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Using Imaging Mass Cytometry to Define Cell Identities and Interactions in Human Tissues
Vijayakumar R Kakade1, Marlene Weiss1, Lloyd G Cantley1
1Section of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States.
Insights
Imaging mass cytometry (IMC) offers powerful insights into the human kidney
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Imaging
- Cellular Biology
- Renal Science
Background:
- Highly multiplexed imaging techniques are crucial for studying complex cellular microenvironments.
- Understanding the human kidney's cellular landscape is vital for disease research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the application of imaging mass cytometry (IMC) in human kidney research.
- To provide technical guidelines for IMC in renal studies.
- To highlight IMC's potential in understanding kidney disease pathogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Detailed antibody validation protocols for kidney tissues.
- Optimized cell segmentation strategies for IMC data.
- Specific data analysis pipelines for human kidney samples.
Main Results:
- Phenotyping of diverse human kidney cell types using IMC.
- Identification of novel insights into kidney injury and disease.
- Demonstration of IMC's capability to reveal spatial cellular interactions.
Conclusions:
- IMC is a powerful tool for dissecting the human kidney's cellular architecture.
- IMC analysis enhances understanding of kidney disease pathogenesis.
- Integration of IMC with other omics technologies provides comprehensive spatial context.
Abstract:
In the evolving landscape of highly multiplexed imaging techniques that can be applied to study complex cellular microenvironments, this review characterizes the use of imaging mass cytometry (IMC) to study the human kidney. We provide technical details for antibody validation, cell segmentation, and data analysis specifically tailored to human kidney samples, and elaborate on phenotyping of kidney cell types and novel insights that IMC can provide regarding pathophysiological processes in the injured or diseased kidney. This review will provide the reader with the necessary background to understand both the power and the limitations of IMC and thus support better perception of how IMC analysis can improve our understanding of human disease pathogenesis and can be integrated with other technologies such as single cell sequencing and proteomics to provide spatial context to cellular data.
