Characterization of Single-Cell Migration Using a Computer-Aided Fluorescence Time-Lapse Videomicroscopy System (original) (raw)
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The systematic study of single-cell migration requires the availability of software for assisting data inspection, quality control and analysis. This is especially important for high-throughput experiments, where multiple biological conditions are tested in parallel. Although the field of cell migration can count on different computational tools for cell segmentation and tracking, downstream data visualization, parameter extraction and statistical analysis are still left to the user and are currently not possible within a single tool. This article presents a completely new module for the open-source, cross-platform CellMissy software for cell migration data management. This module is the first tool to focus specifically on single-cell migration data downstream of image processing. It allows fast comparison across all tested conditions, providing automated data visualization, assisted data filtering and quality control, extraction of various commonly used cell migration parameters, a...
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Time-lapse imaging of biological samples is important for understanding complex (patho)physiological processes. A growing number of point-of-care biomedical assays rely on real-time imaging of flowing or migrating cells. However, the cost and complexity of integrating experimental models simulating physiologically relevant microenvironments with bulky imaging systems that offer sufficient spatiotemporal resolution limit the use of time-lapse assays in research and clinical settings. This paper introduces a compact and affordable lens-free imaging (LFI) device based on the principle of coherent in-line, digital holography for time-lapse cell migration assays. The LFI device combines single-cell resolution (1.2 μm) with a large field of view (6.4 × 4.6 mm(2)), thus rendering it ideal for high-throughput applications and removing the need for expensive and bulky programmable motorized stages. The set-up is so compact that it can be housed in a standard cell culture incubator, thereby a...
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We describe here a simple and fast method for the characterisation of cell motion. By projecting on a single plane different positions of the cell a ribbon is generated, whose characteristics can be related to the type of motion. The proposed method allows both to determine, very quickly, the motility of a population of cells and to investigate and characterise properties of a single cell’s motion. The methodology presented here can be applied to a large range of cell movement and also adapted and extended to other problems involving biological motion.