Seminar on
Modern Optics and Spectroscopy


Charles Lin, Massachusetts General Hospital

"In vivo cell tracking"

November 27, 2007

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


Abstract:

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.

TUESDAYS, 12:00-1:00, GRIER ROOM (34-401)
Refreshments served following the seminar

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Co-sponsored by the George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory,
the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and
the School of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.