User Stories
Euro-BioImaging’s core mission is to coordinate access to imaging technologies, image data services and training at its Nodes for all life scientists in Europe and beyond. Through the excellent technologies and expertise provided by our Nodes, Euro-BioImaging users are able to delve deep into their research topics - including the secrets of infections, human brain function, parasitic life cycles, cells and tissues, and beyond. Below we share some user stories, giving compelling examples of the research that is facilitated by Euro-BioImaging. Click on the topics below to go to the related stories.
Neuroscience
Method & probe development
Cell biology
Plant biology
Cancer
Understanding disease
Regenerative medicine
Marine biology
Infectious disease
Cardiovascular
Drug development
NEUROSCIENCE
Motor neuron development revealed using multiple imaging techniques and 3D reconstructions
Dr. Alena Salašová is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University (AU). Her work focuses on neurodevelopment, in particular, understanding the cell and molecular mechanisms behind it. With support from the staff at the CEITEC MU CELLIM light microscopy facility, part of Euro-BioImaging's Advanced Light Microscopy & Medical Imaging Node in Brno, Czech Republic, she and her team used light-sheet microscopy to image entire mouse embryos, capturing all developing motor neurons in time and space. Thanks to this amazing imaging work, she, together with the team of Prof. Anders Nykjaer (AU) were able to closely observe the SorCS2 receptor and identify its role in the spinal cord development, the topic of a recent publication in Cell Reports. To learn more about this outstanding Euro-BioImaging user project, we spoke to Alena Salašová and Milan Ešner, the Head of the CEITEC MU light microscopy facility - CELLIM.
Using super resolution live cell imaging to understand cell death during stroke
Scientists have made extraordinary progress in understanding stroke and the effects it has in the brain, but are still exploring the finer details of why some brain cells die and others don’t during and after a stroke. We spoke with Euro-BioImaging user Dr. Andrew Boyce, who is looking closely at the cell death process, with a particular focus on dendritic blebs. Widely believed to be pathological in stroke, Andrew believes that blebbing dendrites might be more than just a step in the cell death process - and could hold the key to understanding what neurons can do to protect themselves from the propagation of the cell death caused by a stroke. But in order to support his hypothesis, he must get a holistic picture of this phenomenon. Using state-of-the-art super resolution microscopy techniques at the Bordeaux Imaging Center, part of France BioImaging, he hopes to do just that.
Understanding Phantom Limb Pain
Ana Carolina Travossos’s PhD project focuses on understanding the contribution of the primary somatosensory cortex to Phantom Limb Pain (PLP). To support her research she visited the Dutch High Field Imaging Hub where she acquired ultra-high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data during piezoelectric stimulation of the arms of healthy participants. The collaboration also included data and methodological sharing (e.g., preprocessing and analysis). The 7T scanner provided images with higher signal-to-noise ratio, spatial resolution, and image quality compared to the system available at her home Institution, allowing her to gather more detailed and precise data for her research.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/understanding-phantom-limb-pain/
Analyze large-scale light-sheet microscopy images of the brain
Want to analyze and annotate your sample with the Allen Brain Atlas but don’t have the hardware, software or know-how to do so? Meet Michaela Blazikova, Image Data Analyst at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Her facility is part of Euro-BioImaging’s Advanced Light & Electron Microscopy Node in Prague, and they offer Image Data Analysis as a service as part of Euro-BioImaging’s Proof-of-Concept study. In this short article, she shares a compelling example of what Image Data Analysis as a service means.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/analyze-large-scale-light-sheet-microscopy-images-of-the-brain-/
Neuroscience: New microglia dataset available on BioImage Archive
Katrín Möller is a post-doctoral researcher at Biomedical Center of the University of Iceland, where she studies epigenetics and neuronal development. She’s just published a paper in eLIFE entitled “A role for the centrosome in regulating the rate of neuronal efferocytosis by microglia in vivo,” which provides important insight into microglial phagocytosis and features impressive light sheet microscopy images. Beyond describing exciting science in her publication, Katrin Möller also uploaded the underlying bioimaging data to the Bioimage Archive. Here she outlines some of the reasons for depositing her epic dataset and highlights a few benefits of data sharing for researchers.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/neuroscience-new-microglia-dataset-available-on-bioimage-archive/
Potential of functional neuroimaging techniques for understanding long-term effects of COVID-19
Hanna Renvall, Aalto University, explores novel clinical applications of MEG, that are employed by the recently launched EU Horizon 2020 project Long COVID on the mechanisms and biomarkers of long-term effects of COVID-19 infection, undertaken in collaboration with the Finnish Biomedical Imaging Node.
