Cellular Fluorescence-Contractility Imaging System

细胞荧光收缩成像系统

• 批准号: 6877423
• 负责人: MICHAEL E MENDELSOHN
• 金额: $ 10.75万
• 依托单位: TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-04-01 至 2006-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6877423
• 关键词: bioimaging /biomedical imaging; biological signal transduction; biomedical equipment purchase; calcium; cardiac myocytes; fluorescence; heart contraction; muscle relaxation; protein localization; protein structure function; vascular smooth muscle

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI) at the New England Medical Center is devoted to the exploration of the molecular mechanisms that underlie human cardiovascular diseases. MCRI investigators use in vitro molecular biological, cell biological and transgenic approaches to identify and validate new therapeutic targets. The investigators within the MCRI pursue varied, yet complementary avenues of research--the vast majority of which are NIH-supported. Two broad areas of research within the MCRI include vascular and cardiomyocyte biology. We examine the normal and pathophysiologic regulation and function of vasomotor tone, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and apoptosis, cardiac development and cell proliferation. A common focus for many of the NIH-funded MCRI Investigators--those who comprise the Investigators in this proposal--is mechanisms that regulate contraction and relaxation of cardiac and vascular myocytes. In order to understand the molecular events that regulate cardiac myocyte and vascular smooth muscle cell contraction and relaxation, cellular and biochemical events are studied extensively in cultured cardiac and vascular cells, which are routinely generated, passaged and stored in our cell culture facilities. This is an efficient system for the study of cardiovascular signaling that minimizes the use of intact animals. However, at present we do not have the capacity to provide sophisticated physiological analysis of cell signaling and cell contraction and relaxation in single cells. The MCRI has thus identified the need for an imaging apparatus that can simultaneously measure cell contraction and relaxation and perform highresolution fluorescence imaging in real-time. These goals are focused on acquiring new technology in two areas: calcium imaging related to cell contraction, and signal transduction pathways and fluorescence detection of proteins to study their activity and intracellular localization. Thus, based on ongoing programs and increasing needs within the MCRI for the capacity to study cardiac and vascular cell physiology, the purpose of this proposal is to gain the support needed to build a highly integrated cell imaging system to measure real-time single cell contraction relaxation and simultaneous calcium transients. Acquisition of this system will facilitate the extensive and complementary studies of cardiovascular signal transduction within our institution.

描述（由申请人提供）：新英格兰医学中心分子心脏病研究所（MCRI）致力于探索人类心血管疾病的分子机制。MCRI研究人员使用体外分子生物学、细胞生物学和转基因方法来识别和验证新的治疗靶点。MCRI的研究人员追求各种各样的，但互补的研究途径，其中绝大多数是美国国立卫生研究院支持的。MCRI的两大研究领域包括血管和心肌细胞生物学。我们研究了血管舒缩张力、心肌细胞肥大和凋亡、心脏发育和细胞增殖的正常和病理生理调节和功能。许多美国国立卫生研究院资助的MCRI研究人员（包括本提案中的研究人员）共同关注的是调节心脏和血管肌细胞收缩和松弛的机制。为了了解调节心肌细胞和血管平滑肌细胞收缩和舒张的分子事件，我们在培养的心脏和血管细胞中广泛研究了细胞和生化事件，这些细胞和血管细胞是在我们的细胞培养设施中常规产生、传代和储存的。这是一个研究心血管信号的有效系统，最大限度地减少了对完整动物的使用。然而，目前我们还没有能力对单个细胞的细胞信号传导和细胞收缩和松弛进行复杂的生理分析。因此，MCRI已经确定需要一种能够同时测量细胞收缩和松弛并实时进行高分辨率荧光成像的成像设备。这些目标集中在两个领域获得新技术：与细胞收缩相关的钙成像，以及研究蛋白质活性和细胞内定位的信号转导途径和荧光检测。