Confocal Microscope for Live Embryo Imaging in a Shared Resource Facility

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案申请购买活胚胎/活组织激光扫描共聚焦显微镜的资金。蔡司LSM710活胚胎/活组织共聚焦仪器将被纳入范德比尔特大学的细胞成像共享资源（CISR），在那里它将允许来自范德比尔特研究界的用户进行3d胚胎发生和组织形态发生的长期研究。这里详细介绍的蔡司LSM710共聚焦系统是专门为活胚胎和培养组织的长期动态研究配置的。具体来说，该系统提高了灵敏度，允许研究人员使用更少的激光能量和曝光时间。该系统增加的灵敏度允许活体样品的可视化，同时最大限度地减少激发激光的损伤。一个复杂的活胚胎/组织培养系统将保持精确的生理条件，稳定的温度、湿度、pH值和氧张力，用于胚胎发生和组织形态发生的长期研究。因此，这种共聚焦成像系统的特殊功能将为研究人员提供研究细胞和分子事件的能力，这些事件指导多种器官在发育过程中使用新的、最先进的方法进行三维形态发生。主要用户群由美国国立卫生研究院资助的来自范德比尔特多个部门的发育生物学家组成。他们的具体研究项目将使用活胚胎蔡司LSM710共聚焦显微镜来研究胚胎和胎儿的多个组织和器官的发育，包括前肠、脉络膜丛、胰腺、肺、肾和心脏。该系统的灵活性将允许使用来自多个物种的许多不同模型系统进行研究。作为范德比尔特CISR的一部分，所有主要用户都将获得有关仪器的专家培训，并将通过已建立的CISR基础设施访问仪器。范德比尔特CISR管理着300多个实验室小组的各种显微镜资源，并得到范德比尔特大学的杰出机构支持。即使在范德比尔特CISR中有大量可用的资源，蔡司LSM710通过允许长期研究三维形态发生填补了一个巨大的空白。因此，将蔡司LSM710纳入范德比尔特细胞成像共享资源将为美国国立卫生研究院资助的研究人员提供一种更具创新性的方法来研究发育生物学和组织工程中的重要问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests funds for purchasing a Live Embryo/Live Tissue laser scanning confocal microscope. The Zeiss LSM710 live embryo/live tissue confocal instrument will be incorporated into the Cell Imaging Shared Resource (CISR) at Vanderbilt University, where it will allow users from across the Vanderbilt research community to perform long-term studies of 3-D embryogenesis and tissue morphogenesis. The Zeiss LSM710 confocal system detailed here is especially configured for long-term dynamic studies of living embryos and cultured tissues. Specifically, this system has increased sensitivity, allowing investigators to use reduced laser energy and exposure times. The increased sensitivity of this system allows visualization of living samples while minimizing damage from the excitation laser. A sophisticated live embryo/tissue incubator system will maintain exact physiological conditions with stable temperature, humidity, pH, and oxygen tension for long-term studies of embryogenesis and tissue morphogenesis. The specialized features of this confocal imaging system will therefore provide investigators with the ability to study the cellular and molecular events guiding 3-dimensional morphogenesis of multiple organs during development using new, state of the art approaches. The major user group consists of NIH-funded developmental biologists from multiple Vanderbilt Departments. Their specific research projects will use the Live Embryo Zeiss LSM710 confocal microscope to study embryonal and fetal development of multiple tissues and organs, including, foregut, choroid plexus, pancreas, lung, kidney, and heart. The flexibility of this system will allow studies using many different model systems from multiple species. As part of the Vanderbilt CISR, all major users will obtain expert training on the instrument and will have access to the instrument through the established CISR infrastructure. The Vanderbilt CISR manages a wide variety of microscopy resources for over 300 lab groups and receives outstanding institutional support from Vanderbilt University. Even with the extensive resources available in the Vanderbilt CISR, the Zeiss LSM710 fills a large void by allowing long-term studies of 3-dimensional morphogenesis. The inclusion of the Zeiss LSM710 in the Vanderbilt Cell Imaging Shared Resource will therefore provide NIH-funded investigators with a significantly more innovative approach to study important questions in developmental biology and tissue engineering.