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Optical Recording of Suprathreshold Neural Activity with Single-cell and Single-spike Resolution
Published on: September 5, 2012
Genetically encoded optical sensors of neuronal activity and cellular function.
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, 271 LSA, MC#3200, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA.
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|October 12, 2001
Summary
Engineered fluorescent proteins (FPs) act as optical sensors for cellular signals. These FPs can be mutated or fused to detector proteins, enabling new insights into cellular communication and neural circuits.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Fluorescent proteins (FPs) are engineered to report on cellular signals optically.
- FP fluorescence can be modulated by direct chemical environment sensitivity or indirect mechanisms via fused detector proteins.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the engineering of fluorescent proteins for sensing cellular signals.
- To highlight the application of these engineered FPs as optical sensors.
Main Methods:
- Mutations of or around the FP chromophore to alter fluorescence based on chemical environment.
- Fusion of FPs to detector proteins that undergo structural rearrangements in response to cellular signals.
Main Results:
- Development of optical sensors for membrane voltage, neurotransmitter release, and intracellular messengers.
- Creation of novel sensors for Ca(2+), cyclic nucleotides, and nitric oxide.
Conclusions:
- Engineered FPs provide powerful tools for observing cellular signals.
- These optical sensors offer new avenues for understanding cellular signaling and neural circuit information processing.
