A team of researchers led by a University of Minnesota Twin Cities, for the first time, found new technique to, visualize mRNA molecules in the brains of living mice, providing insights into how memories are formed and stored in the brain and potentially providing new information about memory-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

Figure 1: New technique to visualize mRNA molecules in the brains of living mice.

Figure 1 shows that by genetically modifying a mouse so that it produced mRNA labeled with green fluorescent proteins (proteins derived from a jellyfish), researchers were able to see when and where the mouse's brain generated Arc mRNA. [1]

“It’s well known that mRNA synthesis is important for memory, but it was never possible to image this in a live brain. Our work is an important contribution to this field. We now have this new technology that neurobiologists can use for various different experiments and memory tests in the future,” explained Hye Yoon Park.

If the mouse is alive, the researchers could study it for longer periods of time. Using this new process, the researchers performed two experiments on the mouse in which they were able to see in real time over a month what the neurons — or nerve cells — were doing as the mouse was forming and storing memories.

Neuroscientists have theorized that certain groups of neurons in the brain fire when a memory is formed, and that those same cells fire again when that moment or event is remembered. However, in both experiments, the researchers found that different groups of neurons fired each day they triggered the memory in the mouse. [2]

Over the course of several days after the mouse created this memory, they were able to locate a small group of cells that overlapped, or consistently generated the Arc mRNA each day, in the retro splenial cortex (RSC) region of the brain, a group which they believe is responsible for the long-term storage of that memory.

Park said, “if we can understand how this happens, it will be very helpful for us in understanding Alzheimer’s disease and other memory-related diseases. Maybe people with Alzheimer’s disease still store the memories somewhere — they just can’t retrieve them. So, in the very long-term, perhaps this research can help us overcome these diseases.” [3]

References:

1. https://www.scienceboard.net/index.aspx?sec=ser&sub=def&pag=dis&ItemID=4429
2. https://www.zee5.com/articles/scientists-develop-technique-for-imaging-mrna-molecules-in-brains-of-living-mice
3. https://aljazeera.co.in/politics/scientists-develop-technique-for-imaging-mrna-molecules-in-brains-of-living-mice/

Cite this article:

Sri Vasagi K (2022), New Technique for Imaging mRNA in the Living Mice Brain, AnaTechMax, pp.223