Cutting edge Seminar

 

Speaker: Takahiro Kuchimaru（Professor, Division of Bioconvergence, Center for Molecular Imaging, Jichi Medical University）

Title: Genetically-encoded bioluminescence/fluorescence tools for multiscale imaging of cellular events in deep animal tissues

Date&Time: 3 June (wed)　12：00-13：00

Venue: Conference Room(1F), IMEG, Kumamoto University

※This seminar can also be attended through ZOOM. Please check the URL on “S-HIGO Cutting-Edge Seminar A, B” at Moodle.

https://md.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/course/view.php?id=136783

 

Abstract:

We have developed genetically-encoded bioluminescence/fluorescence tools for multiscale imaging of cellular events in deep animal tissues. Specifically, we have developed synthetic near-infrared bioluminescence reactions that surpass the natural reaction in sensitivity, enabling improved detection of targets in deep tissues (1-3). In addition, these near-infrared bioluminescence systems provide high temporal resolution, paving the way for molecular imaging modality of freely moving animals (4).
Noninvasive bioluminescence imaging in animal models has strong potential in combination with single-cell genetic profiling of tissue-comprising cells. In particular, cell-cell interactions play pivotal roles in tissue homeostasis and disease progression. These days, spatial single-cell transcriptomics has emerged as a powerful approach to study cell-cell interactions in animal tissues. However, current methods—primarily based on computational inference or tissue section–based analyses—often involve trade-offs between sequencing depth and spatial resolution. To bridge this gap, we developed sGRAPHIC, a genetic tool for fluorescently labeling cell-cell interactions in living tissues and isolating labeled cells for single-cell transcriptomics (5). This optical labeling-based omics approach can be further enhanced by integration with multi-omics analysis beyond transcriptomics.