The Functional Characterization of GCaMP3.0 Variants Specifically Targeted to Subcellular Domains.

Calcium (Ca2+) ions play a pivotal role in physiology and cellular signaling. The intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) is about three orders of magnitude lower than the extracellular concentration, resulting in a steep transmembrane concentration gradient. Thus, the spatial and the temporal dynamics of [Ca2+]i are ideally suited to modulate Ca2+-mediated cellular responses to external signals. A variety of highly sophisticated methods have been developed to gain insight into cellular Ca2+ dynamics. In addition to electrophysiological measurements and the application of synthetic dyes that change their fluorescent properties upon interaction with Ca2+, the introduction and the ongoing development of genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators (GECI) opened a new era to study Ca2+-driven processes in living cells and organisms. Here, we have focused on one well-established GECI, i.e., GCaMP3.0. We have systematically modified the protein with sequence motifs, allowing localization of the sensor in the nucleus, in the mitochondrial matrix, at the mitochondrial outer membrane, and at the plasma membrane. The individual variants and a cytosolic version of GCaMP3.0 were overexpressed and purified from E. coli cells to study their biophysical properties in solution. All versions were examined to monitor Ca2+ signaling in stably transfected cell lines and in primary cortical neurons transduced with recombinant Adeno-associated viruses (rAAV). In this comparative study, we provide evidence for a robust approach to reliably trace Ca2+ signals at the (sub)-cellular level with pronounced temporal resolution.

High-efficiency transduction and specific expression of ChR2opt for optogenetic manipulation of primary cortical neurons mediated by recombinant adeno-associated viruses.

In recent years, optogenetic approaches have significantly advanced the experimental repertoire of cellular and functional neuroscience. Yet, precise and reliable methods for specific expression of optogenetic tools remain challenging. In this work, we studied the transduction efficiency of seven different adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotypes in primary cortical neurons and revealed recombinant (r) AAV6 to be the most efficient for constructs under control of the cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter. To further specify expression of the transgene, we exchanged the CMV promoter for the human synapsin (hSyn) promoter. In primary cortical-glial mixed cultures transduced with hSyn promoter-containing rAAVs, expression of ChR2opt (a Channelrhodopsin-2 variant) was limited to neurons. In these neurons action potentials could be reliably elicited upon laser stimulation (473nm). The use of rAAV serotype alone to restrict expression to neurons results in a lower transduction efficiency than the use of a broader transducing serotype with specificity conferred via a restrictive promoter. Cells transduced with the hSyn driven gene expression were able to elicit action potentials with more spatially and temporally accurate illumination than neurons electrofected with the CMV driven construct. The hSyn promoter is particularly suited to use in AAVs due to its small size. These results demonstrate that rAAVs are versatile tools to mediate specific and efficient transduction as well as functional and stable expression of transgenes in primary cortical neurons.