Super-resolution imaging and estimation of protein copy numbers at single synapses with DNA-point accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography

Böger C(1), Hafner AS(2), Schlichthärle T(3)(4), Strauss MT(3)(4), Malkusch
S(1), Endesfelder U(5), Jungmann R(3)(4), Schuman EM(2), Heilemann M(1).

Author information:
(1)Goethe University, Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,
Frankfurt, Germany.
(2)Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany.
(3)Ludwig Maximilian University, Center for Nanoscience, Faculty of Physics,
Munich, Germany.
(4)Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany.
(5)Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany.

In the brain, the strength of each individual synapse is defined by the
complement of proteins present or the « local proteome. » Activity-dependent
changes in synaptic strength are the result of changes in this local proteome
and posttranslational protein modifications. Although most synaptic proteins
have been identified, we still know little about protein copy numbers in
individual synapses and variations between synapses. We use DNA-point
accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography as a single-molecule
super-resolution imaging technique to visualize and quantify protein copy
numbers in single synapses. The imaging technique provides near-molecular
spatial resolution, is unaffected by photobleaching, enables imaging of large
field of views, and provides quantitative molecular information. We demonstrate
these benefits by accessing copy numbers of surface AMPA-type receptors at
single synapses of rat hippocampal neurons along dendritic segments.

© The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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DOI: 10.1117/1.NPh.6.3.035008
PMCID: PMC6795074
PMID: 31637284

Auteurs Bordeaux Neurocampus