title: Imaging cellular responses to mechanical stimuli within three-dimensional tissue constructs.
abstract: The cellular response to environmental cues is complex, involving both structural and functional changes within the cell. Our understanding of this response is facilitated by microscopy techniques, but has been limited by our ability to image cell structure and function deep in highly-scattering tissues or 3D constructs. A novel multimodal microscopy technique that combines coherent and incoherent imaging for simultaneous visualization of structural and functional properties of cells and engineered tissues is demonstrated. This microscopic technique allows for the simultaneous acquisition of optical coherence microscopy and multiphoton microscopy data with particular emphasis for applications in cell biology and tissue engineering. The capability of this technique is shown using representative 3D cell and tissue engineering cultures consisting of primary fibroblasts from transgenic green fluorescent protein (GFP) mice and GFP-vinculin transfected fibroblasts. Imaging is performed following static and dynamic mechanically-stimulating culture conditions. The microscopy technique presented here reveals unique complementary data on the structure and function of cells and their adhesions and interactions with the surrounding microenvironment.
authors.affiliation: Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vinegoni
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.forename: Tejal A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Desai
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Boppart
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins