Scientist Measure Communication Between Stem Cell-Derived Motor Neurons and Muscle Cells

Summary:


Scientists have created a system on how to measure the communication between motor neurons and muscle cells in a Petri dish. The system can accurately track the electrical activity between the muscle cells and the neurons connected to them. As a motor neuron releases its action potential, it depolarizes the muscle cells which cause them to contract. The strength of this activity is measureable, and one can obtain an estimation on how healthy the motor neuron is. Using this measurement might be able to help one better understand neurodegenerative diseases, like amyotrophic later sclerosis. With a method of measuring, one can pinpoint exactly when things go wrong, and with that information one can figure out how to help prevent the degeneration.

Scientists invented this method by creating motor neurons and muscle cells from mouse embryonic stem cells. They grew them in a way to encourage communication, and then they put them together in a Petri dish. In less than a week, the cells reached out to each other and started synaptic communication. To measure the connection, scientists used the dual patch-clamp recording technique. They inserted electrodes into the membranes both types of cells, and when they ran the current from the motor neuron to the muscle cell, they saw it contract as well as got a measure of the electricity. Going forward, the scientists hope to measure the synaptic communication with optical recording methods, which are less invasive than the dual patch-clamp recording method.


Relevance:

During this term we learned about the muscle and nervous system. Within the muscle system, we learned how muscles contract when a neuron sends a signal to it. We also learned about some diseases that cause the degeneration of the communication between the neuron and the muscle cells. Also, we learned about neurons and how they send signals to different parts of the body. We learned how neurons send signals across a synaptic cleft using neutotransmitters.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120504172057.htm

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences. "Scientists measure communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells." ScienceDaily, 4 May 2012. Web. 6 May 2012.