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Advanced Imaging Core
Ronald S. Petralia, Ph.D., Staff Scientist
Mission
The Advanced Imaging Core (AIC) offers investigators specialized centralized core laboratory support services. The primary goal of the AIC is to support the research interests and ongoing projects of various NIDCD laboratories within the Division of Intramural Research (DIR). The AIC provides the resources necessary to assist in the proper performance of a variety of specialized experiments and in the interpretation of obtained data. The AIC provides specific expertise, new technologies, and resources to enhance the research efforts of all NIDCD investigators. The team specializes in transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies of immunocytochemistry and ultrastructure, but can also do scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Cell biological studies, including physiology, genetics, immunocytochemistry, etc., always consider what happens at the molecular level. Transmission electron microscopy allows scientists to come closer than ever to studying cell composition at the molecular level. The AIC’s TEM specialists offer training and related assistance to principal investigators at the NIDCD, and contribute to collaborative studies with scientists at the NIDCD, NIH, and beyond.

Tissue preparation with freeze-substitution

Electron microscopy

Ultramicrotomy
Lab Personnel
- Ronald S. Petralia, Ph.D. Staff Scientist +1 301 496 3804 (Send e-mail)
- Ya-Xian Wang, M.D. Biologist +1 301 496 3805 (Send e-mail)
Selected Publications
NIDCD research papers published since 2010
- Wong, H.C., Q. Zhang, A.J. Beirl, R.S. Petralia, Y.-X.Wang, and K.S. Kindt (2019) Synaptic mitochondria regulate hair-cell synapse size and function. Elife. 2019 Oct 14;8. pii: e48914. [Epub ahead of print]
- Delgado, T., R.S. Petralia*, D.W. Freeman, M. Sedlacek, Y.-X. Wang, S.D. Brenowitz, S.-H. Sheu, J.W. Gu, D. Kapogiannis, M.P. Mattson, and P.J. Yao (2019) Comparing 3D ultrastructure of presynaptic and postsynaptic mitochondria. Biol. Open (*co-1st author).
- Katsuno, T., I.A. Belyantseva, A.X. Cartagena-Rivera, K. Ohta, S.M. Crump, R.S. Petralia, K. Ono, R. Tona, A. Imtiaz, A. Rehman, H. Kiyonari, M. Kaneko, Y.-X. Wang, T. Abe, M. Ikeya, C. Fenollar-Ferrer, G.P. Riordan, E. Wilson, T.S. Fitzgerald, K. Segawa, K. Omori, J. Ito, G.I. Frolenkov, T.B. Friedman, and S. Kitajiri (2019) TRIOBP-5 sculpts stereocilia rootlets and stiffens supporting cells enabling hearing. J. Clin. Inv. Insight 4(12):e128561.
- Tona, R., W. Chen, Y. Nakano, L.D. Reyes, R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, M.F. Starost, T.T. Wafa, R.J. Morell, K.D. Cravedi, J.d. Hoffmann, T. Miyoshi, J.P. Munasinghe, T.S. Fitzgerald, Y. Chudasama, K. Omori, C. Pierpaoli, B. Banfi, L. Dong, I.A. Belyantseva, and T.B. Friedman (2019) The phenotypic landscape of a Tbc1d24 mutant mouse includes convulsive seizures resembling human early infantile epileptic encephalopathy. Human Mol. Gen. 28:1530-1547.
- Zhang, Q., S. Li, H.-T.C. Wong, X.J. He, A. Beirl, R.S. Petralia, Y-X. Wang, and K.S. Kindt (2018) Synaptically silent sensory hair cells in zebrafish are recruited after damage. Nature Comm. 9:1388 (1-16 + suppl.).
- Sheets, L., X.J. He, J. Olt, M. Schreck, R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, Q. Zhang, A. Beirl, T. Nicolson, W. Marcotti, J.G. Trapani, and K.S. Kindt (2017) Enlargement of ribbons in zebrafish hair cells increases calcium currents, but disrupts afferent spontaneous activity and timing of stimulus onset. J. Neurosci. 37:6299-6313.
