Optical microscopy to study the role of cytoskeleton in cell locomotion and virus trafficking

3. General conclusions 150 The interest in optical microscopy is constanly growing, mainly because of its unique features in examining biological systems in four dimensions (x-y-z-t)1 . The work presented here was focused on biological applications of optical microscopy by exploring and improving the spatial and temporal resolution performances and by futher developing optical tools for manipulating biological samples. First, I studied the resolution performances of the system in the three dimensional space and I contributed in improving the experimental spatial resolution of microscope by applying deconvolution. In this respect, theoretical modelling can characterize the image formation process of the microscope, but only experimental measurement of the PSF can quantify the limitations of the real system. Indeed, experimental PSF presents shape assymetry due to spherical aberrations introduced by optical elements, while theoretical PSF is symmetric and account only for the resolution limits of an ideal imaging system. The disadvantage of experimental PSF is that could be corrupted by noise, otherwise deconvolution with the theoretical PSF offer only a qualitative improvement of the image, because the introduced artefacts cannot be quantified. Deconvolution of the acquired data with experimental PSF...3. General conclusions 150 The interest in optical microscopy is constanly growing, mainly because of its unique features in examining biological systems in four dimensions (x-y-z-t)1 . The work presented here was focused on biological applications of optical microscopy by exploring and improving the spatial and temporal resolution performances and by futher developing optical tools for manipulating biological samples. First, I studied the resolution performances of the system in the three dimensional space and I contributed in improving the experimental spatial resolution of microscope by applying deconvolution. In this respect, theoretical modelling can characterize the image formation process of the microscope, but only experimental measurement of the PSF can quantify the limitations of the real system. Indeed, experimental PSF presents shape assymetry due to spherical aberrations introduced by optical elements, while theoretical PSF is symmetric and account only for the resolution limits of an ideal imaging system. The disadvantage of experimental PSF is that could be corrupted by noise, otherwise deconvolution with the theoretical PSF offer only a qualitative improvement of the image, because the introduced artefacts cannot be quantified. Deconvolution of the acquired data with experimental PSF...Department of Genetics and MicrobiologyKatedra genetiky a mikrobiologieFaculty of SciencePřírodovědecká fakult

Laser nano-neurosurgery from gentle manipulation to nano-incision of neuronal cells and scaffolds: an advanced neurotechnology tool

Current optical approaches are progressing far beyond the scope of monitoring the structure and function of living matter, and they are becoming widely recognized as extremely precise, minimally-invasive, contact-free handling tools. Laser manipulation of living tissues, single cells, or even single-molecules is becoming a well-established methodology, thus founding the onset of new experimental paradigms and research fields. Indeed, a tightly focused pulsed laser source permits complex tasks such as developing engineered bioscaffolds, applying calibrated forces, transfecting, stimulating, or even ablating single cells with subcellular precision, and operating intracellular surgical protocols at the level of single organelles. In the present review, we report the state of the art of laser manipulation in neuroscience, to inspire future applications of light-assisted tools in nano-neurosurgery

Simultaneous two-photon imaging and photo-stimulation with structured light illumination.

Holographic microscopy is increasingly recognized as a promising tool for the study of the central nervous system. Here we present a "holographic module", a simple optical path that can be combined with commercial scanheads for simultaneous imaging and uncaging with structured two-photon light. The present microscope is coupled to two independently tunable lasers and has two principal configurations: holographic imaging combined with galvo-steered uncaging and holographic uncaging combined with conventional scanning imaging. We applied this flexible system for simultaneous two-photon imaging and photostimulation of neuronal cells with complex light patterns, opening new perspectives for the study of brain function in situ and in vivo

Long-range and long-term interferometric tracking by static and dynamic force-clamp optical tweezers.

