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Imaging the choreography of lymphocyte trafficking and the immune response
Michael D Cahalan1, Ian Parker
1Department of Physiology & Biophysics and Neurobiology & Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 92697, USA.
Insights
Two-photon microscopy visualizes immune cell interactions within tissues. This advanced imaging reveals how immune cells move and interact, crucial for immune system function and understanding diseases.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
- Microscopy
Background:
- Immune system function relies on complex cellular interactions.
- Visualizing these interactions in real-time within tissues is challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight advances in two-photon microscopy for studying immune cell dynamics.
- To demonstrate how real-time immunoimaging illuminates cellular behaviors in vivo and in explanted tissues.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing two-photon microscopy for deep-tissue imaging.
- Applying real-time immunoimaging techniques.
- Observing cell motility and cell-cell interactions in intact organs.
Main Results:
- Visualized random and chemokine-driven motility in cellular search strategies.
- Illuminated complex dynamics of immune cell interactions.
- Revealed micro-anatomical localization and control of lymphocyte trafficking.
Conclusions:
- Two-photon microscopy is a powerful tool for understanding immune cell behavior.
- Recent advances have provided new insights into T cell-dendritic cell and T cell-B cell interactions.
- Lymphocyte egress from lymph nodes is better understood through these imaging techniques.
Abstract:
The functioning of the immune system depends upon exquisitely choreographed interactions between its cellular constituents. Two-photon microscopy now enables us to visualize cell motility and cell-cell interactions deep within intact tissues and organs, both in explanted preparations and in vivo. Real-time immunoimaging techniques have illuminated the roles of random and chemokine-driven motility for cellular search strategies, the complex dynamics of cellular interactions, and the micro-anatomical localization and control of lymphocyte trafficking. Recently, advances have been made in these areas of research, as exemplified by studies investigating T cell-dendritic cell interactions, T cell-B cell interactions, and the regulation of lymphocyte egress from the lymph node.
