Biomedical subjects

Zejuan Sheng

Publications and source records attributed to Zejuan Sheng.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Imaging light-modulated release of synaptic vesicles in the intact retina: retinal physiology at the dawn of the post-electrode era.

Here, we illustrate an optical method for directly measuring the light-regulated synaptic output of neurons in the retina. The method allows simultaneous recording from many retinal neurons in intact flat-mount preparations of the vertebrate retina. These recordings depend on the use of FM1-43, an activity-dependent fluorescent dye that selectively labels synaptic vesicles. Release of the dye, which occurs upon vesicle exocytosis, is detected with 2-photon microscopy. This utilizes an infrared laser to trigger fluorescence excitation of the dye, while minimally perturbing retinal activity by activating phototransduction in rods and cones. Using this approach, one can measure activity of single neurons in the intact retinal network and populations of neurons in different layers of the retina, providing a new way to examine the function of retinal synapses and how visual information is processed.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Stigmoid bodies contain type I receptor proteins SorLA/LR11 and sortilin: new perspectives on their function.

Stigmoid bodies (SBs) are structures in the cytoplasm of neurons. SBs are mostly found in the hypothalamic region of the rat and contain a protein called huntingtin-associated protein 1 (HAP1). In a recent publication, large cytoplasmic structures were shown to be immunoreactive for a type I receptor called SorLA/LR11. By light microscopic analysis, these structures appeared similar to SBs in size and in brain regional and subcellular localization. To determine whether these large puncta correspond to HAP1-containing SBs, we used antibodies specific to various domains of the apolipoprotein receptor LR11 to perform immunocytochemistry in rat and mouse brain tissue. Transfection studies using HeLa cells were conducted to demonstrate the specificity of the antibodies. We found that, in both species, antibodies to the domain II (or VSP10 for vacuolar sorting protein 10 domain) of LR11 immunoreact with large cytoplasmic structures. Co-localization immunolabeling experiments in rat brain tissue sections and in neuron cultures showed that these LR11-immunoreactive structures correspond to HAP1-positive SBs. Electron microscopy was performed in rat hypothalamus and further demonstrated the presence of LR11 in SBs and its co-localization with HAP1. LR11-containing SBs were most abundant in the hypothalamus but were also found in many brainstem nuclei, thalamus, and hippocampus. Our data also show that sortilin, another transmembrane protein containing a VPS10 domain, localizes to large cytoplasmic puncta and is found in LR11-positive and Hap1-positive SBs in hypothalamic neuron cultures.

Adaptor Proteins, Vesicular Transport↗

PubMed2002

Disabled-2 is essential for endodermal cell positioning and structure formation during mouse embryogenesis.

The signal transduction adapter protein Disabled-2 (Dab2) is one of the two mammalian orthologs of the Drosophila Disabled. The brain-specific Disabled-1 (Dab1) functions in positional organization of brain cells during development. Dab2 is widely distributed and is highly expressed in many epithelial cell types. The dab2 gene was interrupted by in-frame insertion of beta-galactosidase (LacZ) in embryonic stem cells and transgenic mice were produced. Dab2 expression was first observed in the primitive endoderm at E4.5, immediately following implantation. The homozygous Dab2-deficient mutant is embryonic lethal (earlier than E6.5) due to defective cell positioning and structure formation of the visceral endoderm. In E5.5 dab2 (-/-) conceptus, visceral endoderm-like cells are present in the deformed primitive egg cylinder; however, the visceral endoderm cells are not organized, the cells of the epiblast have not expanded, and the proamniotic cavity fails to form. Disorganization of the visceral endodermal layer is evident, as cells with positive visceral endoderm markers are scattered throughout the dab2 (-/-) conceptus. Only degenerated remains were observed at E6.5 for dab2 (-/-) embryos, and by E7.5, the defective embryos were completely reabsorbed. In blastocyst in vitro culture, initially cells with characteristics of endoderm, trophectoderm, and inner cell mass were observed in the outgrowth of the hatched dab2 (-/-) blastocysts. However, the dab2 (-/-) endodermal cells are much more dispersed and disorganized than those from wild-type blastocysts, the inner cell mass fails to expand, and the outgrowth degenerates by day 7. Thus, Dab2 is required for visceral endodermal cell organization during early mouse development. The absence of an organized visceral endoderm in Dab2-deficient conceptus leads to the growth failure of the inner cell mass. We suggest that Dab2 functions in a signal pathway to regulate endodermal cell organization using endocytosis of ligands from the blastocoel cavity as a positioning cue.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