Karan Anik, Khezerlou Elnaz, Rezaei Farnaz, Iasemidis Leon, DeCoster Mark A
Biomedical Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Science, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA 71270, USA.
Center for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Science, College of Engineering and Science, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA 71270, USA.
Polymers (Basel). 2020 Oct 26;12(11):2483. doi: 10.3390/polym12112483.
Astrocytes, also known as astroglia, are important cells for the structural support of neurons as well as for biochemical balance in the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, the polymerization of dopamine (DA) to polydopamine (PDA) and its effect on astrocytes was investigated. The polymerization of DA, being directly proportional to the DA concentration, raises the prospect of detecting DA concentration from PDA optically using image-processing techniques. It was found here that DA, a naturally occurring neurotransmitter, significantly altered astrocyte cell number, morphology, and metabolism, compared to astrocytes in the absence of DA. Along with these effects on astrocytes, the polymerization of DA to PDA was tracked optically in the same cell culture wells. This polymerization process led to a unique methodology based on multivariate regression analysis that quantified the concentration of DA from optical images of astrocyte cell culture media. Therefore, this developed methodology, combined with conventional imaging equipment, could be used in place of high-end and expensive analytical chemistry instruments, such as spectrophotometry, mass spectrometry, and fluorescence techniques, for quantification of the concentration of DA after polymerization to PDA under in vitro and potentially in vivo conditions.
星形胶质细胞，也称为星状胶质细胞，对于神经元的结构支持以及中枢神经系统（CNS）中的生化平衡而言是重要细胞。在本研究中，研究了多巴胺（DA）向聚多巴胺（PDA）的聚合及其对星形胶质细胞的影响。DA的聚合与DA浓度成正比，这增加了使用图像处理技术从PDA光学检测DA浓度的可能性。在此发现，与不存在DA时的星形胶质细胞相比，天然存在的神经递质DA显著改变了星形胶质细胞的数量、形态和代谢。在对星形胶质细胞产生这些影响的同时，在同一细胞培养孔中对DA向PDA的聚合进行了光学追踪。这种聚合过程导致了一种基于多元回归分析的独特方法，该方法可从星形胶质细胞培养基的光学图像中定量DA的浓度。因此，这种开发的方法与传统成像设备相结合，可替代高端且昂贵的分析化学仪器，如分光光度法、质谱法和荧光技术，用于在体外以及潜在的体内条件下对DA聚合为PDA后的浓度进行定量。