How to identify epileptogenic zone in MRI negative epilepsy with arterial spin labelling data
In this brief abstract, learn how Martin Gajdoš, CEITEC Masaryk University, worked with the experts at ALM and Medical Imaging Node Brno in Czechia, to demonstrate that arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help with localization of the epileptogenic zone (EZ) and thus help epileptologists to increase the reliability of their decisions.
A TMS and multimodal molecular imaging study of the Interhemispheric inhibition/excitation imbalance: project overview
In this abstract, learn how Joao Castelhano, University of Coimbra, worked alongside the experts at Brain Imaging Network Node in Portugal, to set up a multimodal pipeline with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) to study inter-hemispheric imbalance after unilateral brain damage.
3D-Brain 18f-[Fdg] PET segmentation and Classification for diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease using Deep Neural Network
In this brief abstract, learn how Lisa De Santi, Fondazione Toscana G. Monasterio worked with a large series of images from the Molecular Imaging Italian Nodeto show how Deep Learning models can support clinicians’ decision with objective and accurate diagnostic tools in the case of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Studying AMPA Receptor Dynamics with Lattice Light Sheet and Multiphoton Microscopy
In this abstract, learn how Angela Getz and her colleagues at the Bordeaux Imaging Center (part of the French BioImaging Node) and the Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience in Bordeaux, combined advanced imaging tools, such as lattice light sheet and photomanipulation, with new molecular tools for visualizing and controlling the dynamics of AMPA receptors to understand synaptic plasticity.
Aberrant hippocampal transmission and behavior in mice with a stargazin mutation linked to intellectual disability
In this abstract, learn how Ângela Inácio, University of Coimbra, used imaging techniques available at the Portuguese Platform of BioImaging (PPBI) Node to study the effects of mutations linked to neurodevelopmental disorders on synaptic transmission and behavior on a molecular and cellular level.
MEG – key imaging technology for understanding neuronal processing directly in a non-invasive fashion
Magnetoencephalography, MEG, measures minute magnetic fields of the order of pT produced by neuronal currents of the brain. The same neuronal currents give rise to electroencephalographic (EEG) signals—both technologies share ms-level temporal accuracy and they both provide direct measures of neuronal currents. MEG is optimal for detecting neuronal currents at the fissural cortex of the brain offering a direct, non-invasive measures, e.g., of the primary sensory signals and epileptic discharges. Source modelling tools are typically used in MEG to estimate the location of the neuronal activity and its strength. The same tools can also use the EEG data and in clinical use combined MEG and EEG recordings are used especially in epilepsy diagnosis.
METHOD & PROBE DEVELOPMENT
The other side of the bench: When Node staff become users
Dorus Gadella and Mark Hink work at the University of Amsterdam, and represent our Van Leeuwenhoek Center for Advanced Microscopy (LCAM) - Functional Imaging Flagship Node. They are experts in functional imaging and in probe development to advance quantitative life imaging of cellular processes at highest resolution. They recently developed a range of new red-light fluorescent protein probes forStimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED) – a super-resolution technique that is currently not available at their facility. So, they applied for access at Euro-BioImaging’s EMBL Node - where different types of STED system are available. Their application was accepted – and in a highly competitive process, was also selected to receive funding from the Euro-BioImaging User Access fund.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/the-other-side-of-the-bench-when-node-staff-become-users/
CELL BIOLOGY
Observing membrane repair machinery with very fast spinning disc confocal microscopy
Palina Nepachalovich is a first year PhD student studying lipid metabolism at the Center of Membrane Biochemistry and Lipid Research at TU Dresden. She is part of Maria Fedorova’s Group of bioanalysts, who use high resolution mass spectrometry and bioinformatics to study how living cells adapt to various stress conditions with a focus on lipids and lipid metabolism. Palina had never used a microscope when she applied for access at Euro-BioImaging’s Sofia Node in December 2021, as part of the Euro-BioImaging pilot User Access fund. Her promising project proposal, involving “Membrane disruptions and repair in cell death processes,” was selected for funding. We spoke to her while she was in Sofia, to learn more about what she hopes to accomplish and why this visit to our Sofia Node is so important to her research – and her career.
