Studying the T Cell-Astrocyte Immune Synapse

George P Cribaro1, Elena Saavedra-López1, Paola V Casanova1

  • 1Neuroimmunity Research Group, Institut de Neurociències, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

In this chapter, we describe the technical details to visualize and analyze effector immunological synapses between T cells and astrocytes in the brain with high-resolution confocal imaging. This procedure is critical for the optimal and even penetration of labeling antibodies within the nerve tissue to obtain accurate staining and allow a uniform three-dimensional analysis of the T cell-astrocyte interactions. We emphasize here the comprehensive exploration of the tissue and analysis with confocal microscope as well as the display of microanatomical details of the three-dimensional reconstruction for interface visualization (including peripheral and central supramolecular activation clusters, effector molecules, and other organelles such as microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) and Golgi apparatus).

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