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Updated: Sep 17, 2025
Super-Resolution Imaging to Study Co-Localization of Proteins and Synaptic Markers in Primary Neurons
Published on: October 31, 2020
Visualization of nanostructures in neuronal growth cones and axons using super-resolution structured illumination
Motohiro Nozumi1, Michihiro Igarashi2
1Department of Molecular Cell Biology, School of Medicine, and Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, 1-757 Asahimachi-Dori, Chuo-Ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan. mnozumi@med.niigata-u.ac.jp.
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In neurons, which possess highly organized cellular structures, such as growth cones, axons, synapses, and dendritic spines, precise determination of molecular localization is a powerful approach for elucidating cellular functions. Super-resolution microscopy has revealed higher-order structures and molecular distributions that were previously undetectable using conventional confocal microscopy. Among super-resolution techniques, structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is particularly well-suited for live-cell imaging. In this study, we present a detailed methodology for observing growth cones and axons using SIM. Our SIM imaging of primary mouse neurons revealed that the phosphorylated GAP-43 localizes within axons in a pattern consistent with the membrane-associated periodic skeleton.
