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Malaguti M, Lebek T, Blin G, Lowell S. Enabling neighbour labelling: using synthetic biology to explore how cells influence their neighbours. Development 2024; 151:dev201955. [PMID: 38165174 PMCID: PMC10820747 DOI: 10.1242/dev.201955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Cell-cell interactions are central to development, but exploring how a change in any given cell relates to changes in the neighbour of that cell can be technically challenging. Here, we review recent developments in synthetic biology and image analysis that are helping overcome this problem. We highlight the opportunities presented by these advances and discuss opportunities and limitations in applying them to developmental model systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattias Malaguti
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Stem Cell Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, UK
| | - Tamina Lebek
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Stem Cell Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, UK
| | - Guillaume Blin
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Stem Cell Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, UK
| | - Sally Lowell
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Stem Cell Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, 5 Little France Drive, Edinburgh EH16 4UU, UK
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Jin L, Sullivan HA, Zhu M, Lea NE, Lavin TK, Fu X, Matsuyama M, Hou Y, Feng G, Wickersham IR. Third-generation rabies viral vectors allow nontoxic retrograde targeting of projection neurons with greatly increased efficiency. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2023; 3:100644. [PMID: 37989085 PMCID: PMC10694603 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2023.100644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
Rabies viral vectors have become important components of the systems neuroscience toolkit, allowing both direct retrograde targeting of projection neurons and monosynaptic tracing of inputs to defined postsynaptic populations, but the rapid cytotoxicity of first-generation (ΔG) vectors limits their use to short-term experiments. We recently introduced second-generation, double-deletion-mutant (ΔGL) rabies viral vectors, showing that they efficiently retrogradely infect projection neurons and express recombinases effectively but with little to no detectable toxicity; more recently, we have shown that ΔGL viruses can be used for monosynaptic tracing with far lower cytotoxicity than the first-generation system. Here, we introduce third-generation (ΔL) rabies viral vectors, which appear to be as nontoxic as second-generation ones but have the major advantage of growing to much higher titers, resulting in significantly increased numbers of retrogradely labeled neurons in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Jin
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Heather A Sullivan
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mulangma Zhu
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nicholas E Lea
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Thomas K Lavin
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Xin Fu
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Makoto Matsuyama
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - YuanYuan Hou
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Guoping Feng
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ian R Wickersham
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Jacobsen RI, Nair RR, Obenhaus HA, Donato F, Slettmoen T, Moser MB, Moser EI. All-viral tracing of monosynaptic inputs to single birthdate-defined neurons in the intact brain. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2022; 2:100221. [PMID: 35637903 PMCID: PMC9142754 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Neuronal firing patterns are the result of inputs converging onto single cells. Identifying these inputs, anatomically and functionally, is essential to understand how neurons integrate information. Single-cell electroporation of helper genes and subsequent local injection of recombinant rabies viruses enable precise mapping of inputs to individual cells in superficial layers of the intact cortex. However, access to neurons in deeper structures requires more invasive procedures, including removal of overlying tissue. We developed a method that, through a combination of virus injections, allows us to target 4 or fewer hippocampal cells 48% of the time and a single cell 16% of the time in wild-type mice without use of electroporation or tissue aspiration. We identify local and distant monosynaptic inputs that can be functionally characterized in vivo. By expanding the toolbox for monosynaptic circuit tracing, this method will help further our understanding of neuronal integration at the level of single cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- R. Irene Jacobsen
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim 7030, Norway
| | - Rajeevkumar R. Nair
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim 7030, Norway
| | - Horst A. Obenhaus
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim 7030, Norway
| | - Flavio Donato
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim 7030, Norway
| | - Torstein Slettmoen
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim 7030, Norway
| | - May-Britt Moser
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim 7030, Norway
| | - Edvard I. Moser
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, NTNU, Trondheim 7030, Norway
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