Looking at Drosophila development with laser microdissection & 2-photon microscopy
Daniel Ríos Barrera is a developmental biologist and Associate Investigator at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (IIBO) of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). In his lab, Daniel and his team study how tubular systems are formed, focusing on the development of the respiratory system in fly embryos as a model for more complex organisms like humans. His quest to understand these developing organs brought him and his PhD student, Luis Eduardo Sánchez Cisneros, to EMBL’s Advanced Light Microscopy Facility, part of Euro-BioImaging’s EMBL Node. At EMBL, they will use laser microdissection and 2-photon microscopy to observe the recoil of the developing tissues. A quick discussion with Daniel & Luis reveals how access to EMBL’s technologies and expertise will help them answer their scientific question, and how it may impact their careers.
Opportunities for high resolution FLIM microscopy
Interested in protein dynamics and DNA repair? Why not work with the experts at Sofia BioImaging Node? Thanks to the support of the Bulgarian National Roadmap for Scientific Infrastructure, the Node has two new instruments to perform Fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). Stoyno Stoynov, Node coordinator, explains how these technologies will enhance the Node’s portfolio and answer new research questions. And he shares an important opportunity for Bulgarian researchers to gain full financial support for imaging projects undertaken at the Node.
PLANT BIOLOGY
Looking at stem photosynthesis with FLIM
The objective of Sara Natale’s PhD research is to characterize differences in chloroplasts in the bark and wood as well as compare photosynthesis systems in the stem of Fraxinus ornus, a type of ash tree, in order to better understand how these plants cope with drought. She applied to use Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM) at Euro-BioImaging’s WISH Node to measure the chemical reactions going on inside the chloroplasts in fresh plant sample. FLIM allowed her to answer her research question in a very precise way and to gain a different perspective on the data with this method. She also acquired a new skill thanks to the experts at our Node. Learn more:
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/looking-at-stem-photosynthesis-with-flim/
Plant imaging at DIMP Neuromed Node
What better place to bring your plant imaging project than to DIMP Neuromed Node, located in the Technology and Research Center in Pozzilli, in Italy’s beautiful Molise region? The environment is unique, particularly favorable for agriculture, as demonstrated by the ancient olive trees that surround the Technology and Research Center. In this beautiful, natural setting, a team of scientists led by Nicola D’Ascenzo are developing state-of-the-art plant imaging capacities based on Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and setting up imaging methods to study different live plant species. Their multidisciplinary expertise and passion is contagious and they are eager to support agronomists, botanists, or biologists in answering their scientific questions, especially when it comes to understanding how plants react to stress factors caused by climate change.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/plant-imaging-at-dimp-neuromed-node/
Toppling the microscope - to shed new light on plant biology
Imaging living plants has always been challenging. Most microscopes place the sample horizontally – while plants grow vertically. But scientists at Czech Republic’s Institute of Experimental Botany, part of Euro-BioImaging’s Advanced Light and Electron Microscopy Node Prague, have found a way to overcome this challenge. Inspired by scientist in IST Vienna, they’ve turned their Zeiss LSM 880 with Airyscan detector on its side – at an angle of 90 degrees – and added high magnification immersion objectives - for fast and sensitive imaging of root growth in its natural (gravitational) orientation. With long-term experience in plant biology, and the right combination of high-end instruments and expertise, our Node in Prague is optimized for live plant studies. And the technologies and expertise they offer areavailable to all scientists via the Euro-BioImaging portal. Learn more in this interview with Kateřina Malínská, head of the Imaging Facility at the Institute of Experimental Botany.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/toppling-the-microscope---to-shed-new-light-on-plant-biology/
Adapting imaging instruments to shed new light on plant biology
