AFM-Based Correlative Microscopy Illuminates Human Pathogens

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Biophysics
• Pathogenesis Research

Background:

• Microbial virulence factors are key to pathogenicity, but understanding disease transmission, antimicrobial resistance, and host factors remains challenging.
• Current knowledge gaps exist in directly observing host-pathogen interactions and confirming pathogenicity phenotypes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances in understanding pathogens and their interactions with hosts.
• To highlight the application of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in studying pathogenicity.
• To explore the potential of correlative AFM-optical microscopy for host-pathogen interaction studies.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing atomic force microscopy (AFM) for high-resolution surface topography and mechanical property quantification (pN scale).
• Combining AFM with various optical microscopy techniques for simultaneous surface and internal cellular analysis.
• Employing correlative AFM-optical microspectroscopy and microscopy to investigate host-pathogen interfaces.

Main Results:

• AFM provides detailed insights into pathogen surface properties and physical interactions with host cells.
• Correlative microscopy visualizes both external pathogen-host interactions and internal cellular responses.
• This integrated approach enhances the understanding of molecular signaling at host-pathogen interfaces.

Conclusions:

• Correlative AFM-optical microscopy is a powerful tool for dissecting complex host-pathogen interactions.
• These advanced imaging techniques are crucial for addressing current challenges in pathogenicity research.
• Further development and application of these methods will deepen our understanding of microbial diseases.