Studying newt brain regeneration following subtype specific neuronal ablation.

Abstract

The realization that neuronal injury does not result in permanent functional or cellular loss in all vertebrates has fascinated regenerative biologists. Neuronal regeneration occurs in a subset of species, including lizards, teleost fish, axolotls, and newts. One tool for studying neuronal regeneration in the adult brain is intraventricular injection of selective neuronal toxins, which leads to loss of subpopulations of neurons. To trace cells involved in the regeneration process, plasmids encoding reporter proteins can be electroporated in vivo into the cells of interest. This protocol describes methods to label the ependymoglial cells of the brain of the red spotted newt Notophthalmus viridescens and follow their response after ablation of dopaminergic neurons.