综述: 用于神经活动观测的随机扫描双光子显微成像

双光子荧光显微镜是神经科学研究中的重要观测仪器,但是现有的商品化仪器受限于较低的成像速度,难以满足脑功能研究中毫秒量级神经信号检测的需要．基于声光偏转器的快速随机扫描双光子显微成像技术,有望在保持信噪比的同时提高观测速度．本文综述了这一研究的最新进展,从飞秒激光经过角色散器件后的时空演化理论、声光偏转器的色散补偿方法、随机扫描成像仪器及仪器应用到神经成像时钙信号的识别方法四个方面分别进行介绍,最后分析了随机扫描双光子显微成像技术的发展趋势．这项技术的系统深入研究将为神经活动观测提供一种全新的方法,推动脑科学研究的发展．     

双光子显微成像系统群延迟色散的测量和补偿

为了对双光子显微成像系统的群延迟色散进行校正,提高双光子激发效率的目的,采用自相关仪测量的方法在自行搭建的双光子系统光路的四个位置测量飞秒激光的脉冲展宽情况,测量样品位置5个波长下最优的群延迟色散补偿值,由此拟合得到自搭建双光子系统的全波段群延迟色散补偿曲线。实验结果表明在应用此群延迟色散补偿曲线后样品位置的脉冲宽度平均减小95 fs,在两个典型激发波长(750 nm和900 nm)生物样品的荧光强度分别提高了42.7%和76.8%。结论为双光子激发效率与飞秒激光的脉冲宽度成线性反比关系。     

活体细胞内双光子激发的光漂白特性

长波长光的强穿透能力和对活体细胞和生物组织光毒性很小的特性,使得双光子激发荧光显微术已经成为无损伤成像的重要工具.可是双光子激发的高光子密度可能会产生高次光子相互作用, 从而产生更快的光漂白.从实验上研究了离体和活体细胞内的若丹明123和若丹明B分别在单光子激发和双光子激发时的光漂白特性.在体的实验结果与离体的实验结果一致.正如期望的一样,单光子激发时光漂白速率非常近似地随着激发功率的增加而线性增加.可是,双光子激发时的光漂白速率并不是正比于激发功率的平方,而是正比于激发功率的高次方（＞3.5）.对绿色荧光蛋白（GFP）变异体CFP和YFP的实验也得到同样的结果,这就表明高次光漂白可能是双（多）光子激发中的普遍现象.因此多光子的应用可能会受到强光漂白的限制.     

离轴抛物镜扫描中继系统提升双光子显微成像视场

本文提出利用离轴抛物镜共焦中继系统来改善双光子成像视场边缘像质变差的问题,进而提升双光子成像视场。不同于传统的双胶合透镜扫描中继系统,离轴抛物镜共焦扫描中继系统由一对离轴抛物镜构成,扫描振镜位于抛物面镜焦点处。仿真和试验结果均显示,该系统能有效优化视场边缘的像散、场曲和畸变情况,提高成像质量。利用该扫描系统,我们实现了视场为2. 4 mm×2. 4 mm,横向分辨率为1μm的大视场双光子显微成像,能清晰分辨小鼠大脑切片中的神经轴突结构。     

记新一代微型化高分辨率双光子显微镜的诞生——程和平院士专访

正在生物医学领域,成像技术是最重要的技术手段之一,它让研究者能够观察到组织和细胞内正在发生的过程,为各项研究提供直接而确切的证据.传统的单光子荧光显微镜用单个光子将荧光分子激发到激发态,进而产生可被观测的荧光,而发明于1990年的双光子显微镜则是用两个光子来激发同一个荧光分子.与单光子显微镜相比,它所使用的激光波长更长(单个光子的能量更小),具备更高的组织穿透性和更小的光毒性.此外,双光子的激发能力与能     

光生物学与光医学中的新技术及其应用

近几年内,光子生物学与光子医学发展非常快,本文主要从四个方面介绍了近期内在光子生物学与光子医学领城内取得的重要进展：(1)双光子技术,可检测胚胎活组织、确定生物的非损伤激发光阈值、对人体肌纤维进行三维成像;(2)光镊技术,用于研究细胞的应变能力、细胞膜的弹性、跟踪并描述单个分子之间的结合以及操纵DNA分子;(3)光学探针技术,检测疾病、研究构象变化;(4)光学成像技术,主要集中介绍对肌动蛋白的成像方面。     

