Vasodilation by in vivo activation of astrocyte endfeet via two-photon calcium uncaging as a strategy to prevent brain ischemia

Yuanxin Chen; James J. Mancuso; Zhen Zhao; Xuping Li; Jie Cheng; Gustavo Roman; Stephen T. Wong

doi:10.1117/1.JBO.18.12.126012

16 December 2013 Vasodilation by in vivo activation of astrocyte endfeet via two-photon calcium uncaging as a strategy to prevent brain ischemia

Yuanxin Chen, James J. Mancuso, Zhen Zhao, Xuping Li, Jie Cheng, Gustavo Roman, Stephen T. Wong

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Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 18, Issue 12, 126012 (December 2013). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.18.12.126012

Abstract

Decreased cerebral blood flow causes brain ischemia and plays an important role in the pathophysiology of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. In this study, we photomodulated astrocytes in the live animal by a combination of two-photon calcium uncaging in the astrocyte endfoot and in vivo imaging of neurovasculature and astrocytes by intravital two-photon microscopy after labeling with cell type specific fluorescent dyes. Our study demonstrates that photomodulation at the endfoot of a single astrocyte led to a 25% increase in the diameter of a neighboring arteriole, which is a crucial factor regulating cerebral microcirculation in downstream capillaries. Two-photon uncaging in the astrocyte soma or endfoot near veins does not show the same effect on microcirculation. These experimental results suggest that infrared photomodulation on astrocyte endfeet may be a strategy to increase cerebral local microcirculation and thus prevent brain ischemia.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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Yuanxin Chen, James J. Mancuso, Zhen Zhao, Xuping Li, Jie Cheng, Gustavo Roman, and Stephen T. Wong "Vasodilation by in vivo activation of astrocyte endfeet via two-photon calcium uncaging as a strategy to prevent brain ischemia," Journal of Biomedical Optics 18(12), 126012 (16 December 2013). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.18.12.126012

Published: 16 December 2013

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