An Optical Assay for Synaptic Vesicle Recycling in Cultured Neurons Overexpressing Presynaptic Proteins

Summary

We describe an optical assay for synaptic vesicle (SV) recycling in cultured neurons. Combining this protocol with double transfection to express a presynaptic marker and protein of interest allows us to locate presynaptic sites, their synaptic vesicle recycling capacity, and determine the role of the protein of interest.

Abstract

At active presynaptic nerve terminals, synaptic vesicles undergo cycles of exo- and endocytosis. During recycling, the luminal domains of SV transmembrane proteins become exposed at the cell surface. One of these proteins is Synaptotagmin-1 (Syt1). An antibody directed against the luminal domain of Syt1, once added to the culture medium, is taken up during the exo-endocytotic cycle. This uptake is proportional to the amount of SV recycling and can be quantified through immunofluorescence. Here, we combine Syt1 antibody uptake with double transfection of cultured hippocampal neurons. This allows us to (1) localize presynaptic sites based on expression of recombinant presynaptic marker Synaptophysin, (2) determine their functionality using Syt1 uptake, and (3) characterize the targeting and effects of a protein of interest, GFP-Rogdi.

Introduction

Studying synaptic vesicle recycling is important in determining how presynaptic properties change, either during synaptic plasticity or in response to perturbation of synaptic function. Studying Synaptotagmin-1 (Syt1) antibody uptake provides one method of measuring the amount of SV recycling. Syt1 is a SV-associated protein that acts as a Ca²⁺ sensor and is necessary for exocytotic release of the neurotransmitter^1,2. It is a transmembrane protein with a C-terminal cytoplasmic domain outside the SV and an N-terminal luminal domain inside the SV³. During exocytosis, the lumina....

Protocol

No studies with live animals were conducted. Experiments involving euthanized animals to obtain cell cultures were approved by the local animal protection authorities (Tierschutzkommission der Universitätsmedizin Göttingen) under the approval number T10/30. The experiments were conducted with the approved protocols.

1. Primary Hippocampal Cell Culture

1. Prepare the dissociated cell culture of the rat hippocampus on embryonic day 19^16,17. Plate the cells on 12 mm coverslips coated with polyethyleneimine (PEI) in 24-well dishes at a density of 50,000 - 60,000 cells....

Results

An expected result of this approach is locating approximately 50 double-transfected neurons per coverslip at a density of 50,000 neurons per well. The axon of each neuron is expected to show multiple hotspots of fluorescently-tagged Synaptophysin accumulation, indicating clusters ofSVs. At functional presynaptic sites, the recombinant Synaptophysin signal colocalizes with punctate Syt1 fluorescence. Using double transfection, either GFP-Rogdi as the protein of interest (

Discussion

There are three assays routinely used to study synaptic vesicle (SV) recycling. The first two include the use of a) fluorescent styryl dyes such as FM1-43 (which incorporate into membranes, are taken up into organelles during endocytosis, and are released after exocytosis); and b) fluorescently tagged recombinant SV proteins (which, upon overexpression, incorporate into the proteinaceous recycling machinery). If the attached fluorophores change their fluorescence depending on the pH, they can be used to monitor changes b.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
B27	Gibco	17504-044
BSA	Sigma	A7030-50g
CaCl2	Sigma-Aldrich	C3306-100g
CoolSNAP HQ2	Photometrics
dH2O	Invitrogen	15230
DABCO	Merck	8.03456.0100
donkey anti mouse Alexa 647	Jackson-Immunoresearch	715605151	antibody
DMEM	Invitrogen	41966
DPBS	Gibco	14190
Eppendorf tubes	Eppendorf	30120094
multiwell 24 well	Fisher Scientific	087721H
tube (50 mL)	Greiner Bio-One	227261
FBS superior	BiochromAG	S0615
Glucose	Merck	1,083,421,000
HBSS	Invitrogen	14170
HEPES	Sigma	H4034-500g
Hera Cell 150 (Inkubator)	ThermoElectron Corporation
KCL	Sigma-Aldrich	P9541-500g
L-Glutamin	Gibco	25030
MgCl2	Honeywell	M0250-500g
microscope slides	Fisher Scientific	10144633CF
Microsoft Excel	Microsoft
Mowiol4-88	Calbiochem	475904
NaCl	BioFroxx	1394KG001
Na2HPO4	BioFroxx	5155KG001
Neurobasal	Invitrogen	21103049
OpenView Experiment Analysis Application	Free software, see comments		written by Noam E. Ziv, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
PBS (10x)	Roche	11666789001
Optimem	Invitrogen	31985
Penstrep	Gibco	15140-122
PFA	Sigma	P6148-1kg
safety hood	ThermoElectron		Serial No. 40649111
Sucrose	neoFroxx	1104kg001
Synaptotagmin1	Synaptic Systems	105311	mouse monoclonal; clone 604.2
Triton X-100	Merck	1,086,031,000
Vortex Genius 3	IKA	3340001
Water bath	GFL	1004
Zeiss Observer. Z1	Zeiss