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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Live Imaging Followed by Single Cell Tracking to Monitor Cell Biology and the Lineage Progression of Multiple Neural Populations
Published on: December 16, 2017
Understanding biological dynamics: following cells and molecules to track functions and mechanisms
A Palamidessi1, I Testa, E Frittoli
1IFOM, Fondazione Istituto FIRC di Oncologia Molecolare, Milan, Italy.
Abstract:
The dissection of the molecular circuitries at the base of cell life and the identification of their abnormal transformation during carcinogenesis rely on the characterization of biological phenotypes generated by targeted overexpression or deletion of gene products through genetic manipulation. Fluorescence microscopy provides a wide variety of tools to monitor cell life with minimal perturbations. The observation of living cells requires the selection of a correct balance between temporal, spatial and "statistical" resolution according to the process to be analyzed. In the following paper ad hoc developed optical tools for dynamical tracking from cellular to molecular resolution will be presented. Particular emphasis will be devoted to discuss how to exploit light-matter interaction to selectively target specific molecular species, understanding the relationships between their intracellular compartmentalization and function.
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