thus offers a novel means to monitor and image fluorescently labeled neurons in deep regions of an awake and active rat.
Rotenone effect on peroxisomal dynamics mediated by microtubulesRedox biology is an area of great interest for cell biological responses in health and disease (Little et al. 2017). Two major cellular organelles involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling are mitochondria and peroxisomes. Like many intracellular organelles, these organelles are also known to interact dynamically with one another in what is referred to as the "peroxisome-mitochondria connection" (Schrader et al. 2015). Although effects of the generation of oxidative stress in peroxisomes on mitochondrial function and morphology are well known, very little is known concerning potential effects of mitochondrial-derived oxidative stress on peroxisomal structure or function. To address this issue, Passmore et al. (2017) have performed experiments to examine effects of the complex I inhibitor rotenone on membrane dynamics occurring between mitochondria and peroxisomes. Using fluorescence microscopy, including quantitative assessment of ROS production with H 2 DCFDA, and immunoblotting they found that rotenone treatment had substantial effects on both peroxisomes and mitochondria in COS-7 cells. With respect to peroxisomes, rotenone affected both morphology and intracellular distribution through a mechanism independent of mitochondrial generated oxidative stress, but dependent upon microtubule destabilization. Interestingly, in contrast, the opposite situation occurred with the effect of rotenone on mitochondrial morphology: these effects were dependent upon the generation of ROS, but independent of microtubule stabilization.
New system for monitoring brain neuronal activity in moving ratsOne of the great challenges in live animal imaging is the accurate recording of brain neuronal activity in a free-moving animal. Although multiphoton confocal microscopy has been used successfully to image more peripheral regions of the brain (Kerr et al. 2005), deeper regions remain inaccessible. Iijima et al. (2017) have now developed a system consisting of (1) a single optical fiber for recording neuronal activity via eGFP expression (linked to gonadotropin releasing hormone), and (2) a newly designed animal cage whereby the floor rotates in response to head movements, thus minimizing animal movement-derived stress on the optical fiber, for monitoring and imaging via fluorescence structures deep in the brain. This system allowed real-time fluorescence monitoring in awake and active animals over several days. By replacing the animal's water with a mild saline solution (to induce dehydration), they found an increase in eGFP fluorescence intensity in the paraventricular nucleus region. To refine their system to allow recording from individual neurons, the authors replaced the original optical fiber with a bundle containing approximately 3000 thin optical fibers and connected to an upright fluorescence microscope. Using this higher resolution ...