No abstract

SUMMARY A major technological goal in neuroscience is to enable the interrogation of individual cells across the live brain. By creating a curved glass replacement to the dorsal cranium and surgical methods for its installation, we developed a chronic mouse preparation providing optical access to an estimated 800,000–1,100,000 individual neurons across the dorsal surface of neocortex. Post-surgical histological studies revealed comparable glial activation as in control mice. In behaving mice expressing a Ca2+ indicator in cortical pyramidal neurons, we performed Ca2+ imaging across neocortex using an epi-fluorescence macroscope and estimated that 25,000–50,000 individual neurons were accessible per mouse across multiple focal planes. Two-photon microscopy revealed dendritic morphologies throughout neocortex, allowed time-lapse imaging of individual cells, and yielded estimates of >1 million accessible neurons per mouse by serial tiling. This approach supports a variety of optical techniques and enables studies of cells across >30 neocortical areas in behaving mice.

Although memory T cells within barrier tissues can persist as permanent residents, at least some exchange with blood. The extent to which this occurs is unclear. Here we show that memory CD4+ T cells in mouse skin are in equilibrium with the circulation at steady state. These cells are dispersed throughout the inter-follicular regions of the dermis and form clusters with antigen presenting cells around hair follicles. After infection or administration of a contact sensitizing agent, there is a sustained increase in skin CD4+ T-cell content, which is confined to the clusters, with a concomitant CCL5-dependent increase in CD4+ T-cell recruitment. Skin CCL5 is derived from CD11b+ cells and CD8+ T cells, with the elimination of the latter decreasing CD4+ T-cell numbers. These results reveal a complex pattern of tissue-retention and equilibration for CD4+ memory T cells in skin, which is altered by infection and inflammation history.