Sc100 digital camera

Images of IHC-stained slides were captured using an Olympus BX53 light microscope and an Olympus SC100 digital camera (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan). IF-stained slides were visualized and imaged using an Olympus FV1200 biological confocal laser-scanning microscope (Olympus). All images were processed using cellSens 2.0 software (Olympus).

Live rat cortical neurons labeled with Neurofluor™ NeuO (FITC filter set: 475 ± 17/536 ± 20 nm, dichroic filter 506 nm) and Hoechst (DAPI filter set: 377 ± 25/447 ± 30 nm, dichroic filter 409 nm) were imaged using an ImageXpress Micro 4 High Content Screening System set at 25 and 204 ms exposure times respectively with a 20× air immersion lens (Ph1 S Plan Fluor ELWD ADM; NA 0.45). NeuroFluor™ NeuO has an excitation/emission spectrum of 470/555 nm. The in-built Lumencor Sola Light (SE 5-LCR-QB) was set to 100 “lumencor intensity” units in MetaXpress (v6.2.2) software for fluorophore excitation. Phase-contrast images (Fig. 3a–c and Supplementary Figs. 4b, 5, 7a) of live rat cortical neurons were taken with an Olympus CKX53 microscope with an SC100 digital camera and a 10× dry objective (CACHN10XIPC; NA 0.25).

IHC-stained slides were viewed and imaged using an Olympus BX53 microscope and an Olympus SC100 digital camera and the cellSens 2.0 software (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan). IF-stained slides were viewed and imaged using an Olympus FV1200 biological confocal laser-scanning microscope, and images were processed with cellSens Dimension 1.11 software using 2D deconvolution algorithm (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan).

Immunohistochemical-stained slides were viewed and imaged using an Olympus BX53 microscope fitted with an Olympus SC100 digital camera (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan), and processed with the cellSens 2.0 Software (Olympus). Immunofluorescence-stained slides were viewed and imaged using an Olympus FV1200 biological confocal laser-scanning microscope (Olympus) and processed with the cellSens Dimension 1.11 software.

Aliquots of the tissues of the liver and kidneys were used and fixed for 1 week in formalin (10%) in phosphate-buffered normal saline. They were then washed for 2 h under running tap water and underwent dehydration in ethanol gradually, followed by embedding in paraffin wax. The sections were thereafter de-paraffinized with xylene and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. An examination was performed using an Olympus CX41 light microscope and SC100 digital camera, which was attached to a computer system.