- May-Simera, H., J. Gumerson, C. Gao, M. Campos, S.M. Cologna, T. Beyer, K. Boldt, K.D. Kaya, N. Patel, F. Kretschmer, M.W. Kelley, R.S. Petralia, M.G. Davey, and T. Li (2016) Loss of MACF1 abolishes ciliogenesis and disrupts apicobasal polarity establishment in the retina. Cell Rep. 17:1399-1413.
- Zeng, Y., R.S. Petralia, V. Camasamudram, Z. Wu, S. Hiriyanna2, H. Song, Y.-X. Wang, P. A. Sieving, and R.A. Bush (2016) Retinal structure and gene therapy outcome in retinoschisin deficient mice assessed by spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 57(9): OCT277-OCT287. doi: 10.1167/iovs.15-18920.
- May-Simera, H.L., R.S. Petralia, M. Montcouquiol, Y.-X. Wang, K. Szarama, M. Deans, Y. Liu, W. Lin, M.R. Deans, G.J. Pazour, and M.W. Kelley (2015) Ciliary proteins Bbs8 and Ift20 promote planar cell polarity in the cochlea. Development 142:555-566.
- Fujikawa, T., R.S. Petralia, T.S. Fitzgerald, Y.-X. Wang, B. Millis, J.A. Morgado-Díaz, K. Kitamura, and B. Kachar (2014) Localization of kainate receptors in inner and outer hair cell synapses. Hearing Res. 314:20-32. [Also cover photo for issue].
- He, S., Y.-X. Wang, R.S. Petralia, and S. Brenowitz (2014) Cholinergic modulation of large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels regulates synaptic strength and spine calcium in cartwheel cells of the dorsal cochlear nucleus. J. Neurosci. 34:5261-5272.
- Brusco, J., S. Merlo, E.T. Ikeda, R.S. Petralia, B. Kachar, A. A. Rasia-Filho, and J.E. Moreira (2014)Inhibitory and multisynaptic spines, and hemispherical synaptic specialization in the posterodorsal medial amygdala of male and female rats. J. Comp. Neurol. 522:2075-2088.
- Szarama, K.B., N. Gavara, R.S. Petralia, R.S. Chadwick, and M.W. Kelley (2013) Thyroid hormone increases fibroblast growth factor receptor expression and disrupts cell mechanics in the developing organ of Corti. BMC Devel. Biol. (online).
- Szarama, K.B., R. Stepanyan, R.S. Petralia, N. Gavara, G.I. Frolenkov, M.W. Kelley, and R.S. Chadwick (2012) Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 regulates microtubule formation and cell surface mechanical properties in the developing organ of Corti. Bioarchitecture 2:214-219.
- Standley, S.H., R.S. Petralia, M. Gravell, R. Hamilton, Y.-X. Wang, M. Schubert, and R.J. Wenthold (2012) Trafficking of NMDAR2A/B receptor subunit distal cytoplasmic tails from endoplasmic reticulum to the synapse. PLoS ONE 7(6):e39585.
- Szarama, K.B., N. Gavara, R.S. Petralia, M.W. Kelley, and R.S. Chadwick (2012) Cytoskeletal changes in actin and microtubules underlie the developing surface mechanical properties of sensory and supporting cells in the mouse cochlea. Development 139:2187-2197.
- Seabold, G.K., P.Y. Wang, R.S. Petralia, K. Chang, A. Zhou, M.I. McDermott, Y.-X. Wang, S.L. Milgram, and R.J. Wenthold (2012) Dileucine and PDZ binding motifs mediate synaptic adhesion-like molecule 1 (SALM1) trafficking in hippocampal neurons. J. Biol. Chem. 287:4470-4484.
