103 by modulating the intensity, timing, and spatial location of canonical Wnt/b-catenin signaling in 104 human embryonic stem cell (hESC) cultures using the optoWnt optogenetic system (Bugaj et al.105 2013; Repina et al. 2019). We show that Wnt pathway activation and hESC differentiation is dose-106 responsive to light intensity and duration of illumination, and that spatial patterning can be used 107 to simulate the embryonic, spatially polarized presentation of the Wnt ligand. Lastly, we provide 108 a detailed protocol for LAVA board assembly, which takes ~8 hrs and less than $500 to fabricate 109 and build. 110 DESIGN 111 Design requirements for spatiotemporal photostimulation of cell cultures 112 A number of design considerations should be considered to ensure controlled, long-term
Summary Optogenetic modulation of protein interactions enables spatiotemporal control of cellular signaling dynamics in a variety of biological systems. However, light patterning by standard microscopes is limited by their complexity, sample throughput, and cost. To address the need for low-cost, user-friendly, and high-throughput photopatterning, we have engineered devices for light activation at variable amplitudes (LAVA). This protocol describes the assembly of LAVA devices, which enable spatial and temporal control of optogenetic stimulation and cellular signaling dynamics in multiwell cell culture plates. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Repina et al. (2020) .
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