title: Study of laser uncaging induced morphological alteration of rat cortical neurites using atomic force microscopy.
abstract: Activity-dependent structural remodeling is an important aspect of neuronal plasticity. In the previous researches, neuronal structure variations resulting from external interventions were detected by the imaging instruments such as the fluorescence microscopy, the scanning/transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM) and the laser confocal microscopy. In this article, a new platform which combined the photochemical stimulation with atomic force microscopy (AFM) was set up to detect the activity-dependent structural remodeling. In the experiments, the cortical neurites on the glass coverslips were stimulated by locally uncaged glutamate under the ultraviolet (UV) laser pulses, and a calcium-related structural collapse of neurites (about 250 nm height decrease) was observed by an AFM. This was the first attempt to combine the laser uncaging with AFM in living cell researches. With the advantages of highly localized stimulation (<5 μm), super resolution imaging (<3.8 nm), and convenient platform building, this system was suitable for the quantitative observation of the neuron mechanical property variations and morphological alterations modified by neural activities under different photochemical stimulations, which would be helpful for studying physiological and pathological mechanisms of structural and functional changes induced by the biomolecule acting.
authors.affiliation: Biosensor National Special Laboratory, Key Laboratory of BME of the Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China. Electronic address: tianjian@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Biosensor National Special Laboratory, Key Laboratory of BME of the Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China. Electronic address: tcl@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chunlong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Biosensor National Special Laboratory, Key Laboratory of BME of the Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China. Electronic address: liang1tao@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yitao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Biosensor National Special Laboratory, Key Laboratory of BME of the Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China. Electronic address: zhouja@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Biosensor National Special Laboratory, Key Laboratory of BME of the Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, PR China. Electronic address: yexuesong@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xuesong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D007834:Lasers; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D016501:Neurites / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009474:Neurons / Q000528:radiation effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Atomic force microscopy; Laser uncaging; Morphological alteration; Rat cortical neuron