Robotic platform for microinjection into single cells in brain tissue. (30th August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shull, Gabriella; Haffner, Christiane; Huttner, Wieland B; Kodandaramaiah, Suhasa B; Taverna, Elena
• Is Part Of: EMBO reports. Volume 20:Number 10(2019)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2019-08-30
• Subjects: brain development -- computer vision -- neural stem cells -- robotics -- single cell manipulation; Molecular biology -- Periodicals; Molecular Biology -- Periodicals; Molecular biology; Periodicals; 572.8
• DOI: 10.15252/embr.201947880
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1469-221X

Abstract

Abstract: Microinjection into single cells in brain tissue is a powerful technique to study and manipulate neural stem cells. However, such microinjection requires expertise and is a low‐throughput process. We developed the "Autoinjector", a robot that utilizes images from a microscope to guide a microinjection needle into tissue to deliver femtoliter volumes of liquids into single cells. The Autoinjector enables microinjection of hundreds of cells within a single organotypic slice, resulting in an overall yield that is an order of magnitude greater than manual microinjection. The Autoinjector successfully targets both apical progenitors (APs) and newborn neurons in the embryonic mouse and human fetal telencephalon. We used the Autoinjector to systematically study gap‐junctional communication between neural progenitors in the embryonic mouse telencephalon and found that apical contact is a characteristic feature of the cells that are part of a gap junction‐coupled cluster. The throughput and versatility of the Autoinjector will render microinjection an accessible high‐performance single‐cell manipulation technique and will provide a powerful new platform for performing single‐cell analyses in tissue for bioengineering and biophysics applications. Synopsis: This study reports the Autoinjector, a robotic tool that enables microinjection of hundreds of cells within a single organotypic slice. The robot is validated in brain tissues and renders microinjection a broadly accessible high‐performance cell manipulation technique. We have developed a robot to inject chemicals into single neural stem cells and neurons in brain tissue. The robot allows to follow and change the behavior of single cells in tissues, to study how they contribute to tissue morphogenesis. The robot is a useful tool to study developmental and evolutionary neuroscience at the cellular level. Abstract : This study reports the Autoinjector, a robotic tool that enables microinjection of hundreds of cells within a single organotypic slice. The robot is validated in brain tissues and renders microinjection a broadly accessible high‐performance cell manipulation technique.