Imaging living plants as they grow has traditionally been very difficult as almost all microscopes place the sample horizontally but plants grow vertically. This challenge has been overcome by scientists at Austria’s Institute of Science and Technology, part of Austrian BioImaging, CMI, Euro-BioImaging’s Austrian Node. With a “special” confocal microscope for vertical sample mounting and integrated directional illumination, combined with a custom software for tracking moving objects, live plant imaging becomes easy. This technology, and related expertise, are available to all scientists, regardless of affiliation, via the Euro-BioImaging portal. Learn more in this interview with Gabriel Krens, Manager of the Bioimaging Facility at Austria’s Institute of Science and Technology.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/adapting-imaging-instruments-to-shed-new-light-on-plant-biology/
PHENOPlant: High-throughput phenotyping capability for plant research
Trying to understand optimum growth conditions for small to mid-size crop plants? Studying the impact of drought and other climate factors? Need to perform non-invasive, morphometric and physiological high-throughput phenotyping? We spoke to Jakub Jez, Head of the Vienna BioCenter Core Facilities GmbH - Plant Sciences Facility, part of Austrian BioImaging/CMI Node, to learn more about PHENOPlant, an automated, multi-sensor, high-throughput plant phenotyping platform (PHENOPlant).
Understanding how mechanical forces act in plant cells
Imaging technologies can help scientists understand how plant tissues respond to stress, such as drought, heat, or other environmental factors. Characterising the mechanical properties of plant cells is an important aspect of studying plant resilience. That is why a team at Wageningen University, host of Euro-BioImaging’s Advanced Light Microscopy and Molecular Imaging Node Wageningen, developed a new method to measure the viscosity in individual parts of plant cells usingFluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM). In this article, Professors Dolf Weijers and Joris Sprakel of Wageningen University describe their method and discuss its implications.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/understanding-how-mechanical-forces-act-in-plant-cells/
CANCER
Mapping cholesterol in tissue to better understand prostate cancer
How does prostate cancer become aggressive and life-threating? That is a question that Maria K. Andersen, post-doc researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Science & Technology (NTNU) - Trondheim, really wants to answer. She is part of the ERC-fundedProstOmics project, which combines -omics technology with state-of-the-art imaging approaches to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying prostate cancer development and validate biomarkers and molecular signatures for separating aggressive from indolent prostate cancer. She believes cholesterol plays a role - but it is very difficult to detect cholesterol in tissue using the conventional mass spectrometry techniques she works with in her lab. To further explore the role of cholesterol in prostate cancer, she applied for access to Euro-BioImaging’sFacility of Multi Modal Imaging AMMI Maastricht Node, where a highly sensitive MALDI2 MSI instrument is available in open access. Maria tells us about her experience.
Where do SupraMolecular Attack Particles come from?
Chiara Cassioli, a Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Siena, is passionate about basic research. Her quest to discover how immune cells communicate within the immune system has been the driving force in her research. So trying to figure out what trafficking pathways are responsible for the biogenesis and the release of SupraMolecular Attack Particles (SMAPs) - a recently discovered way for T cells to kill virally infected and cancerous cells – is right up her alley. And it brought her to the Advanced Light Microscopy Facility at EMBL, part of Euro-BioImaging’s EMBL Node, to carry out a high-throughput, imaging-based RNAi screen project for the first time in her career. We spoke with her to find out more about her fascinating research project and understand why this approach - and the support of the EMBL ALMF - is essential to her work.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/where-do-supramolecular-attack-particles-come-from-/
Endogenous DNA single-strand breaks in cancer
In this brief abstract, learn how imaging work accomplished at Euro-BioImaging’s Advanced Light and Electron Microscopy Node in Prague led to a paradigm-shifting discovery that challenges the “text book” view of how DNA is replicated, with implications for cancer research.
Phospholipid imaging to prevent ineffective chemotherapy
In this brief abstract, learn how the Dutch High Field Imaging Node uses non-invasive imaging (metabolic MRI) to detect phospholipidic markers to predict cancer treatment outcome.
