Two-dimensional surface plasmon resonance imager: An approach to study neuronal differentiation

There is a growing demand for the development of a new bioanalytical technique that is capable of monitoring neuronal differentiation noninvasively, in real time, and without any fluorescent probes. In a previous article, we demonstrated that a high-resolution two-dimensional surface plasmon resonance (2D–SPR) imager was very useful to monitor cell response on chemical stimulation in which protein kinase C (PKC) translocation was related. In the current study, we focused on developing a new method for monitoring neuronal differentiation and examined the application of the high-resolution 2D–SPR imager to monitor neuronal differentiation noninvasively and by a label-free format. We successfully monitored the intracellular signal transduction, which was mainly translocation of PKC in PC12 cells by the 2D–SPR imager, and found that the cells treated with a differentiation factor, nerve growth factor (NGF), showed a remarkable enhancement of 2D–SPR response to muscarine, carbachol, and acetylcholine stimulation. The results demonstrated that 2D–SPR sensing is applicable to in situ assessment of neuronal differentiation and to studying the expression state of the specific receptors in the living state.