Acute brain slices are thin sections of living brain tissue that are obtained from freshly dissected brains and maintained in vitro for experimental purposes. They are an important tool in neuroscience research, allowing scientists to study the structure and function of neural circuits in a more physiologically relevant context than traditional cell culture. Tissue sections are needed to obtain acute brain slices as they provide a uniform and consistent sample that can be easily sliced and maintained in culture. This allows researchers to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying various brain functions, such as synaptic transmission, plasticity, and excitability, and to identify changes that occur in neurological disorders.
The Compresstome® has been widely used by some of the top researchers around the world to study brain tissue, such as the Allen Institute for Brain Science, John Hopkins University, etc. Scientists have been able to successfully patch slices from Compresstome® sections ranging from neonatal mice to 24 months old mice! Thus, our vibrating microtome is useful for studies of neurodevelopment in young animal models, as well as for neurodegenerative diseases in mature animal models, which are especially difficult to cut.
The Compresstome’s® patented technology helps stabilize the tissue with a gentle compression effect during cutting which enables it to section fresh brain tissue with smoother tissue surfaces and healthier neurons for recordings. Brain slices section with the Compresstome® have been shown to:
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Jonathan T. Ting is an Assistant Investigator at the Allen Institute, where he joined in 2013 to provide electrophysiology expertise for the Human Cell Types program, and to develop functional assays on human ex vivo brain slides. In this webinar, Dr. Ting discusses which key steps in the brain slice process is most important and why, and challenges our conventional beliefs of slicing solutions and methodologies.
Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Henderson and his focus on the role tobacco and vaping flavors play in addiction-related behaviors, and uses the Compresstome® vibrating microtome to make all of their acute brain slices for patch-clamp electrophysiology.
Often heralded as leaders in the field, the Allen Brain institute performs pioneering research on all manner of brain tissue. Working with brain tissue can often be as frustrating as it is rewarding. Slicing brain tissue presents many challenges. The tissue is a combination of soft and fibrous regions. For over a decade, researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science have been using the Compresstome® vibrating microtome to help give them better brain slices with increased longevity and reduced damage to surface neurons. This enables neuroscientists to have healthy neurons for patch-clamp electrophysiology experiments.
Researchers have used the Compresstome® in their procedure to section mouse embryo hypothalamus that has been injected with DNA and electroporated. This procedure demonstrates how it is possible to transfect nuclei in the hypothalamus region which are less accessible than those in superficial regions. Following this procedure additional experiments can be performed such as immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization.
Dr. Ransdell explores how the Compresstome vibrating microtome is used to produce healthy brain slices for electrophysiology. He studies adult Purkinje neurons in mouse cerebellar brain slices.
In this webinar, Dr. Wang will:
Booeshaghi AS, Yao Z, van Velthoven C, Smith K, Tasic B, Zeng H, Pachter L. Isoform cell-type specificity in the mouse primary motor cortex. Nature. 2021 Oct;598(7879):195-199. Epub 2021 Oct 6. PMID: 34616073; PMCID: PMC8494650. Download PDF
Driessens SLW, Galakhova AA, Heyer DB, Pieterse IJ, Wilbers R, Mertens EJ, Waleboer F, Heistek TS, Coenen L, Meijer JR, Idema S, de Witt Hamer PC, Noske DP, de Kock CPJ, Lee BR, Smith K, Ting JT, Lein ES, Mansvelder HD, Goriounova NA. Genes associated with cognitive ability and HAR show overlapping expression patterns in human cortical neuron types. Nat Commun. 2023 Jul 13;14(1):4188. PMID: 37443107; PMCID: PMC10345092. Download PDF
Egawa K, Watanabe M, Shiraishi H, Sato D, Takahashi Y, Nishio S, Fukuda A. Imbalanced expression of cation-chloride cotransporters as a potential therapeutic target in an Angelman syndrome mouse model. Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 17;13(1):5685. PMID: 37069177; PMCID: PMC10110603. Download PDF
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