FIGURE 2.

Mitochondrial fusion rates are attenuated following NMDA-induced cell death. A, neurons were transduced with a lentivirus for OCT:PAGFP at 1 DIV. At 7 DIV, the GFP signal was activated in a small region (aimed at 2–4 mitochondria) using a laser at 405 nm (boxed area). The spread of the signal throughout the axonal processes was captured by obtaining images of the neurons every 5 min for a total of 25 min. At the end of the assay, all of the PAGFP within the targeted neuron was activated at 405 nm (Total). B, the assays were repeated as explained in A on the NMDA-treated neurons. C and D, the increase in the area containing mitochondria pool over the 25-min period was plotted. 18 assays (n = 18) (C) and 19 assays (n = 19) (D) were performed in the absence and presence of NMDA, respectively.