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Neural Development pp 229–246Cite as

The Stripe Assay: Studying Growth Preference and Axon Guidance on Binary Choice Substrates In Vitro

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1018))

Abstract

Stripe assays are frequently used for studying binary growth decisions of cells and axons towards surface-bound molecules in vitro. In particular in the fields of neurodevelopment and axon guidance, stripe assays have become a routine tool. Several variants of the stripe assay have been developed since its introduction by Bonhoeffer and colleagues in 1987 (Development 101:685–696, 1987). In all variants, however, the principle is the generation of a structured binary growth substrate, consisting of two sets of cues, arranged in alternating stripes. There are two major classes of stripe assays, mainly distinguished by the source material used for stripe pattern manufacturing: membrane stripe assays, where the stripe patterns are generated with membrane fractions isolated from tissue or cells, and stripe assays with purified proteins, also called modified stripe assays. In this chapter we describe in detail the classical membrane stripe assay, the commonly used modified stripe assay employing purified proteins, and a novel stripe assay for high-affinity interacting proteins, like receptor/ligand pairs.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the German Research Foundation, DFG (grant BA1034/14-3 to M.B. and F.W.). B.K. is supported by the DFG, Schram-Foundation, Gottschalk-Foundation, and Non-Profit Hertie Foundation.

The authors thank Andrea Wizenmann for helpful comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Zoological Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Markus Weschenfelder, Franco Weth & Martin Bastmeyer

  2. Institute for Physiological Chemistry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

    Bernd Knöll

  3. DFG-Center for Functional Nanostructures, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Martin Bastmeyer

Authors
  1. Markus Weschenfelder
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  2. Franco Weth
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  3. Bernd Knöll
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  4. Martin Bastmeyer
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Frelinghuysen Road 164, Piscataway, 08854, New Jersey, USA

    Renping Zhou

  2. , Inst. Molecular Medicine & Genetics, Georgia Health Sciences University, 15th Street 1120, Augusta, 30912, Georgia, USA

    Lin Mei

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Weschenfelder, M., Weth, F., Knöll, B., Bastmeyer, M. (2013). The Stripe Assay: Studying Growth Preference and Axon Guidance on Binary Choice Substrates In Vitro. In: Zhou, R., Mei, L. (eds) Neural Development. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1018. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-444-9_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-444-9_22

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-443-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-444-9

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