Protocol for glial Ca2+ imaging in C. elegans following chemical, mechanical, or optogenetic stimulation

Hankui Cheng; Umar Al-Sheikh; Du Chen; Duo Duan; Lijun Kang

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101169

Protocol for glial Ca²⁺ imaging in C. elegans following chemical, mechanical, or optogenetic stimulation

STAR Protoc. 2022 Feb 10;3(1):101169. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101169. eCollection 2022 Mar 18.

Authors

Hankui Cheng^{1

2}, Umar Al-Sheikh^{1

2}, Du Chen^{1

2}, Duo Duan^{1

2}, Lijun Kang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurobiology and Department of Neurology of the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China.
² NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Research and Brain-Machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310053, China.

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans is an exceptionally transparent model to analyze calcium (Ca²⁺) signals, but available protocols for neuronal Ca2⁺ imaging may not be suitable for studying glial cells. Here, we present a detailed protocol for glial Ca²⁺ imaging in C. elegans following three different approaches including chemical, mechanical, and optogenetic stimulation. We also provide the details for imaging analysis using Image-J. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Duan et al. (2020).

Keywords: Behavior; Microscopy; Model Organisms; Neuroscience.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Caenorhabditis elegans* / genetics
Calcium
Neuroglia
Neurons
Optogenetics*

Substances

Calcium