- Ren, D., H. Xie, W. Zhang, F. Hassan, R.S. Petralia, S. Yu, D.J. Lim, and X.-X. Gu (2011)Intranasal immunization of the combined lipooligosaccharide conjugates protects mice from the challenges with three serotypes of Moraxella catarrhalis. PLoS ONE:e29553.
- Choi, B.Y., H.-M. Kim, T. Ito, K.-Y. Lee, X. Li, K. Monahan, Y. Wen, E. Wilson, K. Kurima, T.L. Saunders, R.S. Petralia, P. Wangemann, T.B. Friedman, and A.J. Griffith (2011) Mouse model of enlarged vestibular aqueducts defines temporal requirement of Slc26a4 expression for hearing acquisition. J. Clin. Inv. 121:4516-4525.
- Wang, P.Y., R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, R.J. Wenthold, and S.D. Brenowitz (2011) Functional NMDA receptors at axonal growth cones of young hippocampal neurons. J. Neurosci. 31:9289-9297.
- Ren, D., S. Yu, S. Gao, D. Peng, R.S. Petralia, A. Muszynski, R.W. Carlson, J.B. Robbins, C.-M. Tsai, D.J. Lim, X.-X. Gu (2011) Mutant Lipooligosaccharide-based conjugate vaccine demonstrates a broad-spectrum effectiveness against Moraxella catarrhalis. Vaccine 29:4210-4217.
- Zheng, C.-Y., R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, and B. Kachar (2011) Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) of fluorescence tagged proteins in dendritic spines of cultured hippocampal neurons. Journal of Visualized Experiments (DOI: 10.3791/2568;www.jove.com).
- Zheng, C.-Y., Y.-X. Wang, B. Kachar, and R.S. Petralia (2011) Differential localization of SAP102 and PSD-95 is revealed in spines using super-resolution light microscopy. Communicative & Integrative Biology 4:104-105.
- Zheng, C.-Y., R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, B. Kachar, and R.J. Wenthold (2010) SAP102 is a highly mobile MAGUK in spines. J. Neurosci. 30:4757-4766.
- Petralia, R.S., Y.X. Wang, F. Hua, Z. Yi, A. Zhou, L. Ge, F.A. Stephenson, and R.J. Wenthold (2010) Organization of NMDA receptors at extrasynaptic locations. Neuroscience 167:68-87 (corrigendum in Neuroscience 176:472, 2011).
- Suh, Y.H., A. Terashima, R.S. Petralia, R.J. Wenthold, J.T.R. Isaac, K.W. Roche, and P.A. Roche (2010) A neuronal role for SNAP-23 in postsynaptic glutamate receptor trafficking. Nat. Neurosci. 13:338-343.
Selected research papers from outside collaborations, published since 2010
- Han, W., J. Li, K.A. Pelkey, S. Pandey, X. Chen, Y.-X. Wang, K. Wu, L. Ge, T. Li, D. Castellano, C. Liu, L. Wu, R.S. Petralia, J.W. Lynch, C.J. McBain, and W. Lu (2019) Shisa7 is a GABAA receptor auxiliary subunit controlling benzodiazepine actions. Science 366:246-250.
- Lomash, R.M., R.S. Petralia, L.A. Holtzclaw, M. Tsuda, Y.-X. Wang, J.D. Badger II, H.A. Cameron, R.J. Youle, and K.W. Roche (2019) Neurolastin, a dynamin family GTPase, translocates to mitochondria upon neuronal stress and alters mitochondrial morphology in vivo. J. Biol. Chem. (doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.007245).
- Rivell, A., R.S. Petralia*, Y.-X. Wang, M.P. Mattson, and P.J. Yao (2019) Sideroflexin 3 is a mitochondrial protein enriched in neurons. NeuroMolecular Med. 21:314-321 (*co-1st author).
- Rivell, A., R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, E. Clawson, K. Moehl, M.P. Mattson, and P.J. Yao (2019) Sonic hedgehog expression in the postnatal brain. Biol. Open 8: bio040592 doi: 10.1242/bio.040592.
