In neurons, the specific spatial and temporal localization of protein synthesis is of great importance for function and survival. Here, we visualized tRNA and protein synthesis events in fixed and live mouse primary cortical culture using fluorescently-labeled tRNAs. We were able to characterize the distribution and transport of tRNAs in different neuronal sub-compartments and to study their association with the ribosome. We found that tRNA mobility in neural processes is lower than in somata and corresponds to patterns of slow transport mechanisms, and that larger tRNA puncta co-localize with translational machinery components and are likely the functional fraction. Furthermore, chemical induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in culture revealed up-regulation of mRNA translation with a similar effect in dendrites and somata, which appeared to be GluR-dependent 6 h post-activation. Importantly, measurement of protein synthesis in neurons with high resolutions offers new insights into neuronal function in health and disease states.

中文翻译：

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通过tRNA-FRET测量神经元过程和躯体中的mRNA翻译。

在神经元中，蛋白质合成的特定时空定位对于功能和存活非常重要。在这里，我们可视化使用荧光标记的tRNA在固定的和活的小鼠初级皮质培养物中的tRNA和蛋白质合成事件。我们能够表征tRNA在不同神经元小室中的分布和运输，并研究它们与核糖体的关联。我们发现，tRNA在神经过程中的移动性低于在躯体中，并且与慢速运输机制的模式相对应，并且较大的tRNA突点与翻译机械组件共定位，并且可能是功能部分。此外，在培养物中化学诱导的长时程增强（LTP）显示出mRNA表达上调，在树突和躯体中具有类似的作用，激活后6小时似乎是依赖GluR的。重要的是，高分辨率测量神经元中蛋白质的合成提供了对健康和疾病状态下神经元功能的新见解。