Open AccessImaging the bipolarity of myosin filaments with Interferometric Second Harmonic Generation microscopy
Author(s) -
Maxime Rivard,
Charles André Couture,
Amir K. Miri,
Mathieu Laliberté,
Antony Bertrand-Grenier,
Luc Mongeau,
François Légaré
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
biomedical optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.362
H-Index - 86
ISSN - 2156-7085
DOI - 10.1364/boe.4.002078
Subject(s) - myosin , second harmonic generation , sarcomere , microscopy , optics , interferometry , materials science , high harmonic generation , myosin head , biophysics , physics , myosin light chain kinase , biology , laser , microbiology and biotechnology , myocyte
We report that combining interferometry with Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy provides valuable information about the relative orientation of noncentrosymmetric structures composing tissues. This is confirmed through the imaging of rat medial gastrocnemius muscle. The inteferometric Second Harmonic Generation (ISHG) images reveal that each side of the myosin filaments composing the A band of the sarcomere generates π phase shifted SHG signal which implies that the myosin proteins at each end of the filaments are oriented in opposite directions. This highlights the bipolar structural organization of the myosin filaments and shows that muscles can be considered as a periodically poled biological structure.