MICROSCOPY & IMAGING
questions optoacoustics needs tools like genetically encoded reporters and sensors. Photoswitchable label proteins can help here. In our research, the light switchable signal enables us to visualise small numbers of cells against a strong background of other signals by making the label blink. You can imagine it as a lighthouse in a stormy dark night at sea. T e ability to visualise few cells in a live organism is important because many biological phenomena, especially in the immune system, rely on a small number of cells. Our aim is to one day track single labelled cells in a living organism and visualise their function – to improve our knowledge, for example, about the immune system or about tumour development.”
When asked what his next challenge
will be, Stiel comments: “We talked about visualising cells. However, cells themselves host even smaller components of life: small molecules and ions. Often such molecules fulfi ll very dedicated purposes like communication, or serving as nutrient sources or building blocks for other cellular components, hence they need to be tightly
regulated for the cell to function properly. Understanding this regulation is essential to understand life and diseases. To visualise small molecules or ions, we don’t use labels but sensors. Sensors can be envisioned like labels that are only visible if the molecule of interest is present – thus, this allows us to visualise the molecules within a cell. In our latest study, we applied our photoswitching
concept to sensors. We showed that photoswitching sensors work for optoacoustic as well as for super resolution. Indeed, the application of switchable proteins is not limited to optoacoustics but they are also important tools in super resolution fl uorescence microscopy.” Stiel concludes: “We developed a concept and a fi rst prototype – with potential for further optimisation. Together with Dierk Niessing from Helmholtz Munich we learned the details of the molecular mechanism and together with a group from KTH in Sweden (Ilaria Testa) we made the fi rst super-resolution images using this concept. T e sensors will eventually allow us to also visualise small molecule or ion distributions at nanometre resolution. For optoacoustics our goal is to use them to follow small molecules in a whole live animal – that’s the challenge for the next fi ve years.”
Andre C Stiel heads up the Cell Engineering Group
For more information about Andre C. Stiel and his team’s work, visit
www.helmholtz-munich.de
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