Drosophila Larval NMJ Immunohistochemistry

Summary

This protocol demonstrates how to perform immunohistochemistry on dissected Drosophila larva.

Abstract

The Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is an established model system used for the study of synaptic development and plasticity. The widespread use of the Drosophila motor system is due to its high accessibility. It can be analyzed with single-cell resolution. There are 30 muscles per hemisegment whose arrangement within the peripheral body wall are known. A total of 31 motor neurons attach to these muscles in a pattern that has high fidelity. Using molecular biology and genetics, one can create transgenic animals or mutants. Then, one can study the developmental consequences on the morphology and function of the NMJ. Immunohistochemistry can be used to clearly image the components of the NMJ. In this article, we demonstrate how to use antibody staining to visualize the Drosophila larval NMJ.

Protocol

Before you start

1. Prepare the following solutions: PBT (0.1 % Triton X100 in 1X PBS), PBTB ( 0.2% BSA in PBT), and PBTN (2% NGS in PBTB).
2. Dissect Drosophila larvae. Please see Drosophila Larval NMJ Dissection.

Immunohistochemistry

1. Move the larvae to a 1.5 ml tube containing PBT. Wash the larvae twice for 15 minutes in the PBT. Note: to wash, place the 1.5 ml tube on a nutator mixer. Remove the liquid with a pippetor and replace it with fresh liquid.
2. Remove the PBT. Wash in PBTB twice for 30 minutes.
3. Remove the PBTB. Wash in PBTN twice for 15 mi....

Discussion

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is vital for the study of NMJ biology because it enables visualization of the NMJ. This is accomplished by using antibodies that recognize the neuronal membrane (e.g., HRP), the presynapse (e.g., CSP, SYT), and/or the postsynapse (e.g., DLG). Signaling molecules, structural proteins, or novel proteins of interest can also be stained. Then, genes can be mutated or missexpressed, and IHC can detect perturbation of synaptic structure and/or neuronal signaling.

The NMJ o.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Stereomicroscope “Stemi” 2000	Carl Zeiss, Inc.	495101-9804-000
Light Source KL 1500 LCD	Carl Zeiss, Inc.	000000-1063-181
Dumont SS Forceps	Fine Science Tools	11200-33
Dumont #5 Forceps	Fine Science Tools	11252-20
Adams™ Nutator Mixer	BD Biosciences	421105
No.1 Precision knife	X-Acto	3201
No. 16 Blades	X-Acto	216
ProLong Gold Antifade reagent	Invitrogen	36930