Protocol to prepare mouse spinal cord for patch-clamp and histology experiments

Sang-Hyeon Ju; Jong-Woo Sohn

doi:10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102345

Protocol to prepare mouse spinal cord for patch-clamp and histology experiments

STAR Protoc. 2023 Jun 3;4(2):102345. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102345. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sang-Hyeon Ju¹, Jong-Woo Sohn²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Chungnam National University Hospital, Daejeon 35015, South Korea. Electronic address: jshsignal@cnuh.co.kr.
² Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, South Korea. Electronic address: jwsohn@kaist.ac.kr.

Abstract

The spinal cord is a part of the central nervous system located within the spinal canal of the vertebrae. Here, we present a protocol to prepare mouse spinal cord sections for patch-clamp and histology experiments. We describe steps for isolating spinal cord from the spinal canal and obtaining acute slices for patch-clamp experiments. For histology experiments, we detail fixing spinal cord for cryosectioning and imaging. This protocol provides procedures to assess neuronal activity and protein expression of sympathetic preganglionic neurons. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Ju et al.¹.

Keywords: Metabolism; Neuroscience.