TY - JOUR
T1 - High-resolution imaging of living gut mucosa: lymphocyte clusters beneath intestinal M cells are highly dynamic structures
AU - Fischer, Tobias
AU - Klinger, Antje
AU - von Smolinski, Dorthe
AU - Orzekowsky-Schroeder, Regina
AU - Nitzsche, Falk
AU - Bölke, Torsten
AU - Vogel, Alfred
AU - Hüttmann, Gereon
AU - Gebert, Andreas
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the German research foundation (DFG), Projects No.: Ge 647/9; Ge 647/10; HU 629/3; HU 629/4; INST 1757/15-1 FUGG.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/6/1
Y1 - 2020/6/1
N2 - In the Peyer’s patches of the small intestine, specialized epithelial cells, the membranous (M) cells, sample antigenic matter from the gut lumen and bring it into contact with cells of the immune system, which are then capable of initiating specific immune reactions. Using autofluorescence 2-photon (A2P) microscopy, we imaged living intestinal mucosa at a 0.5-μm resolution. We identified individual M cells without the aid of a marker and in vivo analyzed their sampling function over hours. Time-lapse recordings revealed that lymphocytes associated with M cells display a remarkable degree of motility with average speed rates of 8.2 μm/min, to form new M cell–associated lymphocyte clusters within less than 15 min. The lymphocytes drastically deform the M cells’ cytoplasm and laterally move from one lymphocyte cluster to the next. This implies that the micro-compartment beneath M cells is a highly efficient container to bring potentially harmful antigens into contact with large numbers of immunocompetent cells. Our setup opens a new window for high-resolution 3D imaging of functional processes occurring in lymphoid and mucosal tissues.
AB - In the Peyer’s patches of the small intestine, specialized epithelial cells, the membranous (M) cells, sample antigenic matter from the gut lumen and bring it into contact with cells of the immune system, which are then capable of initiating specific immune reactions. Using autofluorescence 2-photon (A2P) microscopy, we imaged living intestinal mucosa at a 0.5-μm resolution. We identified individual M cells without the aid of a marker and in vivo analyzed their sampling function over hours. Time-lapse recordings revealed that lymphocytes associated with M cells display a remarkable degree of motility with average speed rates of 8.2 μm/min, to form new M cell–associated lymphocyte clusters within less than 15 min. The lymphocytes drastically deform the M cells’ cytoplasm and laterally move from one lymphocyte cluster to the next. This implies that the micro-compartment beneath M cells is a highly efficient container to bring potentially harmful antigens into contact with large numbers of immunocompetent cells. Our setup opens a new window for high-resolution 3D imaging of functional processes occurring in lymphoid and mucosal tissues.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078152504&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00441-020-03167-z
DO - 10.1007/s00441-020-03167-z
M3 - Journal articles
C2 - 31970486
AN - SCOPUS:85078152504
SN - 0302-766X
VL - 380
SP - 539
EP - 546
JO - Cell and Tissue Research
JF - Cell and Tissue Research
IS - 3
ER -