Metabolic imaging using the phasor approach to FLIM and tracking phenotypic change of mitochondria in cancer cells with Mitometer
Michelle Digman
(UC IRvine)
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Date: Oct 20, 2021
Description:
In this talk I will discuss the phasor approach technique in fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) as a novel method to measure metabolic alteration as a function of extracellular matrix (ECM) mechanics. To measure mitochondria contribution to metabolic switching, we developed a new algorithm called “mitometer” that is unbiased and allows for automated segmentation and tracking of mitochondria in live cell 2D and 3D time-lapse images. I will show how Mitometer measures mitochondria of triple-negative breast cancer cells. Results show they are faster, more directional, and more elongated than those in their receptor-positive counterparts. Furthermore, Mitometer shows that mitochondrial motility and morphology in breast cancer, but not in normal breast epithelia, correlate with fractions of the reduced form of NADH. Together, the automated segmentation and tracking algorithms and the innate user interface make Mitometer a broadly accessible tool.
Further Information:
Michelle Digman is Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Director of W.M. Keck Nanoimaging Lab at the University of California Irvine. She is also the co-investigator of the Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics (funded by NIH) and the co-equity advisor for the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UCI. Professor Digman and her research group are developing new approaches to fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), hyperspectral imaging microscopy and bioluminescence imaging. Her group also develops and applies quantitative spatial and temporal correlation spectroscopies for protein mapping protein diffusion, mapping protein aggregation, and mapping fluorescence diffusion of molecular flow in living cells.
Created: Thursday, October 21st, 2021