On probing conformation of microtubules by second-harmonic generation

Microtubule (MT) is a component of cytoskeleton playing an important role in a variety of cellular processes. Altering the structure of MT is a crucial mechanism of modulating the function, but it is difficult to measure the in vivo conformation. We present here the use of second-harmonic generation (SHG) for acquiring information about the architecture of MTs in living tissue. Axonal MTs were imaged by polarization-resolved SHG and anisotropy in the molecular structure was determined by means of the second-order tensor analysis. The feasibility of the second-order tensor analysis was tested for measuring the conformational changes induced by MT-stabilizing drug. It demonstrates that the new optical contrast may be useful for investigating the dynamics of MT cytoskeleton in vivo.