title: Seeing is believing - multi-scale spatio-temporal imaging towards in vivo cell biology.
abstract: Life is driven by a set of biological events that are naturally dynamic and tightly orchestrated from the single molecule to entire organisms. Although biochemistry and molecular biology have been essential in deciphering signaling at a cellular and organismal level, biological imaging has been instrumental for unraveling life processes across multiple scales. Imaging methods have considerably improved over the past decades and now allow to grasp the inner workings of proteins, organelles, cells, organs and whole organisms. Not only do they allow us to visualize these events in their most-relevant context but also to accurately quantify underlying biomechanical features and, so, provide essential information for their understanding. In this Commentary, we review a palette of imaging (and biophysical) methods that are available to the scientific community for elucidating a wide array of biological events. We cover the most-recent developments in intravital imaging, light-sheet microscopy, super-resolution imaging, and correlative light and electron microscopy. In addition, we illustrate how these technologies have led to important insights in cell biology, from the molecular to the whole-organism resolution. Altogether, this review offers a snapshot of the current and state-of-the-art imaging methods that will contribute to the understanding of life and disease.
authors: Microenvironmental Niche in Tumorigenesis and Targeted Therapy, Inserm U1109, MN3T, Strasbourg F-67200, France.|Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France.|LabEx Medalis, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, F-67000, France.|Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), Strasbourg F-67000, France.
authors: Gautier
authors: G
authors: Follain
authors: Microenvironmental Niche in Tumorigenesis and Targeted Therapy, Inserm U1109, MN3T, Strasbourg F-67200, France.|Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France.|LabEx Medalis, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, F-67000, France.|Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), Strasbourg F-67000, France.
authors: Luc
authors: L
authors: Mercier
authors: Microenvironmental Niche in Tumorigenesis and Targeted Therapy, Inserm U1109, MN3T, Strasbourg F-67200, France.|Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France.|LabEx Medalis, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, F-67000, France.|Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), Strasbourg F-67000, France.
authors: Naël
authors: N
authors: Osmani
authors: Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France.|DON: Optique ultrarapide et nanophotonique, IPCMS UMR7504, Strasbourg 67000, France.|LabEx NIE, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France.
authors: Sébastien
authors: S
authors: Harlepp
authors: Microenvironmental Niche in Tumorigenesis and Targeted Therapy, Inserm U1109, MN3T, Strasbourg F-67200, France jacky.goetz@inserm.fr.|Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg F-67000, France.|LabEx Medalis, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, F-67000, France.|Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg (FMTS), Strasbourg F-67000, France.
authors: Jacky G
authors: 0000-0003-2842-8116
authors: JG
authors: Goetz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003585:Cell Biology; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008954:Models, Biological; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis
keywords: 1PEM; 2PEM; CLEM; Cell biology; Imaging; In vivo imaging; LSFM; SIM; SPIM; STED microscopy