High Resolution Confocal Spinning Disk Microscope

• Subject Area: Basic Research in Biology and Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 471222118

The chair for “Computational Biology of Spatial Biomedical Systems” of Prof. Dominic Grün at the Institute of Systems Immunology at Julius-Maximilians University Würzburg applies for the procurement of a confocal spinning disk microscope, which is used specifically for performing multiplexed single-molecule FISH using the seqFISH + method. This highly innovative method allows for the simultaneous quantification of the mRNA expression of thousands of genes in tissue sections with single molecule resolution. Based on such image data, the cell type architecture of tissues can be characterized de novo, whereby a limitation to a few cell type markers, as in conventional single-molecule FISH or antibody-based fluorescence analysis, is avoided. Thus, cell type co-localizations in tissue can be measured without any prior assumption, and cell-cell interactions can be derived from the almost genome-wide expression patterns, which are critical for the differentiation of cells and their function in the tissue network. For example, this approach allows deeper insights into the interaction between the immune system and tissue cell types. A planned application example is the exploration of changes in the bone marrow microenvironment during the development of leukemia, with the aim of investigating cell types in the microenvironment as new therapeutic targets.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Hochauflösendes Konfokales Spinning Disk Mikroskop
• Instrumentation Group: 5090 Spezialmikroskope
• Applicant Institution: Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
• Leader: Professor Dr. Dominic Grün