SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ASSESSING INTER-CELL COMMUNICATION

摘要

The invention relates to methods of assessing communication between cells. Methods of the invention use optical reporters of cellular electrical activity to evaluate signal propagation between cells and can be used to study an individual synapse or a complex network of interconnected cells. Aspects of the invention provide a method for characterizing signal propagation between cells. The method includes providing a first cell containing a light-generating reporter and a second cell, in which the first cell and the second cell are in communication. The second cell may contain an optical actuator of cellular electrical activity. The second cell is exposed to a stimulus and an optical signal from the first cell is detected.