[MOS] November 27, 2007

[Zina Queen]

Seminar on
Modern Optics and Spectroscopy


Charles Lin,
Massachusetts General Hospital

In vivo cell tracking

November 27, 2007

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Grier Room 34-401


The term "cell trafficking" describes the process by which certain 
cell populations in the body move from one organ or tissue 
compartment into another.  For example, in an immune reaction, 
antigen-presenting cells traffic from peripheral tissue to the local 
lymph nodes where they encounter and activate T cells.  The latter in 
turn traffic to the site of injury or infection to carry out the 
immune response.  In cancer metastasis, malignant cells spread from 
the primary tumor to distant organs by trafficking through blood or 
lymphatic vessels.  Uncovering the cellular mechanisms involved in 
these processes is important in developing treatment strategies that 
improve immune response and reduce cancer metastasis.  The ability to 
direct cell trafficking to the proper destination is also crucial in 
new cell-based therapies such as stem cell transplantation. 
Techniques that can track the cell population of interest in vivo and 
over time will be immensely helpful in the study of these biological 
processes that are inherently dynamic in nature.  We describe an 
integrated approach combining multiple imaging platforms to i) track 
populations of cells in live animals using whole body 
(bioluminescence) imaging; ii) detect and count individual cells in 
the circulation using in vivo flow cytometry; and iii) visualize the 
dynamics of single cells and their interactions with the local 
microenvironment using in vivo microscopy.  The three modalities 
provide complimentary information and can be performed in the same 
animal over time to monitor disease progression and response to 
therapy.
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