Cell Motility
The Motile Cell
Cell motility is required for many important physiological processes during development,
such as cell migration during gastrulation, axon guidance, tissue regeneration and
embryological development. Unregulated cell migration can be the cause for progression
of cancer, e.g. during metastasis. The challenge to perform rapid, multi-dimensional
imaging of motile cells is fundamental to our understanding of above-mentioned processes.
At the level of single cell visualization, cell motility envelopes a broad area
of study including the mechanisms of cell migration, chemotaxis, axon guidance and
motility of dendritic spines. Of interest are whole cell movement, cell polarity,
adhesion, membrane ruffles, protrusion of lamellipodia and filopodia, morphogenesis
and also the involvement of the cytoskeleton, particularly at the leading and trailing
edges of locomotion. Historically the microscopy of motile cells has, from the instrument
standpoint, been marred by the need for greater speed and sensitivity at high resolution.
For example, it can be desirable to image rapid protrusion of lamellipodia and filopodia.
It can also be fundamental to visualize the cytoskeletal dynamics and membrane morphology
of moving cells with high resolution and sensitivity, such that the underlying mechanisms
of protrusion and retraction can be understood in the context of the interactions
and growth of actin (e.g. stress fibers), mictrotubule and intermediate filament
cytoskeletons.
Underlying all direct imaging studies of living cells or organisms, is the desire
to preserve the living subject for as long as possible, through minimization of
both phototoxic cell/tissue damage and photobleaching of the incorporated fluorophores.
EMCCD Motion Pictures
EMCCD technology has provided the solution to the challenges described above, enabling
high resolution, high signal-to-noise (S/N) movies to be acquired of cell systems
and their chemotactic response, without sacrificing any of the critical imaging
parameters. Furthermore, through reducing the excitation power, phototoxic effects
are minimized, enabling cells to be followed for much longer periods.
Imaging EMCCD platforms display single photon sensitivity combined with high Quantum
Efficiency (QE) at multi-MHz rapid readout speeds.
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