Neurons as a model system for cryo-electron tomography

Benoît Zuber; Vladan Lučić

doi:10.1016/j.yjsbx.2022.100067

Neurons as a model system for cryo-electron tomography

J Struct Biol X. 2022 Mar 9:6:100067. doi: 10.1016/j.yjsbx.2022.100067. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Benoît Zuber¹, Vladan Lučić²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Anatomy, University of Bern, Bern 3012, Switzerland.
² Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.

Abstract

Cryo-electron tomography (Cryo-ET) provides unique opportunities to image cellular components at high resolution in their native state and environment. While many different cell types were investigated by cryo-ET, here we review application to neurons. We show that neurons are a versatile system that can be used to investigate general cellular components such as the cytoskeleton and membrane-bound organelles, in addition to neuron-specific processes such as synaptic transmission. Furthermore, the synapse provides a rich environment for the development of cryo-ET image processing tools suitable to elucidate the functional and spatial organization of compositionally and morphologically heterogeneous macromolecular complexes involved in biochemical signaling cascades, within their native, crowded cellular environments.

Keywords: Cryo-electron tomography; Electron microscopy; Neurons; Synapses.