##troglial-Ca2 + Activity Via Functional 3D Photoacoustic...

##troglial-Ca2 + Activity Via Functional 3D Photoacoustic...

Monitoring Astroglial–Ca2+ Activity via Functional 3D Photoacoustic Imaging

Background: Changes in the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) mediate a variety of biological responses in both excitable and nonexcitable cells.1 Astrocytes perform a multitude of supportive functions, and can even influence neuronal activity by releasing gliotransmitters (via an [Ca2+]i response).1–4 However, little is known about how astrocytes are engaged during varying motor behaviors in vivo.11 Current techniques have many limitations that have yet to be addressed, including lack of penetration depth and concurrent multiple site analysis.1–3 For example, in vivo two–photon microscopy (TPM) coupled with genetically–encoded–calcium–indicators ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...Also, current literature demonstrates the development of a wearable transcranial functional PAI system to quantify brain O2 saturation levels in awake behaving rats.8

Intellectual Merit: The innovativeness of this project stems from the integration of a NIR Ca2+ indicator and a transcranial PAI system to target the activity of astroglial cells in awake rats.

Aim 1: Implementation of tissue phantoms to quantify and analyze the PA signal of multiple NIR Ca2+ indicators. Various NIR Ca2+ indicators (excitation wavelength) (i.e. CaTM–2 (597 nm), ACnlR (635 nm), CaSiR–1 (650 nm), and Ca–NIR (709 nm)9) will be loaded into two tissue phantoms (one synthesized to mimic soft and cranial–bone tissue, and another to mimic only soft tissue). Their PA signal will be analyzed while exposing them to varying concentrations of Ca2+ (0 nM, 50 nM, 250 nM, 500 nM, 1 µM, and 2 µM), representative of non–potentiated astrocytes (~50–250 nM), and potentiated astrocytes (~1–2 µM). PAI will allow for the analysis of both image resolution (via varying reconstruction protocols), and exact PA signal strength analysis across all Ca2+ concentrations (via ANOVA table). The purpose for this aim, is to test the hypothesis and

... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...