Background:
Intravital microscopy (IVM) is one of the most powerful imaging approaches aimed at visualizing cellular processes in live animals under both physiological and pathological conditions. The development of a broad variety of transgenic animals combined with specific procedures to access several organs, including the installation of imaging windows, have provided an unprecedented view of the progression of several diseases, including cancer in real-time. Specifically, IVM enables:
- The investigation of the cellular mechanisms underlying tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis in live animals
- Multimodal analysis of tumors, surrounding microenvironment (e.g. vasculature, extracellular matrix), dynamics and role of the immune system
- Testing the efficacy of drugs at the tissue, cellular and subcellular level
Mission:
The mission of the Intravital Microscopy (IVM) core is to support CCR investigators in projects which require imaging the dynamics of tissue, cellular, and subcellular processes in live rodents. The core provides full assistance in the experimental design, animal study proposals, animal handling, surgical procedures, intravital microscopy, and data analysis. Moreover, the IVM core helps investigators to develop novel imaging and analysis procedures tailored to their existing animal models.
Services Provided:
- Experimental design
- Animal Study Protocols
- Develop of animal models
- Develop surgical procedures
- Intravital microscopy
- Imaging Analysis
Accessing Services:
The CCR Intravital Microscopy Core is open to all NCI investigators. To discuss the details of your project and evaluate its feasibility, contact Roberto Weigert.
Expertise:
The core personnel have extensive expertise in multi-photon and confocal microscopy, animal handling, animal imaging, surgical procedures, designing and generation of custom-made tools for IVM (imaging windows, motion stabilizers, delivery systems), imaging processing and data analysis.
Instrumentation:
- Leica TCS SP8 Dive Falcon Spectral Multi-photon and Confocal FILM System equipped with two pulsed lasers:
- Insight X3 (690-1300nm tuning range)
- Mai-Tai (690-1080 nm tuning range)
- Resonant and non-resonant scanners
- Four HyD hybrid detectors
- TCS SP8 Falcon (Fast Lifetime CONtrast) for FLIM applications
Image Procession Software:
- Imaris
- Autoquant
- FIJI Image J
- Math Lab
Techniques:
- Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM)
- Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)
- Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP)
- Photo-activation and Photo-switching
- Second and Third Harmonic Generation
Our Team:
Roberto Weigert, Ph.D.
Core Director
Building 37, B114C
Yeap S. Ng, Ph.D.
Core Manager
Building 37, 2050
Bhagawat Subramanian Ph.D.
Staff Scientist
Building 37, 2050
240-781-3403
bhagawatchandrasekar.subramanian@nih.gov