Cutting-edge Spectral sorter to drive in-depth analysis of cell states and activity in complex tissue environments

尖端的光谱分选仪可推动复杂组织环境中细胞状态和活动的深入分析

• 批准号: BB/V019287/1
• 负责人: Joanne Konkel
• 金额: $ 61.35万
• 依托单位: University of Manchester
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FV019287%2F1
• 关键词: Cutting; edge; Spectral; sorter; drive

Our body is composed of trillions of cells, which form the specialised tissues and organs that allow us to function normally. To understand how our body works, it is critical to understand the biology of our cells; how they communicate with each other, how they perform their specialised functions, and how they change as we age or are injured. Our tissues are made up of many different types of cell, so to study how specific types of cell work, it is vital that we can identify and isolate individual cells from within complex samples. A powerful technique to do this is flow cytometry, which allows researchers to identify different types of cells based on markers they express, and then subsequently isolate and purify these cells based on these markers. In this way researchers are able to isolate defined populations of cells for subsequent in-depth analysis of their function. This supports detailed insight into how cells develop and function to promote health, and how this changes during ageing or following injury. As such, isolation of cells using flow cytometric sorters underpins a plethora of research areas across biology aiding fundamental insight into how cells function to promote health.Isolation of specific and well-characterized populations of cells has become even more important in recent years; as there has been an explosion in our understanding of cell diversity. For most cell types examined, we now know that there are many different versions of what were initial thought to be the same cell. Thus, heterogeneity within a single population of cells has now been well described; what we now need to understand is how this cell diversity underpins and ensures health. This requires isolation of these different cell populations, which currently cannot be achieved at the University of Manchester. Here we request funds to purchase a Bigfoot Spectral Cell sorter, to allow isolation and purification of cells based upon 45-parameters. This will greatly facilitate the research of the applicant consortium speeding up progress of existing projects and making new projects possible. This equipment will support work from a variety of priority research areas including immunology, microbiome and microbiology research, the biology of aging, neuroscience, cell biology, developmental biology and systems biology. Immediately, acquisition of a Bigfoot sorter will benefit at least 24 groups of highly productive, and well regarded, scientists at the University of Manchester. This equipment will also enhance the training of the next generation of scientists, providing skills in cutting-edge spectral flow cytometry. In sum, the Bigfoot sorter will greatly progress the research of the consortium, enabling interdisciplinary research that will provide in-depth knowledge of the cellular mechanisms that safeguard health.

我们的身体由数万亿个细胞组成，这些细胞形成特殊的组织和器官，使我们能够正常运作。要了解我们的身体是如何工作的，关键是要了解我们细胞的生物学;它们如何相互交流，它们如何执行其专门功能，以及它们如何随着我们的年龄或受伤而变化。我们的组织由许多不同类型的细胞组成，因此要研究特定类型的细胞如何工作，我们必须能够从复杂的样本中识别和分离单个细胞。一种强大的技术是流式细胞术，它允许研究人员根据它们表达的标志物识别不同类型的细胞，然后根据这些标志物分离和纯化这些细胞。通过这种方式，研究人员能够分离出确定的细胞群，以便随后对其功能进行深入分析。这有助于详细了解细胞如何发育和发挥作用以促进健康，以及在衰老或受伤后如何变化。因此，使用流式细胞仪分离细胞是生物学众多研究领域的基础，有助于深入了解细胞如何促进健康。近年来，随着我们对细胞多样性的理解不断加深，分离特异性和良好特征的细胞群变得更加重要。对于检查的大多数细胞类型，我们现在知道最初认为是同一细胞的细胞有许多不同的版本。因此，单一细胞群体内的异质性现在已经得到了很好的描述;我们现在需要了解的是这种细胞多样性如何支撑和确保健康。这需要分离这些不同的细胞群，这在曼彻斯特大学目前无法实现。在这里，我们要求资金购买大脚光谱细胞分选机，允许基于45个参数的细胞分离和纯化。这将大大方便申请财团的研究，加快现有项目的进度，并使新项目成为可能。这些设备将支持各种优先研究领域的工作，包括免疫学，微生物组和微生物学研究，衰老生物学，神经科学，细胞生物学，发育生物学和系统生物学。收购一台大脚分类机将立即使曼彻斯特大学至少24组高产且备受推崇的科学家受益。该设备还将加强对下一代科学家的培训，提供尖端光谱流式细胞术的技能。总而言之，大脚分类器将极大地推进该联盟的研究，使跨学科研究能够深入了解保护健康的细胞机制。