深层组织双光子荧光成像激发特征的仿真分析

双光子荧光探针被广泛研究应用于生物医学成像和治疗,深入了解这类探针在生物组织中激发分布特征及其相对于单光子探针的成像优势和劣势对探针的合理选择和应用具有指导意义。然而,由于实际测量难以避开众多干扰因素的影响,因此不能准确反映其固有特征。本文选取典型生物和荧光激发参数,利用生物仿真定量分析,并通过双光子和单光子的激发成像对比,获取了双光子荧光的基本激发特征。结果发现,在相同平圆光束激发下,双光子激发由于激发效率低且需要双光子吸收,再加上较高的激发阈值,虽然激发光在组织穿透深度方面存在优势,但在组织内衰减速率快、有效穿透深度比高量子效率的单光子荧光激发浅。同时,深度方向的快速衰减会导致横向激发光能的非均匀性分布,这种非均匀性对双光子荧光影响更大。仿真分析进一步表明:在生物组织耐受的前提下提高双光子激发的功率更有利于荧光成像;增加光照半径可以减弱横向激发的不均匀性,从而改善双光子荧光成像的效果。本研究结果为双光子荧光激发、成像的应用提供了基础数据参考,本仿真方法也为快速研究光与生物组织的相互作用提供了借鉴。     

双光子显微镜在生物医学中的应用及其进展

光学显微镜的发展历史是一段不断提高显微镜的分辨率和对比度的历史。双光子显微镜是近30年来非线性显微镜的研究发展的代表。它在分辨率上与共聚焦显微镜相当,但在成像的层析穿透深度上有显著提高,并且大大减少了光毒性与光漂白。由于生物细胞组织中富有各种自家荧光源,因此双光子显微镜被广泛应用于皮肤组织甚至癌组织以及细胞的成像。基于共聚焦扫描显微镜的双光子显微镜可以很容易的与二次谐波显微镜组合,对皮肤组织中的重要成分胶原纤维进行成像。双光子显微镜还可以结合其他非线性光学现象对组织以及细胞进行成像,显示其强大的生命力。将来随着携带方便且廉价的双光子显微镜的出现,双光子显微镜有望在临床医学上发挥其有效的作用。     

鼻咽癌细胞双光子显微图像处理

鼻咽细胞的双光子显微图像中含有着丰富信息,借助计算机和图像处理算法可进行分析处理。图象分割是双光子显微图象处理中的一项重要技术,至今为止尚未形成一个最佳通用方法,也没有定义出双光子显微图象分割的统一标准。本文首先采用噪声干扰法进行去噪,采用低帽的变换等的数学形态学来增强鼻咽癌细胞图像,使细胞更加容易分辨,接着对几种经典边缘检测算法进行讨论比较,紧接着根据鼻咽双光子显微图像的实际特征,采取腐蚀算法求出鼻咽癌细胞边缘。然后进行区域生长定位细胞,并采用一些改进的判别分析算法和区域面积算法对鼻咽癌细胞进行阈值分割,获得较好结果。     

双顺反子表达技术在线虫神经元钙成像中的应用

在线虫中,钙成像技术已被广泛用于检测不同神经元的活性.然而,对于准确记录爬行中的活体线虫神经元钙信号仍然存在许多挑战,其中一个困难即来自于标记目标神经元。在同一个目标神经元中共同表达基因编码的钙指示蛋白和常量参考值荧光蛋白常常具有无法共表达的不确定性.另外,光谱的串扰影响存在于目前最常用的绿色钙指示蛋白系列G-CaMP与其参考值荧光蛋白DsRed系列之间,光谱的串扰有时会给信号记录带来假阳性结果.综上所述,本文首次提出应用双顺反子表达技术用于同一神经元的双蛋白标记,这不仅提高了共表达效率,更简化了线虫神经元标记的工作量.同时,本文还首次采用mKate2,一种与G-CaMP没有串扰的红色荧光蛋白作为参考量.以上改进已在感觉神经元ASH中得到验证.希望本文提出的方法能给线虫神经回路的研究提供一个更为方便、有效的途径.     

