Mouse lymphnode - Getting the complete picture for inflammation research
A part of the work at the Keppler lab involves the use of pre-clinical models for inflammatory disease to understand the interplay between cells during inflammation. In order to understand the distribution of the cells within the organ, the lab researchers needed to change from imaging 2D cryo-sections of lymph nodes to a method that is capable of viewing the whole organ.
They developed a clearing protocol to prepare the lymph nodes for imaging. Initially, they performed the imaging experiments using a confocal microscope, but this way took up to 18 hours to image just half of a lymph node. They could not use traditional widefield systems, because the autofluorescence coming from the tissue makes it impossible to see any significant amount of the desired signal.
Only with a THUNDER Imager, we could consider using a widefield-based system to study our organs
Dr. Selina Keppler, Munich, Germany.
Image the cells of interest within the lymph node in only a few minutes
Using a THUNDER Imager, the Keppler lab researchers found that they could clearly image the cells of interest within the lymph node in only a few minutes. In the example shown, they were able to clearly study the distribution of follicular cells (yellow), and blood vessels (magenta). Then they went on to study differences in wild type vs. inflamed lymph nodes. Having this initial overview in just 15 minutes helped them develop a more efficient screening workflow where they could then select the areas they wanted to analyze in detail using confocal microscopy enabling more detail segmentation or single cell analysis.
The THUNDER Imager has made our research more efficient, in terms of time savings, and more complete, as we can now look at whole structures and are not limited at just looking at parts of the organ
Dr. Selina Keppler, Munich, Germany.