Morphological analysis of neuromuscular junctions by immunofluorescent staining of whole-mount mouse diaphragms

Methods Mol Biol. 2013:1018:277-85. doi: 10.1007/978-1-62703-444-9_26.

Abstract

Immunofluorescence or IF is a technique allowing the visualization of a specific protein or antigen in cells or tissues by binding a specific antibody chemically conjugated with a fluorescence dye. Immunofluorescent staining is widely used in life science research, particularly for neuroscience. Here, we describe the immunofluorescent staining of whole-mount neonatal mouse diaphragms to study the morphological patterns of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) by using of presynaptic neuronal marker-neurofilament (NF) and synaptophysin antibodies; postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) were labeled with Alexa Fluor 594-conjugated α-bungarotoxin (α-BTX). Immunofluorescence-stained diaphragms were examined under a confocal microscope.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Diaphragm / anatomy & histology*
  • Diaphragm / cytology
  • Dissection
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique / methods*
  • Mice
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Neuromuscular Junction / anatomy & histology*
  • Neuromuscular Junction / cytology
  • Staining and Labeling*
  • Tissue Fixation