title: Microinjection Technique for Assessment of Gap Junction Function.
abstract: Gap junctions are essential for the proper function of many native mammalian tissues including neurons, cardiomyocytes, embryonic tissues, and muscle. Assessing these channels is therefore fundamental to understanding disease pathophysiology, developing therapies for a multitude of acquired and genetic conditions, and providing novel approaches to drug delivery and cellular communication. Microinjection is a robust, albeit difficult, technique, which provides considerable information that is superior to many of the simpler techniques due to its ability to isolate cells, quantify kinetics, and allow cross-comparison of multiple cell lines. Despite its user-dependent nature, the strengths of the technique are considerable and with the advent of new, automation technologies may improve further. This text describes the basic technique of microinjection and briefly discusses modern automation advances that can improve the success rates of this technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Experimental Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Fridman
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Experimental Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. robert.hamilton@sickkids.ca.|Department of Pediatrics - Division of Cardiology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. robert.hamilton@sickkids.ca.
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hamilton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000502:physiology*; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008845:Microinjections / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes
keywords: Cellular communication; Connexin; Dye transfer; Gap junction; Microinjection