In vivo imaging of axonal transport of mitochondria in the diseased and aged mammalian CNS

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1509879112
• Publication Date: 2015-08-04T02:49:47Z
• Authors: Yuji Takihara; Masaru Inatani; Kei Eto; Toshihiro Inoue; Alexander Kreymerman; Seiji Miyake; Shinji Ueno; Masatoshi Nagaya; Ayami Nakanishi; Keiichiro Iwao; Yoshihiro Takamura; Hirotaka Sakamoto; Keita Satoh; Mineo Kondo; Tatsuya Sakamoto; Jeffrey L. Goldberg; Junichi Nabekura; Hidenobu Tanihara
• Keywords: Central Nervous System; Male; Retinal Ganglion Cells; Aging; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Photons; 0303 health sciences; Biological Transport; Glaucoma; Optic Nerve; Axonal Transport; Axons; Retina; Mitochondria; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Disease Models, Animal; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Animals; Female; Sclera

Significance The lack of intravital imaging of axonal transport of mitochondria in the living mammalian CNS precludes the characterization of transport dynamics in the diseased and aged mammalian CNS. Here we report minimally invasive intravital multiphoton imaging of mouse retinal ganglion cells that offers sequential time-lapse images of mitochondria transported in a single axon with submicrometer resolution. We show highly dynamic axonal transport of mitochondria in the mammalian CNS in vivo under physiological conditions and characterize disturbances of mitochondrial transport in a mouse glaucoma model and age-related changes in mitochondrial transport. Our method is useful for characterizing the dynamics of axonal transport of mitochondria and the dynamics of other submicrometer structures in the diseased and aged mammalian CNS in vivo.