Golgi maturation-dependent glycoenzyme recycling controls glycosphingolipid biosynthesis and cell growth via GOLPH3
In this brief abstract, learn how imaging techniques used at our Advanced Light Microscopy Italian Node reveal how GOLPH3 promotes mitogenic signaling and cell proliferation.
Understanding and Fighting Cancer: Applications of Virtual Histology at the Phase Contrast Imaging Node in Trieste
In this brief abstract, learn how the Phase Contrast Imaging Node in Trieste developed a pipeline for the analysis of paraffin embedded soft-tissue specimens using phase contrast micro tomography (microCT) images as a guide for sectioning regions of interest for subsequent histological analysis.
Conducting interdisciplinary transnational research in the COVID-19 era
Roberta Ranieri has a unique scientific background, in cancer biology investigation and drug development methods. In 2017 she was awarded a PhD fellowship at the Department of Medicine of the University of Perugia, Italy, under the supervision of Professor Maria Paola Martelli. Professor Martelli focuses her research on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with the aim to translate findings into novel diagnostic tools and therapies. AML accounts for about 80% of acute leukemia in adults with a grim prognosis in particular for elderly patients, often leaving allogeneic stem cell therapy as the only treatment option. Under the supervision of Professor Martelli, Roberta’s job is to build on her previous experience in cell biology and drug discovery in order to perform high throughput screening of drugs/compounds that could be effective against AML.
UNDERSTANDING DISEASE
Micro-cracks and lacunar network in healthy and osteoporotic subjects: an experimental validation through synchrotron phase contrast imaging
The comprehension of bone damage processes is a crucial hint for the understanding of age-related fractures that are strongly linked to osteoporosis, a diffuse pathology that consists in a decrease in the mineral content of bone, leading to an increased fragility. In this context, early diagnosis is the key. Bone is characterized by a complex hierarchical structure and bone damage occurs at the multi-scale. However, while at the clinical level, macro-scale bone damage is clearly visible, the mechanisms that occur at the micro-scale (lacunar level) are still unknown. In order to shed some light on this aspect, Euro-BioImaging users from the Politecnico di Milano (Italy) combined a newly developed experimental set up with ad-hoc numerical analyses at the Phase Contrast Imaging Flagship Node Trieste.
REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
Studying abroad? Euro-BioImaging can enhance your experience!
Passionate about stem cells and genetic engineering, Marcos González López, a Master’s student in “Cell and Gene therapies” from Spain, who became a Euro-BioImaging user at the state-of-the-art CELLIM facility, part of our Advanced Light Microscopy and Medical Imaging Node Brno CZ, while pursuing his Master’s degree research. Marcos’ specific research project focusses on the regeneration and repair of teeth using in vivo model organisms, specifically, genetically modified mice. Imaging is a crucial part of this project, since Marcos must use different visualization techniques to reach a proper description of the process. Marcos reports on the unique combination of factors that lead him to apply to become a Euro-BioImaging user while studying abroad in a global pandemic.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/studying-abroad-euro-bioimaging-can-enhance-your-experience/
MARINE BIOLOGY
Meiofauna – the ocean’s next frontier
Valentin Foulon, a research engineer in marine biology, is part of the Blue Revolution program that aims to develop a taxonomic identification protocol for meiofauna. But meiofauna are hard to observe – too large to observe with traditional microscopes and yet too small to be seen with sufficient detail with the naked eye. So, Valentin contacted the Bretagne-Loire Node of France- BioImaging, in Nantes, where a range of high-end microscopes are available in open access. Using Single Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) light-sheet microscopy, and with a new sample processed protocol developed in collaboration with the Nantes’ facility, Valentin was able to image more than 200 marine meiofauna samples in full 3D. This immense dataset is now being processing for analysis with machine learning to identify the different species.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/meiofauna--the-oceans-next-frontier/
Underwater Microscopy at Israel BioImaging
What could be more exciting than observing the behavior of microscopic coral in situ? A new underwater microscope from the University of Haifa, part of Israel BioImaging, Euro-BioImaging’s new Node in Israel, allows scientists to study microscopic coral in their native environment – an unprecedented technology development that provides insight into the biology of these fascinating microorganisms - and the small-scale processes that drive large scale ecosystem change.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/underwater-microscopy-at-israel-bioimaging/
