We thank Drs. Richard H. Masland and Akimichi Kaneko for giving us valuable advices and suggestions to establish the procedure of the horizontal slice preparation of the retina.

<ol>
<li>Prepare an agar block (30 mg/ml, ie 3%, in distilled water). Dissolve and microwave it first and pour it into a glass dish. Keep the dish in a refrigerator at 4 oC. Tip: The agar block should be prepared in advance. </li>
<li>Prepare low-temperature-melting agarose gel (25 mg/ml, ie 2.5%, in medium). Dissolve and microwave it. Keep it in the hot water bath at 35 oC. Tip: Keep the agarose gel NOT too hot. If it is too hot, it takes a long time to be solidified, and the gel may kill the retina .</li>
<li>Euthanize the animal, enucleate an eyeball and open it as an eyecup. To liquefy vitreous humor, the opened eyecup is soaked for 10 min in hyaluronidase in the medium (0.07 mg/ml), if necessarily. </li>
<li>Cut the agar into a block (eg., 1 cm x 1.5 cm for mouse retina) and firmly attached on a vibratome stage by instant glue. Keep the agar block wet. </li>
<li>Place the blade at 5 degree at the slicer. Gently cut the top surface of the agar block at the speed of approx. 50 &micro;m /sec, freq. 50 Hz. Tip: Ensure that the top surface of the agar block is totally smooth and flat. Several cuts (at least 3 times) may be needed to get the smooth and flat surface of the agar block. </li>
<li>Rinse the eyecup with the medium without hyaluronidase. Isolate the retina from a pigment epithelium and place it photoreceptor-side down on a piece of filter paper. To firmly attach the retina to the filter paper, vacuum the retina on the filter paper several times. Tip: Ensure that the retina is attached to the filter paper completely flat. After you put a retina on the filter paper, cut the excess filter paper surrounding the retina (Fig.2A). The excess filter paper often prevents a blade from going into the appropriate layer of the retina. </li>
<li>Gently wipe out the excess medium on the agar block and carefully place the retina on the filter paper on the agar block. To firmly place the filter paper on the agar block, attach instant glue on the edge of the filter paper. Tip: To avoid unexpectable crack, place the retina as front as possible on the top surface of the agar block. </li>
<li>Gently pour the low-temperature-melting agarose gel over the retina. Wait for 1 min and gently pour the medium on it to cool it down. The agarose gel becomes solidified quickly. Tip: Too hot agarose gel kills the retina. </li>
<li>Lift the blade position to several hundreds &micro;m above the top surface of the agar block and gently cut the top of the solidified agarose gel. </li>
<li>Lower down the blade position. Cut the retina at the level of the proximal one-third of the inner nuclear layer (approx. in between 200 and 250 &micro;m above the top surface of the agar block). Tip: Too much speed of the blade will damage the retina severely. Approx. 50 &micro;m/sec (50 Hz) is appropriate. </li>
<li>Notice that the amacrine cells are now face-down. Carefully pick up the slice of the retina together with the solidified agarose gel and place it face-up in a chamber or a dish. Tip: Because the mouse retina is tiny and wavy, it is difficult to obtain a perfect horizontal slice at an appropriate layer. An "oblique" slice may be an alternative method to get the relative flat slice of the retina. To get the oblique slice, put another filter paper in between the retina on the filter paper and the agar block as shown in Fig.2B. Although you can't expect a perfect horizontal slice, there are always some areas where amacrine cell's soma is on the surface of the slice. </li>
</ol>

<ol>
	<li>Azuma, T., Enoki, R., Iwamuro, K., Kaneko, A., Koizumi, A., Koizumi, A., TC, J. a. k. o. b. s., Masland, R. H., MA, M. a. c. N. e. i. l., RH, M. a. s. l. a. n. d. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Multiple+spatiotemporal+patterns+of+dendritic+Ca2++signals+in+goldfish+retinal+amacrine+cells.">Multiple spatiotemporal patterns of dendritic Ca2+ signals in goldfish retinal amacrine cells.</a> Brain Res. , 64-73 (2004).</li></ol>

All experimental protocols were conducted according to the National Institutes of Health guidelines for animal use.

There are several important advantages of the horizontal slice preparation of the retina.
First, the morphology of the cells that expand dendrites horizontally, such as amacrine cells and horizontal cells, is preserved. It has been shown that there are over 20 types of amacrine cells in the retina (MacNeil and Masland, 1998), so that it is quite important to compare the morphology of the cells with the physiological property.
 Second, in the whole-mount retina, th...

