Confocal multiphoton laser-scanning-microscope

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: Funded in 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 507602420

The present application aims at the procurement of a confocal and multiphoton laser scanning microscope (MPLSM) for the in vivo and in situ study of mouse and human pancreas. Main focus of the work related to the MPLSM will be the investigation of pancreatic islet of Langerhans biology in health, diabetes pathogenesis and therapy. In its specific configuration the MPLSM will serve as the key instrumentation of two innovative technical platforms our group has pioneered and established, and through which our laboratory has reached a worldwide unique experimental profile. These platforms include the non-invasive longitudinal in vivo imaging of transplanted islets of Langerhans within the anterior chamber of the eye (Speier et al., 2008a), and the in situ imaging of pancreas cell physiology in acute and cultured tissue slices (Cohrs et al., 2020b). Hereby, the anterior chamber of the eye platform allows for the first time to study human and rodent islet cell biology over prolonged time periods, ranging from several days to multiple months, in a systemic setting in vivo. Moreover, the novel tissue slice platform enables in situ investigations of the rodent pancreas, but more importantly, has initiated the first studies of viable human pancreas tissue from organ and tissue donors. In addition to the study of endocrine pancreas physiology and pathophysiology these platforms provide new means to study potential cellular and medicinal therapies as well as diagnostic tools for diabetes. Thereby, our projects will address aspects in three main areas: 1) type 1 diabetes (T1D), 2) Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and 3) Cell Therapy.The here requested MPLSM is essential as replacement for the currently utilized imaging system. The current MPLSM has been successfully employed for more than a decade to develop these platforms in mouse models and adapt the technology to the use of human tissue. These studies have led to numerous publications, several in high-impact research journals. Furthermore, it has helped to establish numerous successful local, national and international collaborations and acquire significant third-party funding. The replacement is necessary as heavy use and age are leading to an increasing number and rate of technical issues while at the same time maintenance and repair service options for this type of machine are being ended by the manufacturer. Replacement of this device with a technically significantly advanced MPLSM will not only ensure continuation, but also expansion of the successful use of our platforms. Based on our experience, we anticipate the ongoing and planned projects, including a significant number of local, national and international collaborations, to amount to an annual use of approximately 4000 hours of the requested MPLSM.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Konfokales Multiphotonen Laser-Scanning-Mikroskop
• Instrumentation Group: 5090 Spezialmikroskope
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Dresden
• Leader: Professor Dr. Stephan Speier