Video-rate scanning two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy and ratio imaging with cameleons

A video-rate (30 frames/s) scanning two-photon excitation microscope has been successfully tested. The microscope, based on a Nikon RCM 8000, incorporates a femtosecond pulsed laser with wavelength tunable from 690 to 1050 nm, prechirper optics for laser pulse-width compression, resonant galvanometer for video-rate point scanning, and a pair of nonconfocal detectors for fast emission ratioing. An increase in fluorescent emission of 1.75-fold is consistently obtained with the use of the prechirper optics. The nonconfocal detectors provide another 2.25-fold increase in detection efficiency. Ratio imaging and optical sectioning can therefore be performed more efficiently without confocal optics. Faster frame rates, at 60, 120, and 240 frames/s, can be achieved with proportionally reduced scan lines per frame. Useful two-photon images can be acquired at video rate with a laser power as low as 2.7 mW at specimen with the genetically modified green fluorescent proteins. Preliminary results obtained using this system confirm that the yellow "cameleons" exhibit similar optical properties as under one-photon excitation conditions. Dynamic two-photon images of cardiac myocytes and ratio images of yellow cameleon-2.1, -3.1, and -3.1nu are also presented.     

Far-Red Fluorescent Protein Excitable with Red Lasers for Flow Cytometry and Superresolution STED Nanoscopy

Far-red fluorescent proteins are required for deep-tissue and whole-animal imaging and multicolor labeling in the red wavelength range, as well as probes excitable with standard red lasers in flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Rapidly evolving superresolution microscopy based on the stimulated emission depletion approach also demands genetically encoded monomeric probes to tag intracellular proteins at the molecular level. Based on the monomeric mKate variant, we have developed a far-red TagRFP657 protein with excitation/emission maxima at 611/657 nm. TagRFP657 has several advantages over existing monomeric far-red proteins including higher photostability, better pH stability, lower residual green fluorescence, and greater efficiency of excitation with red lasers. The red-shifted excitation and emission spectra, as compared to other far-red proteins, allows utilizing TagRFP657 in flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy simultaneously with orange or near-red fluorescence proteins. TagRFP657 is shown to be an efficient protein tag for the superresolution fluorescence imaging using a commercially available stimulated emission depletion microscope.     

A new approach to dual-color two-photon microscopy with fluorescent proteins

Background  

Two-photon dual-color imaging of tissues and cells labeled with fluorescent proteins (FPs) is challenging because most two-photon microscopes only provide one laser excitation wavelength at a time. At present, methods for two-photon dual-color imaging are limited due to the requirement of large differences in Stokes shifts between the FPs used and their low two-photon absorption (2PA) efficiency.     

Two-photon absorption properties of fluorescent proteins

Two-photon excitation of fluorescent proteins is an attractive approach for imaging living systems. Today researchers are eager to know which proteins are the brightest and what the best excitation wavelengths are. Here we review the two-photon absorption properties of a wide variety of fluorescent proteins, including new far-red variants, to produce a comprehensive guide to choosing the right fluorescent protein and excitation wavelength for two-photon applications.     

Quantitative linear unmixing of CFP and YFP from spectral images acquired with two-photon excitation.

BACKGROUND: Spectrally distinct fluorescent proteins (FPs) have been developed permitting the visualization of several proteins simultaneously in living cells. The emission spectra of FPs, in most cases, overlap, making signal separation based on filter technology inefficient and in cases of bleed-through, inaccurate. Spectral imaging can overcome these obstacles through a process called linear unmixing. Given a complex spectra composed of multiple fluorophores, linear unmixing can reduce the complex signal to its individual, weighted, component spectra. Spectral imaging with two-photon excitation allows the collection of nontruncated emission spectra. The accuracy of linear unmixing under these conditions needs to be evaluated. METHODS: Capillaries containing defined mixtures of CFP and YFP were used to test the accuracy of linear unmixing using spectral images obtained with two-photon excitation. RESULTS: Linear unmixing can be accurate when wavelength and power-matched reference spectra are provided to the algorithm. Linear unmixing errors can occur due to (1) excitation laser contamination of emission signals, (2) the presence of FRET, (3) poor selection of excitation wavelength, and (4) failure to background subtract reference spectra. CONCLUSIONS: Linear unmixing, when judiciously performed, can accurately measure the abundance of CFP and YFP in mixed samples, even when their relative intensities range from 90:1.     

