Sparse postnatal labeling and quantification of superficial cortical cell synapses in the mouse neocortex

Lorenzo Gesuita; Ali Özgür Argunsah; Theofanis Karayannis

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101837

Sparse postnatal labeling and quantification of superficial cortical cell synapses in the mouse neocortex

STAR Protoc. 2022 Nov 11;3(4):101837. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101837. eCollection 2022 Dec 16.

Authors

Lorenzo Gesuita¹, Ali Özgür Argunsah², Theofanis Karayannis³

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Neural Circuit Assembly, Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich (ZNZ), 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
² Laboratory of Neural Circuit Assembly, Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich (ZNZ), 8057 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: argunsah@hifo.uzh.ch.
³ Laboratory of Neural Circuit Assembly, Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich (ZNZ), 8057 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: karayannis@hifo.uzh.ch.

Abstract

We present a strategy for measuring the density of presynaptic boutons of superficial neuronal cells in the mouse neocortex. First, we show how to sparsely label individual postmitotic cells by neonatal pial-surface electroporation. Then, we present a custom-made code that allows quantification of the density of presynaptic boutons along axonal processes. Although we applied this strategy to somatostatin-positive cells, a major population of cortical interneurons, the same approach can be adjusted to target other types of neuronal cells. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Gesuita et al. (2022).¹.

Keywords: Bioinformatics; Developmental biology; Microscopy; Molecular Biology; Neuroscience.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Axons / physiology
Mice
Neocortex*
Neurons / physiology
Presynaptic Terminals / physiology
Synapses / physiology