Optical tweezers are recognized single-molecule technique to resolve forces and motion on the molecular scale. Complex biological phenomena, such as cell differentiation and locomotion, require long range tracking capabilities with nanometer resolution over an extended period, to resolve molecular processes on the cellular scale. Here we introduce a real-time control of the microscope stage position to perform long-term tracking, with sub-millisecond resolution, of a bead attached to a neuron, preserving sub-nanometer sensitivity on a spatial range of centimeters, seven orders of magnitude larger. Moreover, the suitability of the system is tested by time- modulating the force-clamp condition to study the role of statically and dynamically applied forces in neuronal differentiation

HDAC6 and RhoA are novel players in Abeta-driven disruption of neuronal polarity

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Properties of the Force Exerted by Filopodia and Lamellipodia and the Involvement of Cytoskeletal Components

During neuronal differentiation, lamellipodia and filopodia explore the environment in search for the correct path to the axon's final destination. Although the motion of lamellipodia and filopodia has been characterized to an extent, little is known about the force they exert. In this study, we used optical tweezers to measure the force exerted by filopodia and lamellipodia with a millisecond temporal resolution. We found that a single filopodium exerts a force not exceeding 3 pN, whereas lamellipodia can exert a force up to 20 pN. Using metabolic inhibitors, we showed that no force is produced in the absence of actin polymerization and that development of forces larger than 3 pN requires microtubule polymerization. These results show that actin polymerization is necessary for force production and demonstrate that not only do neurons process information, but they also act on their environment exerting forces varying from tenths pN to tens of pN

motility flow and growth cone navigation analysis during in vitro neuronal development by long term bright field imaging

A long-term live-imaging workstation to follow the development of cultured neurons during the first few days in vitro (DIV) is developed. In order to monitor neuronal polarization and axonal growth by live imaging, we built a micro-incubator system that provides stable temperature, pH, and osmolarity in the culture dish under the microscope, while preserving environment sterility. We are able to image living neurons at 2 DIVs for 48 h with a temporal resolution of one frame for every 2 min. The main features of this system are its ability to adapt to every cell-culture support, to integrate in any optical microscope, because of the relatively small dimensions (9.5×6.5×2.5  cm ) and low weight of the system (<200  g ), and to monitor the physiological parameters in situ. Moreover, we developed an image-analysis algorithm to quantify the cell motility, in order to characterize its complex temporal-spatial pattern. The algorithm applies morphological image processing operations on the temporal variations occurring in the inspected region of interest. Here, it is used to automatically detect cellular motility in three distinct morphological regions of the neurons: around the soma, along the neurites, and in the growth cone

A Neuromorphic Prosthesis to Restore Communication in Neuronal Networks

Recent advances in bioelectronics and neural engineering allowed the development of brain machine interfaces and neuroprostheses, capable of facilitating or recovering functionality in people with neurological disability. To realize energy-efficient and real-time capable devices, neuromorphic computing systems are envisaged as the core of next-generation systems for brain repair. We demonstrate here a real-time hardware neuromorphic prosthesis to restore bidirectional interactions between two neuronal populations, even when one is damaged or missing. We used in&nbsp;vitro modular cell cultures to mimic the mutual interaction between neuronal assemblies and created a focal lesion to functionally disconnect the two populations. Then, we employed our neuromorphic prosthesis for bidirectional bridging to artificially reconnect two disconnected neuronal modules and for hybrid bidirectional bridging to replace the activity of one module with a real-time hardware neuromorphic Spiking Neural Network. Our neuroprosthetic system opens avenues for the exploitation of neuromorphic-based devices in bioelectrical therapeutics for health care

Optical microscopy to study the role of cytoskeleton in cell locomotion and virus trafficking

3. General conclusions 150 The interest in optical microscopy is constanly growing, mainly because of its unique features in examining biological systems in four dimensions (x-y-z-t)1 . The work presented here was focused on biological applications of optical microscopy by exploring and improving the spatial and temporal resolution performances and by futher developing optical tools for manipulating biological samples. First, I studied the resolution performances of the system in the three dimensional space and I contributed in improving the experimental spatial resolution of microscope by applying deconvolution. In this respect, theoretical modelling can characterize the image formation process of the microscope, but only experimental measurement of the PSF can quantify the limitations of the real system. Indeed, experimental PSF presents shape assymetry due to spherical aberrations introduced by optical elements, while theoretical PSF is symmetric and account only for the resolution limits of an ideal imaging system. The disadvantage of experimental PSF is that could be corrupted by noise, otherwise deconvolution with the theoretical PSF offer only a qualitative improvement of the image, because the introduced artefacts cannot be quantified. Deconvolution of the acquired data with experimental PSF..