Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026
Inducing Ischemia-reperfusion Injury in the Mouse Ear Skin for Intravital Multiphoton Imaging of Immune Responses
Published on: December 22, 2016
Live Imaging of the Skin Immune Responses: Visualization of the Contact Hypersensitivity Response
Gyohei Egawa1, Tetsuya Honda1, Kenji Kabashima2
1Department of Dermatology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Insights
Intravital imaging visualizes immune cell dynamics in skin during contact hypersensitivity. This technique uses fluorescent dyes and reporter animals for noninvasive, 3D visualization of skin immune responses.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
- Dermatology
Background:
- Cutaneous immune responses involve diverse immune cells.
- Intravital imaging has emerged as a key technique for studying immune cell behavior in vivo.
- Understanding immune cell dynamics is crucial for skin immunity research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe essential techniques for visualizing immune cells within the skin.
- To focus on the application of these techniques in the context of contact hypersensitivity.
- To highlight the utility of intravital imaging for studying skin immune responses.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing intravital imaging for real-time observation of immune cells in the skin.
- Employing fluorescent dyes for cellular labeling and contrast.
- Leveraging transgenic reporter animals for specific immune cell identification.
- Performing noninvasive, three-dimensional visualization of skin components and immune cells.
Main Results:
- Demonstration of techniques for visualizing various immune cells in the skin.
- Successful application of intravital imaging to study the contact hypersensitivity response.
- Visualization of immune cell behavior within the physiological skin environment.
- Achieved noninvasive, 3D imaging of immune cells and skin structures.
Conclusions:
- Intravital imaging provides essential insights into immune cell dynamics in the skin.
- Fluorescent dyes and reporter animals are effective tools for skin immunology research.
- This chapter provides a practical guide to advanced visualization techniques for cutaneous immunity.
Abstract:
A variety of immune cells are involved in cutaneous immune responses. Over the last decade, intravital imaging has become an important technique used to capture the dynamic behavior of immune cells in the physiological context. In this chapter, we describe essential techniques for visualizing immune cells in the skin, focusing on the contact hypersensitivity response. Using fluorescent dyes and transgenic reporter animals, many kinds of immune cells and skin components can be visualized in three dimensions and in a noninvasive manner.
Related Concept Videos
01:36Humoral Immune Responses
01:40Cell-mediated Immune Responses
01:23Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response
01:29Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens
NK Cells
NK cells are a crucial part of our innate immune system, acting as the first line of defense against viral infections. These cells can recognize and kill infected cells without prior exposure to the virus, effectively slowing down the spread of infection. Additionally, NK cells produce proinflammatory...
01:28Cells of the Innate Immune Response
Phagocytes
Phagocytes police the peripheral tissues by removing cellular debris and responding to the invasion of foreign substances or pathogens. Many phagocytes attack and remove microorganisms even before lymphocytes detect them. The human body has two general...
01:27Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...