Volume Electron Microscopy Reveals 3D Synaptic Nanoarchitecture in Postmortem Human Prefrontal Cortex

Overview

Journal bioRxiv

Date 2024 Mar 11

PMID 38463986

Authors

Jill R Glausier

Cedric Bouchet-Marquis

Matthew Maier

Tabitha Banks-Tibbs

Ken Wu

Jiying Ning

Darlene Melchitzky

David A Lewis

Zachary Freyberg

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Synaptic function is directly reflected in quantifiable ultrastructural features using electron microscopy (EM) approaches. This coupling of synaptic function and ultrastructure suggests that synaptic function can be inferred from EM analysis of human brain tissue. To investigate this, we employed focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), a volume EM (VEM) approach, to generate ultrafine-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) micrographic datasets of postmortem human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a region with cytoarchitectonic characteristics distinct to human brain. Synaptic, sub-synaptic, and organelle measures were highly consistent with findings from experimental models that are free from antemortem or postmortem effects. Further, 3D neuropil reconstruction revealed a unique, ultrastructurally-complex, spiny dendritic shaft that exhibited features characteristic of heightened synaptic communication, integration, and plasticity. Altogether, our findings provide critical proof-of-concept data demonstrating that VEM analysis is an effective approach to infer synaptic functioning in human brain.

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