I stained my cells with a lipophilic cyanine dye, like DiI, but the signal was lost when I tried to follow up with antibody labeling. Why?
Since these dyes insert into lipid membranes, any disruption of the membranes leads to loss of the dye. This includes permeabilization with detergents like Triton X-100 or organic solvents like methanol. Permeabilization is necessary for intracellular antibody labeling, leading to loss of the dye. Instead, a reactive dye such as CFDA SE should be used to allow for covalent attachment to cellular components, thus providing for better retention upon fixation and permeabilization.
High spatial resolution confocal microscopy of young MDCK cells stained with the lipophilic probe 1,1'-dihexadecyl-3,3,3',3'- tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiIC(16)) revealed a reticulated fluorescence pattern on the apical membrane. DiIC(16) was delivered as crystals to live cells to minimize possible solvent perturbations of the membrane lipids. The ratio of the integrated fluorescence ... More
Involvement of raft-like plasma membrane domains of Entamoeba histolytica in pinocytosis and adhesion.
Authors:Laughlin RC, McGugan GC, Powell RR, Welter BH, Temesvari LA
Journal:Infect Immun
PubMed ID:15322032
'Lipid rafts are highly ordered, cholesterol-rich, and detergent-resistant microdomains found in the plasma membrane of many eukaryotic cells. These domains play important roles in endocytosis, secretion, and adhesion in a variety of cell types. The parasitic protozoan Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of amoebic dysentery, was determined to have raft-like ... More
Growth-associated protein-43 is required for commissural axon guidance in the developing vertebrate nervous system.
Authors:Shen Y, Mani S, Donovan SL, Schwob JE, Meiri KF
Journal:J Neurosci
PubMed ID:11756507
'Growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) is a major growth cone protein whose phosphorylation by PKC in response to extracellular guidance cues can regulate F-actin behavior. Here we show that 100% of homozygote GAP-43 (-/-) mice failed to form the anterior commissure (AC), hippocampal commissure (HC), and corpus callosum (CC) in vivo. Instead, ... More
Use of lipophilic dyes in studies of axonal pathfinding in vivo.
Authors:Perrin FE, Stoeckli ET
Journal:Microsc Res Tech
PubMed ID:10620782
'Fluorescent lipophilic dyes are an ideal tool to study axonal pathfinding. Because these dyes do not require active axonal transport for their spreading, they can be used in fixed tissue. Here, we describe the method we have used to study the molecular mechanisms of commissural axon pathfinding in the embryonic ... More
Differential projections of ciliated and microvillous olfactory receptor cells in the catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.
Authors:Morita Y, Finger TE
Journal:J Comp Neurol
PubMed ID:9717708
'The primary olfactory projections of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus have been examined with postmortem tracing by using either 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate or 1,1-dilinoleyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI). Following DiI deposition into small areas in different parts of the posterior olfactory bulb, olfactory sensory neurons always were labeled throughout the olfactory epithelium. No obvious ... More