Morphological analysis of neuromuscular junctions by immunofluorescent staining of whole-mount mouse diaphragms

Haitao Wu, Lin Mei

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Immunofluorescence or IF is a technique allowing the visualization of a specific protein or antigen in cells or tissues by binding a specific antibody chemically conjugated with a fluorescence dye. Immunofluorescent staining is widely used in life science research, particularly for neuroscience. Here, we describe the immunofluorescent staining of whole-mount neonatal mouse diaphragms to study the morphological patterns of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) by using of presynaptic neuronal marker-neurofilament (NF) and synaptophysin antibodies; postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) were labeled with Alexa Fluor 594-conjugated α-bungarotoxin (α-BTX). Immunofluorescence- stained diaphragms were examined under a confocal microscope.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationNeural Development
Subtitle of host publicationMethods and Protocols
PublisherHumana Press Inc.
Pages277-285
Number of pages9
ISBN (Print)9781627034432
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameMethods in Molecular Biology
Volume1018
ISSN (Print)1064-3745

Keywords

  • AChRs
  • Immunofluorescence
  • Light microscopy
  • Mouse diaphragms
  • Neuromuscular junction
  • Whole mount
  • α-BTX

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

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