- Lin, L., J.G. Murphy, R.-M. Karlsson, R.S. Petralia, J. Gutzmann, D. Abebe, Y.-X. Wang, H.A. Cameron, and D. Hoffman (2018) DPP6 loss impacts hippocampal synaptic development and induces behavioral impairments in recognition, learning and memory. Frontiers Cell. Neurosci. 12:84 (1-14).
- Freeman, D.W., R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, M.P. Mattson, and P.J. Yao (2017) Mitochondria in hippocampal presynaptic and postsynaptic compartments differ in size as well as intensity. Matters (ScienceMatters) 11.5/30.
- Li, J., W. Han, K.A. Pelkey, J. Duan, X. Mao, Y.-X. Wang, L. Dong, M.T. Craig, R.S. Petralia, C.J. McBain, and W. Lu (2017) Molecular dissection of Neuroligin2 and Slitrk3 reveals an essential framework for GABAergic synapse development. Neuron 96:808-826 (also previewed in the issue).
- Williamson, J., R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, M.P. Mattson, and P.J. Yao (2017) Purine biosynthesis enzymes in hippocampal neurons. NeuroMolecular Medicine 19:518-524.
- Yao, P.J., U. Manor, R.S. Petralia, R.D. Brose, R.T.Y. Wu, C. Ott, Y.-X. Wang, A. Charnoff, J. Lippincott-Schwartz, and M.P. Mattson (2017) Sonic hedgehog pathway activation increases mitochondrial abundance and activity in hippocampal neurons. Molec. Biol Cell 28:387-395.
- Eitan, E., R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, F.E. Indig, M.P. Mattson, and P.J. Yao (2016) Probing extracellular sonic hedgehog in neurons. Biol. Open 5:1086-1092.
- Zhang, J., R.S. Petralia, Y.-X. Wang, and J.S. Diamond (2016) High-resolution quantitative immunogold analysis of membrane receptors at retinal ribbon synapses. J. Vis. Exp. (JoVE) (108), e53547, doi:10.3791/53547.
- Thevenon, J., C. Souchay, G.K. Seabold, I. Dygai-Cochet, P. Callier, S. Gay, L. Corbin, L. Duplomb, C. Thauvin-Robinet, A. Masurel-Paulet, S. El Chehadeh, M. Avila, D. Minot, E. Guedj, S. Chancenotte, M. Bonnet, D. Lehalle, Y.-X. Wang, P. Kuentz, F. Huet, A.-L. Mosca-Boidron, N. Marle, R.S. Petralia, and L. Faivre (2016) Heterozygous deletion of the LRFN2 gene is associated with working memory deficits. Eur. J. Hum. Gen. 24:911-918.
- Yao, P.J., R.S. Petralia, C. Ott, Y.-X. Wang, J. Lippincott-Schwartz, and M.P. Mattson (2015) Dendrosomatic sonic hedgehog signaling in hippocampal neurons regulates axon elongation. J. Neurosci. 35:16126-16141 (featured paper in “This Week in The Journal”).
- Thevenon, J., C. Souchay, G.K. Seabold, I. Dygai-Cochet], P. Callier, S. Gay, L. Corbin, L. Duplomb, C. Thauvin-Robinet, A. Masurel-Paulet, S. El Chehadeh, M. Avila, De. Minot, E. Guedj, S. Chancenotte, M. Bonnet, D. Lehalle, Y.-X. Wang, P. Kuentz, F. Huet, A.-L. Mosca-Boidron, N. Marle, R.S. Petralia, and L. Faivre (2015) Heterozygous deletion of the LRFN2 gene is associated with working memory deficits. Eur. J. Hum. Gen. (in press; advanced online publication- doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2015.221).
- Pelkey, K.A., E. Barksdale, M.T. Craig, X. Yuan, M. Sukumaran, G.A. Vargish, R.M. Mitchell, M.S. Wyeth, R.S. Petralia, R.-M. Karlsson, H.A. Cameron, Y. Murata, M.T. Colonnese, P.F. Worley, and C.J. McBain (2015) Pentraxins coordinate excitatory synapse maturation and circuit integration of parvalbumin interneurons. Neuron 85:1257-1272.