Bright far-red fluorescent protein for whole-body imaging

For deep imaging of animal tissues, the optical window favorable for light penetration is in near-infrared wavelengths, which requires proteins with emission spectra in the far-red wavelengths. Here we report a far-red fluorescent protein, named Katushka, which is seven- to tenfold brighter compared to the spectrally close HcRed or mPlum, and is characterized by fast maturation as well as a high pH-stability and photostability. These unique characteristics make Katushka the protein of choice for visualization in living tissues. We demonstrate superiority of Katushka for whole-body imaging by direct comparison with other red and far-red fluorescent proteins. We also describe a monomeric version of Katushka, named mKate, which is characterized by high brightness and photostability, and should be an excellent fluorescent label for protein tagging in the far-red part of the spectrum.     

A fluorescent variant of a protein from the stony coral Montipora facilitates dual-color single-laser fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy

Dual-color fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS) is a promising technique for quantifying protein-protein interactions. In this technique, two different fluorescent labels are excited and detected simultaneously within a common measurement volume. Difficulties in aligning two laser lines and emission crossover between the two fluorophores, however, make this technique complex. To overcome these limitations, we developed a fluorescent protein with a large Stokes shift. This protein, named Keima, absorbs and emits light maximally at 440 nm and 620 nm, respectively. Combining a monomeric version of Keima with cyan fluorescent protein allowed dual-color FCCS with a single 458-nm laser line and complete separation of the fluorescent protein emissions. This FCCS approach enabled sensitive detection of proteolysis by caspase-3 and the association of calmodulin with calmodulin-dependent enzymes. In addition, Keima and a spectral variant that emits maximally at 570 nm might facilitate simultaneous multicolor imaging with single-wavelength excitation.     

Quantification of protein interaction in living cells by two-photon spectral imaging with fluorescent protein fluorescence resonance energy transfer pair devoid of acceptor bleed-through

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between fluorescent proteins (FPs) is a powerful method to visualize and quantify protein-protein interaction in living cells. Unfortunately, the emission bleed-through of FPs limits the usage of this complex technique. To circumvent undesirable excitation of the acceptor fluorophore, using two-photon excitation, we searched for FRET pairs that show selective excitation of the donor but not of the acceptor fluorescent molecule. We found this property in the fluorescent cyan fluorescent protein (CFP)/yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) and YFP/mCherry FRET pairs and performed two-photon excited FRET spectral imaging to quantify protein interactions on the later pair that shows better spectral discrimination. Applying non-negative matrix factorization to unmix two-photon excited spectral imaging data, we were able to eliminate the donor bleed-through as well as the autofluorescence. As a result, we achieved FRET quantification by means of a single spectral acquisition, making the FRET approach not only easy and straightforward but also less prone to calculation artifacts. As an application of our approach, the intermolecular interaction of amyloid precursor protein and the adaptor protein Fe65 associated with Alzheimer's disease was quantified. We believe that the FRET approach using two-photon and fluorescent YFP/mCherry pair is a promising method to monitor protein interaction in living cells.     

The mito::mKate2 mouse: A far‐red fluorescent reporter mouse line for tracking mitochondrial dynamics in vivo

Mitochondria are incredibly dynamic organelles that undergo continuous fission and fusion events to control morphology, which profoundly impacts cell physiology including cell cycle progression. This is highlighted by the fact that most major human neurodegenerative diseases are due to specific disruptions in mitochondrial fission or fusion machinery and null alleles of these genes result in embryonic lethality. To gain a better understanding of the pathophysiology of such disorders, tools for the in vivo assessment of mitochondrial dynamics are required. It would be particularly advantageous to simultaneously image mitochondrial fission‐fusion coincident with cell cycle progression. To that end, we have generated a new transgenic reporter mouse, called mito::mKate2 that ubiquitously expresses a mitochondria localized far‐red mKate2 fluorescent protein. Here we show that mito::mKate2 mice are viable and fertile and that mKate2 fluorescence can be spectrally separated from the previously developed Fucci cell cycle reporters. By crossing mito::mKate2 mice to the ROSA26R‐mTmG dual fluorescent Cre reporter line, we also demonstrate the potential utility of mito::mKate2 for genetic mosaic analysis of mitochondrial phenotypes.