title: Calcium imaging in neuron cell death.
abstract: Intracellular Ca2+ is involved in control of a large variety of cell functions including apoptosis and neuron cell death. For example, intracellular Ca2+ overload is critical in neuron cell death induced by excitotoxicity. Thus, single cell monitoring of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]cyt ) in neurons concurrently with apoptosis and neuron cell death is widely required. Procedures for culture and preparation of primary cultures of hippocampal rat neurons and fluorescence imaging of cytosolic Ca2+ concentration in Fura2/AM -loaded neurons are described. We also describe a method for apoptosis detection by immunofluorescence imaging. Finally, a simple method for concurrent measurements of [Ca2+]cyt and apoptosis in the same neurons is described.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biología y Genética Molecular (IBGM), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas y Universidad de Valladolid, c/ Sanz y Forés 3, Valladolid, 47003, Spain.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Villalobos
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Núñez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000235:genetics*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium