Imaging modalities such as confocal reflectance microscopy, fluorescence by single- or two-photon excitation, second harmonic generation and coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) provide different contrast mechanisms that can be combined to give structural, functional and molecular information of living tissue. Our group has developed a multimodal microscope in which up to three of these imaging modalities can be realized simultaneously. Images are acquired at video rate, which allows real-time monitoring of fast events in the living tissue.

Ophthalmic imaging resolution suffers from aberrations present in the eye. With the introduction of an adaptive optics (AO) system into a scanning laser ophthalmascope (SLO) one can achieve the best possible resolution for the system. We have implemented such an AO system into a SLO designed for imaging the mouse retina.

Role of IKK-ß in Akt activation and vascular permeability. Evans blue dye was injected into a transgenic (TG) and control mouse (CM). Images were taken at 1:30 and 10:00 minutes after injection. Increased vessel leakage was shown in the TG mouse, due to the deletion of IKK-ß, which reduces activation of Akt, and increases vascular permeability.

A) Image of regulatory T cells (FOXP3-GFP) that have migrated to the islet graft after adoptive transfer. B) Image of effector T cells (U-DsRed) acquired at the same time as A. C) Co-registered image revealing natural regulatory T cells (green), effector T cells (red), and a converted regulatory T cell (yellow).

In vivo confocal and 2-photon microscopy demonstrating the extravasation of FTVI treated MSCs and subsequent migration to the bone surface in the mouse bone marrow after adoptive transfer. DiD-labeled MSCs (red), primarily line the vessel walls (green) at 1 hr after transfer A), whereas at 24 hrs B), the MSCs show a marked increase in extravasation (arrow). Second Harmonic Generation microscopy of bone (collagen, blue) reveals the close juxtaposition between the cells and the bone after 9 days. The bone image in D) is 10µm above the image in C). Bar=50µm for A-B) and 100µm for C-D).