High-speed fluorescence microscopy of cell signaling

Howard R. Petty

doi:10.1117/12.598020

17 March 2005 High-speed fluorescence microscopy of cell signaling

Howard R. Petty

Proceedings Volume 5580, 26th International Congress on High-Speed Photography and Photonics; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.598020
Event: 26th International Congress on High-Speed Photography and Photonics, 2004, Alexandria, Virginia, United States

Abstract

A high-speed fluorescence microscope was constructed to observe the spatio-temporal dynamics of chemical signals within living cells. Typically, the CCD is gated for <1 microsec. with an ~2 msec. duty cycle to create “stop-action” movies of cells. The fluorescence of endogenous substances and/or exogenous labels was observed. We found that chemical signals travel as waves within cells. These include waves of Ca2+, pH, membrane depolarization and metabolites, which were missed in previous studies because they traverse a cell (d~10 mm) in a time that is much shorter than a typical camera’s shutter speed. Not only are these dynamic chemical structures present in cells, but the initiation points, speeds, locations, and shapes vary. These waves underlie cellular processes such as chemotactic orientation, phagolysosome fusion, phagocytosis, transmembrane signaling, adherence, oxidant production, cell migration, and tumor cell killing. Studies of cell-cell interactions show that immune cells are capable of synchronizing their signaling apparatuses, thus cooperating to mediate target cell destruction. By combining high-speed imaging with conventional biological methods, we have identified novel sites for drug discovery based upon perturbations of chemical waves within cells. We propose that chemical waves in cells travel well-defined pathways at specific times to mediate information transduction, processing and distribution-much like a computer chip.

Citation Download Citation

Howard R. Petty "High-speed fluorescence microscopy of cell signaling", Proc. SPIE 5580, 26th International Congress on High-Speed Photography and Photonics, (17 March 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.598020

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available