Neurons and astrocytes have distinct organelle signatures and responses to stress

Abstract

Neurons and astrocytes play critical yet divergent roles in brain physiology and neurological conditions. Intracellular organelles are integral to cellular function. However, an in-depth characterization of organelles in live neural cells has not been performed. Here, we use multispectral imaging to simultaneously visualize six organelles-endoplasmic reticulum (ER), lysosomes, mitochondria, peroxisomes, Golgi, and lipid droplets-in live primary rodent neurons and astrocytes. We generate a dataset of 173 z stack and 98 time-lapse images, accompanied by quantitative "organelle signature" analysis. Comparative analysis reveals a clear cell-type specificity in organelle morphology and interactions. Neurons are characterized by prominent mitochondrial composition and interactions, while astrocytes contain more lysosomes and lipid droplet interactions. Additionally, neurons display a more robust organelle response than astrocytes to acute oxidative or ER stress. Our data provide a systems-level characterization of neuron and astrocyte organelles that can be a reference for understanding cell-type-specific physiology and disease.

Keywords: CP: Cell biology; CP: Neuroscience; Golgi; astrocytes; endoplasmic reticulum; lipid droplets; lysosomes; microscopy; mitochondria; neurons; organelles; peroxisomes.