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		<div>
		<table border="1">
		<thead>
		<tr>
		<th>Material Name</th>
		<th>Type</th>
		<th>Company</th>
		<th>Catalogue Number</th>
		<th>Comment</th>
		</tr>
		</thead>
		<tbody>
		
<tr>
<td>Agar</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>A-1296</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Agarose L</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Wako</td>
<td>317-01182</td>
<td>Low-temperature melting agarose </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hyaluronidase</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Type I-S, 300 units/mg</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Medium</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>in mM: 102 NaCl, 3.1 KCl, 2.0 CaCl2, 1.0 MgCl2, 23 NaHCO3, and 10 glucose, maintained at pH 7.8, or, Ames&#x2019; Solution (Sigma)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Microwave</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Hot water bath</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>35 C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Vibratome slicer</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Leica</td>
<td>VT1000S</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>MF-Membrane filters</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Millipore</td>
<td>HAWP01300</td>
<td>Filter paper , pore size 0.45 um</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dissection tools</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>forceps, blade, pinch, twizzer, etc.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Instant glue</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>eg., Alonalpha, Krazy Glu</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>50 ml syringe</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>syringe filter</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Millipore</td>
<td>SX0001300</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>		</tbody>
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horizontal slice preparation of the retina

Traditionally the vertical slice and the whole-mount preparation of the retina have been used to study the function of retinal circuits. However, many of retinal neurons, such as amacrine cells, expand their dendrites horizontally, so that the morphology of the cells is supposed to be severely damaged in the vertical slices. In the whole-mount preparation, especially for patch-clamp recordings, retinal neurons in the middle layer are not easily accessible due to the extensive coverage of glial cell (Mueller cell) s endfeets. Here, we describe the novel slicing method to preserve the dendritic morphology of retinal neurons intact. The slice was made horizontally at the inner layer of the retina using a vibratome slicer after the retina was embedded in the low-temperature melting agarose gel. In this horizontal slice preparation of the retina, we studied the function of retinal neurons compared with their morphology, by using patch-clamp recording, calcium imaging technique, immunocytochemistry, and single-cell RT-PCR.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Horizontal Slice Preparation of the Retina at JoVE.com

Horizontal Slice Preparation of the Retina

Traditionally the vertical slice and the whole-mount preparation of the retina have been used to study the function of retinal circuits. Here, we describe the novel slicing method to preserve the dendritic morphology of retinal neurons intact.

Traditionally the vertical slice and the whole-mount preparation of the retina have been used to study the function of retinal circuits. However, many of ...

horizontal-slice-preparation-of-the-retina

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JoVE Journal

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15.7K Views.  Dalhousie University. Traditionally the vertical slice and the whole-mount preparation of the retina have been used to study the function of retinal circuits. Here, we describe the novel slicing method to preserve the dendritic morphology of retinal neurons intact.

Video: Horizontal Slice Preparation of the Retina

Light/dark Transition Test for Mice

Although all of the mouse genome sequences have been determined, we do not yet know the functions of most of these genes. Gene-targeting techniques, however, can be used to delete or manipulate a specific gene in mice. The influence of a given gene on a specific behavior can then be determined by conducting behavioral analyses of the mutant mice. As a test for behavioral phenotyping of mutant mice, the light/dark transition test is one of the most widely used tests to measure anxiety-like behavior in mice. The test is based on the natural aversion of mice to brightly illuminated areas and on their spontaneous exploratory behavior in novel environments. The test is sensitive to anxiolytic drug treatment. The apparatus consists of a dark chamber and a brightly illuminated chamber. Mice are allowed to move freely between the two chambers. The number of entries into the bright chamber and the duration of time spent there are indices of bright-space anxiety in mice. To obtain phenotyping results of a strain of mutant mice that can be readily reproduced and compared with those of other mutants, the behavioral test methods should be as identical as possible between laboratories. The procedural differences that exist between laboratories, however, make it difficult to replicate or compare the results among laboratories. Here, we present our protocol for the light/dark transition test as a movie so that the details of the protocol can be demonstrated. In our laboratory, we have assessed more than 60 strains of mutant mice using the protocol shown in the movie. Those data will be disclosed as a part of a public database that we are now constructing.

