October 2015

October 2015:  Embryonic ventral midbrain dopaminergic neuron (red) synpases on a transfected non-dopaminergic neuron (green) expressing green fluorescent protein.

Submitted by: Shane V. Hegarty Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience.

Dr Shane Hegarty is a BSc and PhD graduate from the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC, who recently began an Irish Research Council Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship under the supervision of Dr Aideen Sullivan and Dr Gerard O’Keeffe. Their research investigates the role of BMP-Smad signalling in ventral midbrain dopaminergic neuron development.

Transfection allows the introduction of specific sequences of nucleic acids, e.g. DNA or RNA, into a desired cell type, and is generally employed to alter the expression levels of a protein of interest. Transfection of primary neurons enables the investigation of the functional roles of various target genes in neuronal development and survival. These transfected neurons can be visualised through the ectopic expression of fluorescent proteins, such as green fluorescent protein (GFP).

The image depicts an embryonic ventral midbrain dopaminergic neuron (red) which has formed synapses on a transfected non-dopaminergic neuron (green), expressing green fluorescent protein, in a culture of the embryonic ventral midbrain following four days of differentiation. Synapses are the point of electrochemical communication between neurons. Embryonic day 14 ventral midbrain cells were transfected via electroporation with specific plasmid(s), and subsequently differentiated using serum proteins. A transfected glial cell (green) also appears to be in contact with the processes of another dopaminergic neuron (red). Cellular nuclei were stained with bisbenzamide (blue). The image was taken using an inverted fluorescence microscope at 200x magnification.

This image was recently exhibited as part of the BRAINTALK Parkinson’s Community Meeting and Art Exhibition, held in the Glucksman Gallery University College Cork. This event was organised by Dr Shane Hegarty and Professor Aideen Sullivan of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC, as part of the BRAINTALK project (www.ucc.ie/en/braintalk).

The purpose of the meeting was to bring together People with Parkinson's, Parkinson's researchers and clinicians, to create an interconnected Parkinson's Community in Ireland. Over 200 participants, the majority of whom were People with Parkinson’s and their carers, gathered in the Glucksman Gallery for a variety of presentations by Parkinson’s advocacy groups, People with Parkinson’s, therapists, neurologists and neuroscientists.

 ‘Parkinson’s Community’ art exhibition was launched after the meeting. This included paintings made by People with Parkinson’s in an ‘Exploring Parkinson’s with Art’ workshop , as well as photomicrographs showing the ongoing scientific work by Parkinson’s researchers in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC.

For full details see BRAINTALK website  http://www.ucc.ie/en/braintalk/.