New insights into the molecular architecture of neurons by cryo-electron tomography

Arsen Petrovic; Thanh Thao Do; Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego

doi:10.1016/j.conb.2024.102939

New insights into the molecular architecture of neurons by cryo-electron tomography

Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2024 Dec 11:90:102939. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102939. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Arsen Petrovic¹, Thanh Thao Do², Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego³

Affiliations

¹ University Medical Center Göttingen, Institute for Neuropathology, Göttingen, 37077, Germany; Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, 37077, Germany. Electronic address: arsen.petrovic@med.uni-goettingen.de.
² University Medical Center Göttingen, Institute for Neuropathology, Göttingen, 37077, Germany.
³ University Medical Center Göttingen, Institute for Neuropathology, Göttingen, 37077, Germany; Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, 37077, Germany; Faculty of Physics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, 37077, Germany. Electronic address: ruben.fernandezbusnadiego@med.uni-goettingen.de.

PMID: 39667254
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102939

Abstract

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) visualizes natively preserved cellular ultrastructure at molecular resolution. Recent developments in sample preparation workflows and image processing tools enable growing applications of cryo-ET in cellular neurobiology. As such, cryo-ET is beginning to unravel the in situ macromolecular organization of neurons using samples of increasing complexity. Here, we highlight advances in cryo-ET technology and review its recent use to study neuronal architecture and its alterations under disease conditions.

Publication types

Review