- Wyeth, M.S., K.A. Pelkey, R.S. Petralia, M.W. Salter, R.R. McInnes, and C.J. McBain (2014) Neto auxillary protein interactions regular kainate & NMDA receptor subunit localization at mossy fiber-CA3 pyramidal cell synapses. J. Neurosci. 34:622-628.
- Hou, H., L. Sun,, B.A. Siddoway, R.S. Petralia, H. Yang, H. Gu, A.C. Nairn, and H. Xia (2013)Synaptic NMDA receptor stimulation activates PP1 by inhibiting its phosphorylation by Cdk5. J. Cell Biol. doi: 10.1083/jcb201303035. Featured in “In This Issue” in J. Cell Biol. and EurekAlert! from Rockefeller University Press.
- Petralia, R.S., Y.-X. Wang, F.E. Indig, I. Bushlin, F. Wu, M.P. Mattson, and P.J. Yao (2013) Regulation of synaptic vesicle size and density by AP180 and CALM. NeuroMol. Med. 15:49-60.
- Petralia, R.S., C.M. Schwartz, Y.-X. Wang, E.M. Kawamoto, M.P. Mattson, and P.J. Yao (2013)Sonic hedgehog promotes autophagy in hippocampal neurons. Biol. Open 2:499-504.
- Siddoway, B., J. Altimimi, H. Hou, R.S. Petralia, B. Xu, D. Stellwagen, and H. Xia (2013) An essential role for inhibitor-2 regulation of protein phosphatase-1 in synaptic scaling. J. Neurosci. 33:11206-11.
- Hu, J.-H., L. Yang, P.J. Kammermeier, C.G. Moore, P.R. Brakeman, J. Tu, S. Yu, R.S. Petralia, Z. Li, P.-W. Zhang, J.M. Park, X. Dong, B. Xiao, and P.F. Worley (2012) Preso1 dynamically regulates group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors. Nat. Neurosci. 15:836-844 (also featured in “News and Views” in issue, pp. 805-807).
- Yang, Y., X. Shu, D. Liu, Y. Shang, Y. Wu, L. Pei, X. Xu, Q. Tian, J. Zhang, K. Qian, Y.-X. Wang, R.S. Petralia, W. Tu, L.-Q. Zhu, J.-Z. Wang, and Y. Lu (2012) EPAC null mutation impairs learning and social interactions via aberrant regulation of miR-124 and Zif268 translation. Neuron 73:774-788.
- Mitchell, N.*, R.S. Petralia*, P.J. Yao, D.G. Currier, Y.-X. Wang, A. Kim, and M.P. Mattson (2012)Sonic hedgehog regulates presynaptic terminal size, ultrastructure and function in hippocampal neurons. J. Cell Sci. 125:4207-4213 (*co-1st authors).
- Kim, J., T. Zhao, R.S. Petralia, Y. Yu, H. Peng, E. Myers, and J.C. Magee (2012) mGRASP enables mapping mammalian synaptic connectivity with light microscopy. Nat. Meth. 9:96-102.
- Wu, J., R.S. Petralia, H. Kurushima, H. Patel, M. Jung, L. Volk, S. Chowdhury, J.D. Shepherd, M. Dehoff, Y. Li, D. Kuhl, R.L. Huganir, D.L. Price, R. Scannevin, J.C. Troncoso, P.C. Wong, and P.F. Worley (2011) Arc/Arg3.1 regulates an endosomal pathway essential for activity-dependent b-amyloid generation. Cell 147:615-628.
- Sun, W., J.K. Maffie, L. Lin, R.S. Petralia, B. Rudy, and D.A. Hoffman (2011) DPP6 establishes the A-type K+ current gradient critical for the regulation of dendritic excitability in CA1 hippocampal neurons. Neuron 71:1102-1115.