Visualization of the protocol will facilitate understanding of the details of the entire experimental procedure, allowing for standardization of the protocols used across laboratories and comparisons of the behavioral phenotypes of various strains of mutant mice assessed using this test.

The light/dark transition test is one of the most widely used tests to measure anxiety-like behavior in mice. Here, we present a movie that shows detailed procedures on how we conduct the test.

Although all of the mouse genome sequences have been determined, we do not yet know the functions of most of these genes. Gene-targeting techniques, ...

Organotypic Culture of Adult Rabbit Retina

Organotypic culture systems of functional neural tissues are important tools in neurobiological research. Ideally, such a system should be compatible with imaging techniques, genetic manipulation, and electrophysiological recording. Here we present a simple interphase tissue culture system for adult rabbit retina that requires no specialized equipment and very little maintenance. We demonstrate the dissection and incubation of rabbit retina and particle-mediated gene transfer of plasmids encoding GFP or a variety of subcellular markers into retinal ganglion cells. Rabbit retinas cultured this way can be kept alive for up to 6 days with very little changes of the overall anatomical structure or the morphology of individual ganglion- and amacrine cells.

This article demonstrates the dissection and incubation of rabbit retina and particle-mediated gene transfer of plasmids encoding GFP or a variety of subcellular markers into retinal ganglion cells.

Organotypic culture systems of functional neural tissues are important tools in neurobiological research. Ideally, such a system should be compatible with ...

Thin Sectioning of Slice Preparations for Immunohistochemistry

Many investigations in neuroscience, as well as other disciplines, involve studying small, yet macroscopic pieces or sections of tissue that have been preserved, freshly removed, or excised but kept viable, as in slice preparations of brain tissue.  Subsequent microscopic studies of this material can be challenging, as the tissue samples may be difficult to handle.  Demonstrated here is a method for obtaining thin cryostat sections of tissue with a thickness that may range from 0.2-5.0 mm.  We routinely cut 400 micron thick Vibratome brain slices serially into 5-10 micron coronal cryostat sections.  The slices are typically first used for electrophysiology experiments and then require microscopic analysis of the cytoarchitecture of the region from which the recordings were observed.  We have constructed a simple device that allows controlled and reproducible preparation and positioning of the tissue slice.  This device consists of a cylinder 5 cm in length with a diameter of 1.2 cm, which serves as a freezing stage for the slice.  A ring snugly slides over the cylinder providing walls around the slice allowing the tissue to be immersed in freezing compound (e.g., OCT).  This is then quickly frozen with crushed dry ice and the resulting  wafer  can be position easily for cryostat sectioning.  Thin sections can be thaw-mounted onto coated slides to allow further studies to be performed, such as various staining methods, in situ hybridization, or immunohistochemistry, as demonstrated here.

The present method allows reproducible cryostat sectioning of small, difficult-to-manage, tissue pieces, such as biopsies and brain slices. We utilize a simple aluminum freezing stage to facilitate handling of tissue and a standard cryostat to routinely produce 5-10 micron serial sections from 400 micron thick brain slices.

Many investigations in neuroscience, as well as other disciplines, involve studying small, yet macroscopic pieces or sections of tissue that have been ...

Organotypic Slice Culture of E18 Rat Brains

Organotypic slice cultures from embryonic rodent brains are widely used to study brain development. While there are often advantages to an in-vivo system, organotypic slice cultures allow one to perform a number of manipulations that are not presently feasible in-vivo. To date, organtotypic embryonic brain slice cultures have been used to follow individual cells using time-lapse microscopy, manipulate the expression of genes in the ganglionic emanances (a region that is hard to target by in-utero electroporation), as well as for pharmacological studies. In this video protocol we demonstrate how to make organotypic slice cultures from rat embryonic day 18 embryos. The protocol involves dissecting the embryos, embedding them on ice in low melt agarose, slicing the embedded brains on the vibratome, and finally plating the slices onto filters in culture dishes. This protocol is also applicable in its present form to making organotypic slice cultures from different embryonic ages for both rats and mice. 

Organotypic slice cultures from embryonic rodent brains are widely used to study brain development. While there are often advantages to an in-vivo system, ...

Preparation of Gene Gun Bullets and Biolistic Transfection of Neurons in Slice Culture

Biolistic transfection is a physical means of transfecting cells by bombarding tissue with high velocity DNA coated particles. We provide a detailed protocol for biolistic transfection of rat hippocampal slices, from the initial preparation of DNA coated bullets to the final shooting of the organotypic slice cultures using a gene gun. Gene gun transfection is an efficient and easy means of transfecting neurons and is especially useful for fluorescently labeling a small subset of cells in tissue slice. In this video, we first outline the steps required to coat gold particles with DNA. We next demonstrate how to line the inside of plastic tubing with the gold/DNA bullets, and how to cut this tubing to obtain the plastic cartridges for loading into the gene gun. Finally, we perform biolistic transfection of rat hippocampal slice cultures, demonstrating handling of the Bio-Rad Helios gene gun, and offering trouble shooting advice to obtain healthy and optimally transfected tissue slices.  

We describe a method for preparing DNA coated gold bullets and demonstrate the use of such bullets to biolistically transfect neurons in cultured hippocampal slices.

Biolistic transfection is a physical means of transfecting cells by bombarding tissue with high velocity DNA coated particles. We provide a detailed ...

Whole-cell Recordings of Light Evoked Excitatory Synaptic Currents in the Retinal Slice

We use the whole-cell patch clamp technique to study the synaptic circuitry that underlies visual information processing in the retina. In this video, we will guide you through the process of performing whole-cell recordings of light evoked currents of individual cells in the retinal slice preparation. We use the aquatic tiger salamander as an animal model. We begin by describing the dissection of the eye and show how slices are mounted for electrophysiological recordings. Once the slice is placed in the recording chamber, we demonstrate how to perform whole-cell voltage clamp recordings. We then project visual stimuli onto the photoreceptors in the slice to elicit light-evoked current responses. During the recording we perfuse the slice with pharmacological agents, whereby an 8-channel perfusion system allows us to quickly switch between different agents.  The retinal slice preparation is widely used for patch clamp recordings in the retina, in particular to study amacrine or bipolar cells, which are not accessible in a whole-mount preparation.

This video shows the process of whole-cell voltage clamp recordings in the retinal slice of the aquatic tiger salamander. We demonstrate the preparation of the slice as well as how to perform patch clamp recordings during visual stimulation of the retina.

We use the whole-cell patch clamp technique to study the synaptic circuitry that underlies visual information processing in the retina. In this video, we ...

Evisceration of Mouse Vitreous and Retina for Proteomic Analyses

While the mouse retina has emerged as an important genetic model for inherited retinal disease, the mouse vitreous remains to be explored. The vitreous is a highly aqueous extracellular matrix overlying the retina where intraocular as well as extraocular proteins accumulate during disease.1-3 Abnormal interactions between vitreous and retina underlie several diseases such as retinal detachment, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, and proliferative vitreoretinopathy.1,4 The relative mouse vitreous volume is significantly smaller than the human vitreous (Figure 1), since the mouse lens occupies nearly 75% of its eye.5 This has made biochemical studies of mouse vitreous challenging. In this video article, we present a technique to dissect and isolate the mouse vitreous from the retina, which will allow use of transgenic mouse models to more clearly define the role of this extracellular matrix in the development of vitreoretinal diseases.

The dissection technique illustrates evisceration of the vitreous, retina, and lens from the mouse eye, separation by centrifugation, and characterization with protein assays.

While the mouse retina has emerged as an important genetic model for inherited retinal disease, the mouse vitreous remains to be explored. The vitreous is ...

In vivo Electroporation of Morpholinos into the Adult Zebrafish Retina

Many devastating inherited eye diseases result in progressive and irreversible blindness because humans cannot regenerate dying or diseased retinal neurons. In contrast, the adult zebrafish retina possesses the robust ability to spontaneously regenerate any neuronal class that is lost in a variety of different retinal damage models, including retinal puncture, chemical ablation, concentrated high temperature, and intense light treatment 1-8. Our lab extensively characterized regeneration of photoreceptors following constant intense light treatment and inner retinal neurons after intravitreal ouabain injection 2, 5, 9. In all cases, resident M&uuml;ller glia re-enter the cell cycle to produce neuronal progenitors, which continue to proliferate and migrate to the proper retinal layer, where they differentiate into the deficient neurons. 
	We characterized five different stages during regeneration of the light-damaged retina that were highlighted by specific cellular responses. We identified several differentially expressed genes at each stage of retinal regeneration by mRNA microarray analysis 10. Many of these genes are also critical for ocular development. To test the role of each candidate gene/protein during retinal regeneration, we needed to develop a method to conditionally limit the expression of a candidate protein only at times during regeneration of the adult retina. 
	Morpholino oligos are widely used to study loss of function of specific proteins during the development of zebrafish, Xenopus, chick, mouse, and tumors in human xenografts 11-14. These modified oligos basepair with complementary RNA sequence to either block the splicing or translation of the target RNA. Morpholinos are stable in the cell and can eliminate or "knockdown" protein expression for three to five days 12. 
	Here, we describe a method to efficiently knockdown target protein expression in the adult zebrafish retina. This method employs lissamine-tagged antisense morpholinos that are injected into the vitreous of the adult zebrafish eye. Using electrode forceps, the morpholino is then electroporated into all the cell types of the dorsal and central retina. Lissamine provides the charge on the morpholino for electroporation and can be visualized to assess the presence of the morpholino in the retinal cells. 
	Conditional knockdown in the retina can be used to examine the role of specific proteins at different times during regeneration. Additionally, this approach can be used to study the role of specific proteins in the undamaged retina, in such processes as visual transduction and visual processing in second order neurons.

In vivo Electroporation of Morpholinos into the Adult Zebrafish Retina

A method to conditionally knockdown a target protein&#x2019;s expression in the adult zebrafish retina is described, which involves intravitreally injecting antisense morpholinos and electroporating them into the retina. The resulting protein is knocked down for several days, which allows testing the protein&#x2019;s role in the regenerating or intact retina.

Many devastating inherited eye diseases result in progressive and irreversible blindness because humans cannot regenerate dying or diseased retinal ...

In Ovo Electroporation in Embryonic Chick Retina

Chicken embryonic retina is an excellent tool to study retinal development in higher vertebrates. Because of large size and external development, it is comparatively very easy to manipulate the chick embryonic retina using recombinant DNA/RNA technology. Electroporation of DNA/RNA constructs into the embryonic retina have a great advantage to study gene regulation in retinal stem/progenitor cells during retinal development. Different type of assays such as reporter gene assay, gene over-expression, gene knock down (shRNA) etc. can be performed using the electroporation technique. This video demonstrates targeted retinal injection and in ovo electroporation into the embryonic chick retina at the Hamburger and Hamilton stage 22-23, which is about embryonic day 4 (E4). Here we show a rapid and convenient in ovo electroporation technique whereby a plasmid DNA that expresses green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a marker is directly delivered into the chick embryonic subretinal space and followed by electric pulses to facilitate DNA uptake by retinal stem/progenitor cells. The new method of retinal injection and electroporation at E4 allows the visualization of all retinal cell types, including the late-born neurons1, which has been difficult with the conventional method of injection and electroporation at E1.52.

In Ovo Electroporation in Embryonic Chick Retina

The overall goal of this video is to show how to perform targeted retinal injection and in ovo electroporation of DNA/RNA constructs into the chick embryonic retina at the Hamburger and Hamilton stage 22-23, which is about embryonic day 4 (E4). This technique is very useful to study gene expression, gene regulation, and morphological change in developing chick retina.

Chicken embryonic retina is an excellent tool to study retinal development in higher vertebrates. Because of large size and external development, it is ...

The Slice Culture Method for Following Development of Tooth Germs In Explant Culture

Explant culture allows manipulation of developing organs at specific time points&#160;and is therefore an important method for the developmental biologist. For many organs it is difficult to access developing tissue to allow monitoring during ex vivo culture. The slice culture method allows access to tissue so that morphogenetic movements can be followed and specific cell populations can be targeted for manipulation or lineage tracing.
In this paper we describe a method of slice culture that has been very successful for culture of tooth germs in a range of species. The method provides excellent access to the tooth germs, which develop at a similar rate to that observed in vivo, surrounded by the other jaw tissues. This allows tissue interactions between the tooth and surrounding tissue to be monitored. Although this paper concentrates on tooth germs, the same protocol can be applied to follow development of a number of other organs, such as salivary glands, Meckel&#39;s cartilage, nasal glands, tongue, and ear.

Here we detail a method to culture tooth germs in mandible slices using a tissue chopper. This method allows unique access to the tooth during development, providing excellent opportunity for manipulation and lineage tracing, not available using more traditional culture methods.

Methods Article

Horizontal Slice Preparation of the Retina