Microscope for multiplexed antibody-based imaging

迄今为止，包括scRNA-seq和CyTOF在内的单细胞分辨率研究主要集中在分析从组织中分离的细胞群，其中丢失了关键的空间背景和信息。然而，最近在显微镜技术的进步，承诺克服这些限制;成像方法，利用高度复用显微镜承诺同时配置文件的表达几十个或几百个蛋白质的单细胞内的空间位置被保存。这里所应用的设备是一个基于循环免疫荧光显微镜的全自动、高度复用的成像平台。该技术能够在同一组织切片上调查几十种抗原的表达谱。它的主要目的是让明斯特大学免疫学、肿瘤学、神经病理学和生殖医学研究领域的研究人员通过整合空间背景和多路复用抗原分辨率来应用基于图像的细胞分析方法。利用这种最先进的显微镜技术，其目的是使明斯特成像网络，特别是实验病理学研究所，能够在整个组织切片中以亚细胞分辨率生成蛋白质表达的定量和空间分辨图。

To date, studies at single-cell resolution including scRNA-seq and CyTOF have focused on profiling populations of cells dissociated from tissues, where the crucial spatial context and information is lost. However, recent advances in microscopy techniques promise to overcome these limitations; imaging approaches that exploit highly multiplexed microscopy promise to simultaneously profile the expression of tens or hundreds of proteins within single cells whose spatial location is preserved. The device applied for here is a fully automated, highly multiplexed imaging platform based on cyclic immunofluorescence microscopy. This technique enables to survey expression profiles of several dozens of antigens on the very same tissue section. It is primarily intended to allow researchers at the University of Münster in the research areas of immunology, oncology, neuropathology, and reproductive medicine to apply an image-based cell profiling method by integrating spatial context and multiplexed antigen resolution. With the power of this state-of-the-art microscopy technique, the aim is to enable the Imaging Network Münster, and in particular the Institute of Experimental Pathology, to generate quantitative and spatially resolved maps of protein expression at subcellular resolution across an entire tissue section.