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Cryo-ET to understand how enteroviruses replicate
Enteroviruses cause a range of diverse diseases in humans, like polio or viral myocarditis. While there is a vaccine available for polio, the replication mechanisms for enteroviruses are not yet (fully) understood. Studying how enteroviruses, such as the polio virus, are formed inside human cells and how the assembled virus particles ‘escape’ and are transmitted to surrounding cells are important steps in the infection process, and support the development of vaccines against enteroviruses. That is why Marie Sorin and Bina Kumari Singh of the Carlson Lab at University of Umeå in Sweden are zooming into the processes by means of high-resolution EM techniques. They brought their infectious disease project to the EMBL Imaging Centre, part of Euro-BioImaging’s EMBL Node, with funding support from ISIDORe.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/cryo-et-to-understand-how-enteroviruses-replicate-/
Dissecting the natural history of the Malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in mosquitoes with advanced 3D electron microscopy
Pablo Suárez Cortés is a Postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin (Germany). His work focuses on understanding how Plasmodium falciparum, the primary human malaria pathogen, undergoes intricate transformations during its infection of Anopheles mosquitoes. Seeking expert advice and access to suitable state-of-the art EM imaging technologies, as well as funding opportunities to continue and advance his research, Pablo applied to Euro-BioImaging through the ISIDORe TNA Calls. This exciting opportunity evolved into a highly collaborative project with the Euro-BioImaging Advanced Light & Electron Microscopy Prague Node EM experts.
An open source image analysis tool for studying neuroinflammation linked to COVID-19
COVID-19 infection has been associated with many neurological manifestations, from neuroinflammation to impaired brain energy metabolism. In the Turku PET Centre, which is part of Euro-BioImaging’s Finnish Biomedical Imaging Node, autoradiography (ARG) is used to study brain inflammation linked to COVID-19. While ARG provides high resolution images of brain tissue, analysis of the obtained data can be very laborious. With support from the ISIDORe project, an open source, user-friendly, automated analysis pipeline was developed for aligning and processing ARG images from mouse brain. This so-called Mouse Brain Alignment Tool (MBAT) helps to increase efficiency, accuracy and reproducibility in image registration and analysis in studies aiming to better understand the characteristics and mechanisms of neuroinflammation. We spoke to the developers - Zuzana Čočková, a neuroscientist working at Charles University, Prague, and Junel Solis, an image analyst at Turku BioImaging, part of our Finnish Advanced Microscopy Node - to learn more about this tool and their work.
Multiscale multimodal 3D analysis of cardiovascular alterations/ structural features in a rhesus macaque monkey model for COVID-19
Angelika Svetlove is a PhD researcher, whose project focused on understanding the long-term cardiovascular burden of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its impact on cardiac function. She applied for access at Euro-BioImaging’s Node at the Elettra Synchrotron in Trieste via the ISIDORe project. The Phase Contrast imaging supported by the Node revealed features such as ventricular wall thickness, lumen volume, and the state of the heart valves. The high resolution CT scans provided information on the fiber orientation and the occlusion of the micro-coronary vessels. Subsequent two-photon microscopy was per- formed in the same area of the sample by making a targeted cutting with the help of the 3D reconstructed volume. Image analysis for the comparison of normal and diseased tissues is ongoing.
High-end Electron Microscopy to understand tapeworm life cycle & larval anatomy
Uriel Koziol, a professor at the Universidad de la Republica, Montevideo, Uruguay, studies parasitic tapeworms (such as Echinococcus and Taenia), a type of worm that causes serious disease in humans and livestock. Despite the threat these organisms pose to human & animal welfare, very little is known about the first larval stage of the life cycle, when it can infect a human host. Indeed, the larval organism is so small that it is impossible to study its detailed anatomy with a traditional confocal microscope. To gain insight into this critical period, Uriel Koziol applied to use Serial Blockface Scanning Electron Microscopy at the Euro-BioImaging’s Finnish Advanced Microscopy (FIAM) Node in Helsinki. In this story, Uriel Koziol explains how this state-of-the-art imaging technology has allowed him to better understand the life cycle & larval anatomy, without ever leaving his home country.
