Abstract
The use of retrograde axonal transport of various substances (for example, enzymes, lectins, synthetic fluorescent compounds) has yielded much information on the organization of neuronal path-ways. Each type of retrograde tracer has its own set of attributes which define the scope of problems it can address1–3. We describe here a new class of retrograde tracer, rhodamine-labelled fluorescent latex microspheres (0.02–0.2 µm diameter), which have distinct advantages over other available tracers for in vivo and in vitro applications. When injected into brain tissue, these microspheres show little diffusion and consequently produce small, sharply defined injection sites. Once transported back to neuronal somata, the label persists for at least 10 weeks in vivo and 1 yr after fixation. Microspheres have no obvious cytotoxicity or phototoxicity as assessed by intracellular recording and staining of retrogradely labelled cells in a cortical brain slice preparation. This approach was further used to visualize and compare, in cat visual cortex slices, neurones with different projection patterns, and revealed significant differences in patterns of intrinsic axons and dendrites. These properties of microspheres open new avenues for anatomical and physiological studies of identified projection neurones in slices as well as in dissociated cell cultures.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Jones, E. G. & Hartman, B. K. A. Rev. Neurosci. 1, 215–296 (1978).
Aschoff, A. & Hollander, H. J. Neurosci. Meth. 6, 179–197 (1982).
Mesulam, M.-M. (ed) Tracing Neural Connections with Horseradish Peroxidase (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1982).
Montero, V. M., Brugge, J. F. & Beitel, R. E. J. Neurophysiol. 31, 221–236 (1968).
Montero, V. M., Rojas, A. & Torrealba, F. Brain Res. 53, 197–201 (1979).
Miller, M. W. & Vogt, B. A. J. comp. Neurol. (in the press).
Gilbert, C. D. & Wiesel, T. N. J. Neurosci. 3, 1116–1133 (1983).
Lent, R. J. comp. Neurol. 206, 227–242 (1982).
Sefton, A. J., Mackay-Sim, A., Baur, L. A. & Cottee, L. J. Brain Res. 215, 1–13 (1981).
Gilbert, C. D. & Kelly, J. P. J. comp. Neurol. 163, 81–106 (1975).
LeVay, S. & Sherk, H., J. Neurosci. 1, 956–980 (1981).
Adams, R. J. & Bray, D. Nature 303, 718–720 (1983).
Milgrom, F. & Golstein, R. Vox Sang. 7, 86–88 (1962).
Gonatas, N. K., Kim, S. U., Stieber, A. & Avrameas, S. J. Cell Biol. 73, 1–13 (1972).
Korn, E. D. & Weisman, R. A. J. Cell Biol. 34, 219–227 (1967).
Movat, H. Z., Weiser, W. J., Glynn, M. F. & Mustard, J. F. J. Cell Biol. 27, 531–543 (1965).
Schwab, M. E. & Thoenen, H. J. Cell Biol. 77, 1–13 (1978).
Aguayo, A. J., Benfy, M. & David, S. Birth Defects 19, 327–340 (1983).
Carbonnetto, S. & Argon, Y. Devl Biol. 80, 364–378 (1980).
Brady, S. T. & Lasek, R. J. Science 218, 1127–1131 (1982).
Gupta, R. K. et al. J. Membrane Biol. 58, 123–127 (1981).
Salzberg, B. M. in Current Methods in Cellular Neurobiology Vol. 3 (eds Barker, J. C. & McKelvig, J. F.) 139–187 (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1983).
Kettenmann, H., Weinrich, M. & Schachner, M. Neurosci Lett. 41, 85–90 (1983).
Dingledine, R., Dodd, J. & Kelly, J. S. J. Neurosci. Meth. 2, 323–362 (1980).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Katz, L., Burkhalter, A. & Dreyer, W. Fluorescent latex microspheres as a retrograde neuronal marker for in vivo and in vitro studies of visual cortex. Nature 310, 498–500 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/310498a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/310498a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Effects of Ischemic Stroke on Interstitial Fluid Clearance in Mouse Brain: a Bead Study
Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology (2023)
-
Downregulation of CDK5 signaling in the dorsal striatum alters striatal microcircuits implicating the association of pathologies with circadian behavior in mice
Molecular Brain (2022)
-
The brainstem connectome database
Scientific Data (2022)
-
Optocapacitance: physical basis and its application
Biophysical Reviews (2022)
-
The basal ganglia control the detailed kinematics of learned motor skills
Nature Neuroscience (2021)