New method enables 3D microscopy of human organs

Date:
September 13, 2021
Source:
Umea University
Summary:
Researchers have now demonstrated a method by which specific cell
types in human organs can be studied with micrometer precision. The
method can be used to reveal previously unrecognized alterations in
the pancreas, but it can also be used to study other human organs
and diseases.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at Umeaa University, Sweden, now demonstrate a method by
which specific cell types in human organs can be studied with micrometer precision.

The method can be used to reveal previously unrecognised alterations
in the pancreas, but it can also be used to study other human organs
and diseases.


========================================================================== "This method may contribute to an advanced understanding of how cellular changes are related to different disease conditions," says Ulf Ahlgren, Professor of molecular medicine at Umeaa University.

What the researchers have done is to divide the organs by the use of a 3D- printed matrix, creating portions of tissue with the optimal size for
optical imaging using 3D technology. These pieces can then be labelled
to visualize essentially any cell type or protein of choice. Since each
bit of tissue has known coordinates, the individual 3D images can be
pieced together using a computer into a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle
to form an intact human organ.

This method makes it possible to create high-resolution 3D images
of human organs in practically any size, with maintained micrometer
precision -- which is smaller than a dust particle. Previously, it has
been possible to create high-resolution images of biological material
with the use of technology such as optical projection tomography and
light sheet fluorescence microscopy, which is something the researchers
have used also in this study. Instead, the problem has been that previous methods have offered no usable way of labelling the various cell types or proteins you wish to study, for instance using fluorescent antibodies,
when you are studying specimen on a larger scale, such as an entire
organ. This is the problem that the new method has now solved.

The Umeaa researchers have used the method to study the human
pancreas. Inside the pancreas, you will find hundreds of thousands of insulin-producing cells called the Islets of Langerhans. These islets
hold a key function in the production of insulin and are hence a key
element in diabetes when the production is disturbed. Using this new
method, the researchers are able to demonstrate previously unrecognised features of the human pancreatic anatomy and pathology, including areas
with extremely high islet density. Their results may have implications
for anything from preclinical to clinical areas, for instance to
improve islet transplantation protocols for people with diabetes, or
when developing non-invasive clinical imaging to study the pancreas in
people with diabetes.

"Beside using the new method to study diabetes, it can also improve understanding of other pancreatic diseases, not least pancreatic cancers,
and we have initiated collaborations with clinical researchers in Umeaa
to look into that. But the technology itself should be possible to use to
study other organs and diseases in similar ways since it enables the study
of where cellular changes take place in a full organ context, their amount
and relationship to nearby tissues and cell types" says Ulf Ahlgren.

The published study was performed in collaboration with researchers at
Uppsala University and was funded by the Swedish Research Council, the
Swedish Childhood Diabetes Foundation, Diabetes Wellness Sverige, the NovoNordisk Foundation, the Kempe Foundations and Umeaa University. The
study was published in the journal Communications Biology.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Umea_University. Original written
by Ola Nilsson. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Max Hahn, Christoffer Nord, Maria Eriksson, Federico Morini, Tomas
Alanentalo, Olle Korsgren, Ulf Ahlgren. 3D imaging of
human organs with micrometer resolution - applied to the
endocrine pancreas. Communications Biology, 2021; 4 (1) DOI:
10.1038/s42003-021-02589-x ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210913135704.htm

--- up 1 week, 4 days, 8 hours, 25 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)