Visualizing Cellular Dynamics and Protein Localization in 3D Collagen

Immune cells migrate and communicate through cell-to-cell interactions and cytokines to coordinate the specificity and timing of the immune response. While studying these events in cell culture are standard procedure, spatiotemporal dynamics of cell-to-cell interactions within three-dimensional (3D) environments are critical in generating appropriate effector functions. Here, we present a detailed protocol to study cells within an all-in-one 3D collagen matrix that is amenable to live-cell microscopy and immunohistochemistry. This approach facilitates analyses of dynamic cellular events in 3D settings. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Koh et al. (2020).