Novel Nanowire Platform Mimics Brain Tissue To Study Astrocytes

Scientists person engineered a nanowire level that mimics encephalon insubstantial to study astrocytes, nan star-shaped cells captious for encephalon health, for nan first clip successful their earthy state.

Astrocytes are nan brain's astir abundent and mysterious cells, responsible for regulating connection betwixt neurons and helping to support nan blood-brain barrier. They are besides highly move shape-shifters, someething they do not do connected emblematic petri dishes, leaving awesome gaps successful our knowing of really they operate.

Frustratingly small is known astir nan stunning diverseness of astrocyte morphology and we besides don't cognize overmuch astir nan molecular machinery down these style shifts. They won't return connected these shapes connected glass, truthful nan mobility for america was really do we replicate nan in vivo style but in vitro?"

Ishan Barman, co-senior author, Johns Hopkins University bioengineer

By enabling nan study of astrocytes successful unprecedented detail, nan work, led by Johns Hopkins and nan National Research Council of Italy, will thief america amended understand encephalon usability and dysfunction, including what goes incorrect successful neurodegenerative disorders.

The federally-funded activity is recently published successful Advanced Science.

Astrocytes underpin encephalon health. They fundamentally shape nan brain's scaffolding. And malfunctioning astrocytes are linked to galore diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Scientists fishy astrocytes' signature prima style is connected to their various cardinal functions. But those shapes illness arsenic soon arsenic scientists effort to study them connected emblematic solid trays nether microscopes.

"To genuinely understand astrocytes we request to replicate their environment," Barman said. "The style is not random. And if we're not capable to recreate it faithfully we're not going to beryllium capable to understand nan function."

To let astrocytes to beryllium studied successful their existent form, nan squad engineered 2 breakthroughs.

First they created nanowire mats from solid that mimic nan texture of encephalon insubstantial while remaining optically transparent. When placed upon this nanowire structure, nan astrocytes not only support their signature shape, they turn and thrive.

"When grown connected nanowire mats, astrocytes regain their star-like morphology, branching and maturing arsenic they do in vivo successful nan brain," said co-senior writer Annalisa Convertino of nan National Research Council of Italy.

By combining these nanowires pinch a caller shape of imaging that provides high-resolution, 3D views without fluorescent tags aliases invasive staining, nan squad was capable to seizure really astrocytes grow, branch, and alteration shapes.

"The expertise to harvester nanowire civilization pinch high-resolution, label-free imaging was critical," said co-first author, Anoushka Gupta, a postgraduate student successful Barman's lab. "It yet allows precise quantification of astrocyte morphology."

The squad expects nan technique, which could besides beryllium utilized to study different cells, to beforehand "brain connected a chip" technologies including organoids and different next-generation neuroengineering platforms.

"This is simply a awesome leap beyond level civilization models and paves nan measurement for a caller procreation of 'brain connected a chip' models," Barman said. "We judge this could herald nan opening of a caller measurement to study neurogenerative diseases, supplier effects and encephalon injuries."

Authors see Pooja Anantha, Anoushka Gupta, Joo Ho Kim, Piyush Raj, Swati Tanwar, Jessica Chen, Luo Gu, each of Johns Hopkins; Emanuela Saracino and Ivano Lucarini of nan National Research Council of Italy; and Jay Agrawal of VA Hudson Valley Health Care.