Ex Vivo Calcium Imaging for Visualizing Brain Responses to Endocrine Signaling in Drosophila

Summary

This paper describes a protocol for ex vivo calcium imaging of the Drosophila brain. In this method, natural or synthetic compounds can be applied to the buffer to test their ability to activate particular neurons in the brain.

Abstract

Organ-to-organ communication by endocrine signaling, for example, from the periphery to the brain, is essential for maintaining homeostasis. As a model animal for endocrine research, Drosophila melanogaster, which has sophisticated genetic tools and genome information, is being increasingly used. This article describes a method for the calcium imaging of Drosophila brain explants. This method enables the detection of the direct signaling of a hormone to the brain. It is well known that many peptide hormones act through G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), whose activation causes an increase in the intracellular Ca²⁺concentration. Neural activation also elevates intracellular Ca²⁺ levels, from both Ca²⁺ influx and the release of Ca²⁺ stored in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). A calcium sensor, GCaMP, can monitor these Ca²⁺ changes. In this method, GCaMP is expressed in the neurons of interest, and the GCaMP-expressing larval brain is dissected and cultured ex vivo. The test peptide is then applied to the brain explant, and the fluorescent changes in GCaMP are detected using a spinning disc confocal microscope equipped with a CCD camera. Using this method, any water-soluble molecule can be tested, and various cellular events associated with neural activation can be imaged using the appropriate fluorescent indicators. Moreover, by modifying the imaging chamber, this method can be used to image other Drosophila organs or the organs of other animals.

Introduction

Organ-to-organ communication is an evolutionarily conserved strategy for maintaining homeostasis to cope with environmental changes. In humans, a variety of hormones arereleased from the endocrine glands into the circulation. Many of these hormones target the hypothalamus of the brain, which regulates metabolic processes and fundamental behaviors such as feeding^1,2. Many hormones have been discovered using mammalian models. However, the mechanisms of their action, especially the interorgan networks in which they participate, remain largely unclear.

Drosophila melanogaster h....

Protocol

1. Preparation of Larval Brain Explants

1. Make an imaging chamber.
   NOTE: Stable recording requires that the brain explants be tethered. Here, a low-cost, hand-made imaging chamber is used in the Ca²⁺ imaging system.
   1. Using forceps, scratch the bottom center of a plastic culture dish (35 mm x 10 mm) to create a dent for the ventral ganglion of the larval brain making mounting easier (step 1.3, Figure 1).
   2. With a toothpick, place a small drop of superglue on either side of the dent and attach a tungsten rod (0.125 mm diameter, 6 to 7 mm length) to the glue.
   3. Using a small piece of p....

Results

Using this protocol, the activation of brain insulin-producing cells (IPCs) by the peptide hormone, CCHa2, was examined. IPCs of the wild-type brain were labeled with GCaMP6s using a combination of dilp2-GAL4¹² (a gift from Dr. Rulifson) and UAS-GCaMP6s¹³ (a gift from Dr. Kim). Larval brain explants were treated with a synthetic CCHa2 peptide, and the fluorescence from GCaMP6s was recorded in real time. In this experiment, .......

Discussion

The Ca²⁺ imaging method described here is a useful system for testing the function of hormones in the brain. In vivo, the brain receives hormones from various endocrine organs. In addition, the brain constantly perceives ascending sensory information, which causes spontaneous neuronal activation. This ex vivo system eliminates such noise and yields a better signal/noise ratio than in vivo imaging. In this system, molecules can be tested singly or in combination. In addition to peptid.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Tungsten rod	A-M systems, Sequim, WA, USA	717000
Blu Tack	Bostik, Paris, France	3049100	putty-like reusable adhesives
Watch glass, square, 1 5/8 in	Carolina Biological Supply Company, Burlington, NC, USA	742300
PBS	TAKARA Bio Inc., Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan	T900	Phosphated buffered salts
CCHa2	SCRUM Inc., Tokyo, Japan		Custum-synthesized peptide
Ghrerin	Peptide institute Inc., Osaka, Japan	4372-s
Nociceptin	Peptide institute Inc., Osaka, Japan	4313-v
Axio Imager A2	Carl Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany	Axio Imager A2	fluorescence microscope
Objective W N-Achroplan 20x/0.5 M27	Carl Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany	420957-9900-000	water-immersion objective lens
P-725 PIFOC objective scanner with long travel range	Physik Instrumente GmbH & Co. KG, Karlsruhe, Germany	N/A	piezoelectric-activated lens mover
Confocal Scanner Unit CSU-W1	Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Tokyo, Japan	CSU-W1	spinning disc confocal head
ImagEM C9100-13	Hamamatsu Photonics, Sizuoka, Japan	C9100-13	EM-CCD camera
OBIS 488 nm LS 60 mW	Coherent, Santa Clara, CA, USA	1178770	488-nm laser
488/568/647 nm Yokogawa dichroic beamsplitter	Semrock, Rochester, NY, USA	Di01-T405/488/568/647-13x15x0.5	dichroic beam splitter
528/38 nm BrightLine single-band bandpass filter	Semrock, Rochester, NY, USA	FF01-528/38-25	emission filter
µManager	Open Imaging, Inc.	N/A	https://micro-manager.org
ImageJ	U. S. National Institutes of Health	N/A	https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/
TurboReg	Philippe Thévenaz, Biomediccal Imaging Group, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne	N/A	http://bigwww.epfl.ch/thevenaz/turboreg/