Delaware Biotechnology Institute, Bio-Imaging Center, 15 Innovation Way, Suite 117, Newark, DE 19711, USA.
Micron. 2011 Dec;42(8):773-92. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2011.07.001. Epub 2011 Jul 7.
Imaging tools for exploring the neurological samples have seen a rapid transformation over the last decade. Approaches that allow clear and specific delineation of targeted tissues, individual neurons, and their cell-cell connections as well as subcellular constituents have been especially valuable. Considering the significant complexity and extent to which the nervous system interacts with every organ system in the body, one non-trivial challenge has been how to identify and target specific structures and pathologies by microscopy. To this end, correlative methods enable one to view the same exact structure of interest utilizing the capabilities of typically separate, but powerful, microscopy platforms. As such, correlative microscopy is well-positioned to address the three critical problems of identification, scale, and resolution inherent to neurological systems. Furthermore, the application of multiple imaging platforms to the study of singular biological events enables more detailed investigations of structure-function relationships to be conducted, greatly facilitating our understanding of relevant phenomenon. This comprehensive review provides an overview of methods for correlative microscopy, including histochemistry, transgenic markers, immunocytochemistry, photo-oxidation as well as various probes and tracers. An emphasis is placed on correlative light and electron microscopic strategies used to facilitate relocation of neurological structures. Correlative microscopy is an invaluable tool for neurological research, and we fully anticipate developments in automation of the process, and the increasing availability of genomic and transgenic tools will facilitate the adoption of correlative microscopy as the method of choice for many imaging experiments.
在过去的十年中，用于探索神经样本的成像工具发生了快速转变。能够清晰而明确地描绘目标组织、单个神经元及其细胞间连接以及亚细胞成分的方法特别有价值。考虑到神经系统与体内每个器官系统相互作用的显著复杂性和广泛性，一个非平凡的挑战是如何通过显微镜识别和靶向特定的结构和病变。为此，相关方法可以利用通常是独立但强大的显微镜平台的功能来观察同一感兴趣的结构。因此，相关显微镜技术非常适合解决神经科学系统固有地存在的三个关键问题：识别、尺度和分辨率。此外，将多个成像平台应用于单个生物学事件的研究，可以更详细地研究结构-功能关系，从而极大地促进我们对相关现象的理解。本综述全面介绍了相关显微镜技术的方法，包括组织化学、转基因标记物、免疫细胞化学、光氧化以及各种探针和示踪剂。重点介绍了用于促进神经结构重新定位的相关光和电子显微镜策略。相关显微镜技术是神经科学研究的宝贵工具，我们完全期望该过程的自动化发展以及基因组和转基因工具的日益普及将促进相关显微镜技术成为许多成像实验的首选方法。