MRI as a tool to study murine models of chronic lung infection
Daniela Cirillo, San Raffaele Hospital (Milan), explains how Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can be used to study chronic lung infection induced by Non-Tubercular Mycobacteria in a murine model and evaluate both the progression of the disease and the response to innovative treatments (abstract only).
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/mri-as-a-tool-to-study-murine-models-of-chronic-lung-infection/
The properties of blood plasma viscosity in COVID-19 patients: investigated by different techniques in different regimes
Kareem Elsayad, Medical University of Vienna, will explain Brillouin Light Scattering spectroscopy was used at the Austrian BioImaging/CMI Node to study the rheological properties of healthy and pathological (COVID-19 patients with different degrees of severity) in different regimes (abstract only).
IL-15 trans-presentation is an autonomous, antigen independent process
Adám Kenesei, University of Debrecen, will tell us about FRET imaging work done at our Cellular Imaging Hungary Node, to better understand T cells and immunological memory (abstract below).
How imaging technologies contribute to understanding viruses
Euro-BioImaging offers an ever-expanding portfolio of cutting-edge imaging technologies and expertise that covers a range of applications in the life sciences – including in virology.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/how-imaging-technologies-contribute-to-understanding-viruses-/
EMBL Node contributes to understanding SARS-CoV-2 replication cycle in human cells
Understanding virus replication is a key part of any therapeutic strategy to combat COVID-19. Without this crucial piece of the puzzle, it is hard to develop drugs to suppress viral replication and virus-induced cell death. EMBL’s Electron Microscopy Core Facility, part of Euro-BioImaging’s EMBL Node, participated in a timely study to reveal the biological mechanisms driving the SARS-CoV-2 replication cycle in human cells.
CARDIOVASCULAR
Analysis of Nano-Structural Dynamics in Cardiomyocytes
Eva Rog-Zielinska, University of Freiburg, shares how dual axis electron tomography, performed in collaboration with the EMBL Node, allows for the investigation of 3D nanostructure at different stages of the contraction–relaxation cycle of individual cardiomyocytes.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/analysis-of-nano-structural-dynamics-in-cardiomyocytes/
The direction matters: SRe changes with direction in a rat model of graded diastolic dysfunction
Ida Marie Hauge-Iversen, Oslo University Hospital, explains how tissue phase mapping (TPM) Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) which she performed at the NORMOLIM Node, can be used to assess bidirectional Myocardial strain rate in the early filling phase (SRe), and potentially bring us one step closer to understanding the diastolic function of the heart.
DRUG DEVELOPMENT
Supporting the development of hydrogels for drug delivery
Francois Lux is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Lyon 1. His research interests include nanomedicines – precisely the development of nano drugs for imaging therapy and theranostics and biopolymers. Imaging, and in particular MRI, is a fundamental part of his research. In a recent project, he worked with the Molecular Imaging Italian Node to study the biodistribution, tumor uptake and excretion of a special polymer he and his colleagues developed for drug delivery in anticipation of clinical applications. Learn more about this exciting collaboration in the interview below.
https://www.eurobioimaging.eu/news/supporting-the-development-of-hydrogels-for-drug-delivery/
Intravital microscopy supports progress in nanomedicine and immunotherapy
Understanding how immune cells interact with different medications within the disease environment is at the heart of Alexandros Marios Sofias research interest. He is a principal investigator atRWTH Aachen University, whose lab focuses on understanding immune cells, designing nanomedicines, and targeting different aspects of the immune system. Multiscale imaging is crucial to his research because it enables him to assess what’s happening on the cellular, tissue and the full-body levels with different therapies. He recently visited Euro-BioImaging’s NORMOLIM Node in Trondheim, Norway, where he used very high temporal and spatial resolution intravital microscopy to visualize the tumor microenvironment in real-time. This visit was supported by the Euro-BioImaging pilot User Access fund.