In vivo imaging of lymphocyte trafficking.
Over the past decades, intravital microscopy (IVM), the imaging of cells in living organisms, has become a valuable tool for studying the molecular determinants of lymphocyte trafficking. Recent advances in microscopy now make it possible to image cell migration and cell-cell interactions in vivo deep within intact tissues. Here, we summarize the principal techniques that are currently used in IVM, discuss options and tools for fluorescence-based visualization of lymphocytes in microvessels and tissues, and describe IVM models used to explore lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs. The latter will be introduced according to the physiologic itinerary of developing and differentiating T and B lymphocytes as they traffic through the body, beginning with their development in bone marrow and thymus and continuing with their migration to secondary lymphoid organs and peripheral tissues.
Halin
Cornelia
C
The CBR Institute for Biomedical Research and the Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA. halin@cbr.med.harvard.edu
Mora
J Rodrigo
JR
Sumen
Cenk
C
von Andrian
Ulrich H
UH
D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology*; D036641:Microscopy, Fluorescence, Multiphoton; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D018448:Models, Immunological; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology