Dye coupling and immunostaining of astrocyte-like glia following intracellular injection of fluorochromes in brain slices of the grasshopper, Schistocerca gregaria.
Injection of fluorochromes such as Alexa Fluor(®) 568 into single cells in brain slices reveals a network of dye-coupled cells to be associated with the central complex. Subsequent immunolabeling shows these cells to be repo positive/glutamine synthetase positive/horseradish peroxidase negative, thus identifying them as astrocyte-like glia. Dye coupling fails in the presence of n-heptanol indicating that dye spreads from cell to cell via gap junctions. A cellular network of dye-coupled, astrocyte-like, glia surrounds and infiltrates developing central complex neuropils. Intracellular dye injection techniques complement current molecular approaches in analyzing the functional properties of such networks.
Developmental Neurobiology Group, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Martinsried, Germany.
George
G
Boyan
Yu
Y
Liu
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology*; D015925:Cryopreservation; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000378:metabolism*; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism; D006110:Grasshoppers; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D007267:Injections; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism*; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology*
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes