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Mapping immune processes in intact tissues at cellular resolution
Christian Brede, … , Gregory S. Harms, Andreas Beilhack
Christian Brede, … , Gregory S. Harms, Andreas Beilhack
Published November 12, 2012
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2012;122(12):4439-4446. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI65100.
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Technical Advance Immunology

Mapping immune processes in intact tissues at cellular resolution

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Abstract

Understanding the spatiotemporal changes of cellular and molecular events within an organism is crucial to elucidate the complex immune processes involved in infections, autoimmune disorders, transplantation, and neoplastic transformation and metastasis. Here we introduce a novel multicolor light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) approach for deciphering immune processes in large tissue specimens on a single-cell level in 3 dimensions. We combined and optimized antibody penetration, tissue clearing, and triple-color illumination to create a method for analyzing intact mouse and human tissues. This approach allowed us to successfully quantify changes in expression patterns of mucosal vascular addressin cell adhesion molecule–1 (MAdCAM-1) and T cell responses in Peyer’s patches following stimulation of the immune system. In addition, we employed LSFM to map individual T cell subsets after hematopoietic cell transplantation and detected rare cellular events. Thus, we present a versatile imaging technology that should be highly beneficial in biomedical research.

Authors

Christian Brede, Mike Friedrich, Ana-Laura Jordán-Garrote, Simone S. Riedel, Carina A. Bäuerlein, Katrin G. Heinze, Tobias Bopp, Stephan Schulz, Anja Mottok, Carolin Kiesel, Katharina Mattenheimer, Miriam Ritz, Viktoria von Krosigk, Andreas Rosenwald, Hermann Einsele, Robert S. Negrin, Gregory S. Harms, Andreas Beilhack

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Figure 5

Detection of T cell homing by multicolor LSFM.

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Detection of T cell homing by multicolor LSFM.
(A) MACS-enriched CD4+ T ...
(A) MACS-enriched CD4+ T cells (C57BL/6-L2G85 CD45.1+) were sorted into TN (CD44hiCD62Llo), TCM (CD44hiCD62Lhi), and TEM (CD44loCD62Lhi) and adoptively transferred into C57BL/6 CD45.2+ recipients. (B) LSFM imaging of whole PPs allowed the detection of donor T cells 20 hours after transfer. Left column: 3D reconstruction of PP autofluorescence (gray) and isosurface of T cells included in the automated quantification. Center column: 3D reconstruction of MAdCAM-1+ HEV (cyan) and isosurface of counted T cells (red). Right column: Representative section of the T cell area (×20, z-projection, scale bar: 50 μm). ctrl, control. (C) Quantification of transferred T cell numbers in the PPs (n = 3/group) revealed a better homing capacity of TN and TCM relative to TEM cells. In contrast, TEM homed more efficiently to the liver (not shown). Antibody staining was performed ex situ.

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ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

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