In utero electroporation methods in the study of cerebral cortical development

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

  • Isabel Martínez-Garay
  • Fernando García-Moreno
  • Vasistha, Navneet A
  • Andre Marques-Smith
  • Zoltán Molnár

Research in the field of cortical development has benefited from technical advances in recent years, and tools are now available to label, monitor, and modulate cohorts of cerebral cortical neurons using in vivo approaches. Substantial populations of cerebral cortical neurons are generated in a specific sequence by the radial glia progenitors that line the ventricular surface during development. These radial progenitors self-renew and generate intermediate progenitors or neurons in a precisely choreographed fashion. Electroporation or electropermeabilization is a method that uses electric pulses to deliver molecules into cells and tissues. The in utero electroporation method has enabled the field to administer plasmids to these neural progenitors, allowing temporal and cell type-specific control for the manipulation of gene expression. For this reason, in utero electroporation has become a central technique in the study of key aspects of neural development, such as progenitor proliferation, neurogenesis, neuronal migration, and circuit formation. This method has also facilitated the exploitation of cell lineage and optogenetic techniques in various species from chick to gyrencephalic higher mammals. This chapter provides a description of the method and gives some examples for its utility in the study of cerebral cortical development and evolution.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNeuromethods
Number of pages19
PublisherHumana Press
Publication date1 Nov 2016
Pages21-39
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2016
Externally publishedYes
SeriesNeuromethods
Volume109
ISSN0893-2336

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016.

    Research areas

  • Cell lineage, Cerebral cortical neurogenesis, CLoNe, Electroporation, Intermediate progenitors, Neuronal migration, Optogenetics, Radial glia

ID: 282253757