Motor Neuron related Morphology Assay Service

Motor neuron morphology assays are valuable tools for advancing our understanding of the fundamental structure and function of the nervous system. They can be utilized to quantify both positive and negative impacts of compounds of interest on the neuron, enabling the identification of potentially therapeutic chemicals and chemicals that may induce neurodegenerative changes. At Creative Biolabs, we provide a comprehensive range of motor neuron morphometric analysis services. To learn more about our products and services, submit a project request, or request a quote, please contact us today.

High-Content Assay on iPSC-derived Motor Neurons

Our established human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform allows us to offer a range of cell types, including iPSCs from healthy subjects, patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). We have developed a high-content, high-throughput assay which primarily has applications in drug and toxin discovery, but also has uses in basic research.

Case Study: IFNγ-induced changes in ALS-associated genes in motor neurons

In patients with ALS, the TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) abnormally relocates from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, where it forms aggregates. These aggregates are considered a core feature of ALS pathology. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether continuous interferon gamma (IFNγ) treatment induces TDP-43 proteinopathy in Q331K+/− motor neurons or control neurons.

Fig.1 In iPSC-derived motor neurons, IFNγ induces TDP-43 proteinopathy.^{1, 3} The left panel shows that at the late stage of both cultures, TDP-43 protein undergoes significant cytoplasmic translocation and aggregation upon IFNγ stimulation. The right panel shows quantitative analysis of TDP-43 cytoplasmic translocation.

Morphological Data Analysis

We offer a wide range of morphological analysis metrics for motor neurons, including dendritic density, dendritic volume, dendritic branching pattern, axon initial segment (AIS) length and width, and soma area. Professional data processing scientists utilize software tools such as Neurolucida to perform 3D reconstruction, obtain detailed morphological data, and perform Sholl analysis to assess the complexity of dendrites.

Fig.2 Wedge analysis of motor neurons morphology.^{2, 3}

At Creative Biolabs, our motor neuron morphometric assay service employs cutting-edge image analysis technology and automated software to guarantee swift and precise measurement and quantification of neuronal morphological features, including dendritic diameter and branching pattern, to provide you with the highest quality experimentation, data, and analysis for your research. We invite you to contact us to discuss your project plans in detail.

References

1. Chun, Changho, et al. "Human Motor Neurons Elicit Pathological Hallmarks of ALS and Reveal Potential Biomarkers of the Disease in Response to Prolonged IFNγ Exposure." Journal of Neuroscience 44.16 (2024).
2. Fukuda, Satoshi, Hitoshi Maeda, and Masaki Sakurai. "Reevaluation of motoneuron morphology: diversity and regularity among motoneurons innervating different arm muscles along a proximal–distal axis." Scientific Reports 10.1 (2020): 13089.
3. Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.