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Application of Fluorescence Imaging and Super-Resolution Imaging in Molecular Biology

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biophysics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2025 | Viewed by 2411

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
KMU Biobank Center, Institute of Biomedical Science, Kansai Medical University, 573-1010 Hirakata, Japan
Interests: super-resolution imaging; molecular biology; neuroscience; hippocampus; new CA2 region; new technologies; BDNF

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent inventions of super-resolution microscopies have induced a revolution in molecular biology and enabled us to see various biological molecules, organelles, cells, and disease events at the nanoscale. In addition, evolutions of fluorescence imaging technologies have also contributed to progress in various areas of molecular biology. International Journal of Molecular Sciences will publish a Special Issue in 2023 to highlight studies in molecular biology that use fluorescence imaging and super-resolution microscopy.

We therefore invite reviews and research articles on the application of fluorescence imaging in molecular biology and super-resolution imaging in molecular biology.

We will collect a series of articles that include fluorescence imaging and super-resolution imaging in molecular biology, molecular disease biology, and methodologies of fluorescence and super-resolution imaging.

The related topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Fluorescence imaging of biomolecules or organelles;
  • Fluorescence imaging of the morphologies of cells;
  • Fluorescence imaging in iPS cells or organoids;
  • Fluorescence imaging in animal disease models;
  • Methodologies of fluorescence imaging for molecular biology;
  • Super-resolution imaging of biomolecules or organelles;
  • Super-resolution imaging of the morphologies of cells;
  • Super-resolution imaging in animal disease models;
  • Super-resolution imaging in iPS cells or organoids;
  • Methodologies of super-resolution microscopies for molecular biology.

Dr. Keigo Kohara
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • fluorescence imaging
  • super-resolution imaging
  • molecular biology
  • disease
  • biomolecules
  • organelles
  • morphologies of cells
  • iPS cells
  • organoids
  • molecular biology

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 7912 KiB  
Article
Altered Endoplasmic Reticulum Integrity and Organelle Interactions in Living Cells Expressing INF2 Variants
by Quynh Thuy Huong Tran, Naoyuki Kondo, Hiroko Ueda, Yoshiyuki Matsuo and Hiroyasu Tsukaguchi
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(18), 9783; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25189783 - 10 Sep 2024
Viewed by 399
Abstract
The cytoskeleton mediates fundamental cellular processes by organizing inter-organelle interactions. Pathogenic variants of inverted formin 2 (INF2) CAAX isoform, an actin assembly factor that is predominantly expressed in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), are linked to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and Charcot–Marie–Tooth (CMT) neuropathy. [...] Read more.
The cytoskeleton mediates fundamental cellular processes by organizing inter-organelle interactions. Pathogenic variants of inverted formin 2 (INF2) CAAX isoform, an actin assembly factor that is predominantly expressed in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), are linked to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and Charcot–Marie–Tooth (CMT) neuropathy. To investigate how pathogenic INF2 variants alter ER integrity, we used high-resolution live imaging of HeLa cells. Cells expressing wild-type (WT) INF2 showed a predominant tubular ER with perinuclear clustering. Cells expressing INF2 FSGS variants that cause mild and intermediate disease induced more sheet-like ER, a pattern similar to that seen for cells expressing WT-INF2 that were treated with actin and microtubule (MT) inhibitors. Dual CMT-FSGS INF2 variants led to more severe ER dysmorphism, with a diffuse, fragmented ER and coarse INF2 aggregates. Proper organization of both F-actin and MT was needed to modulate the tubule vs. sheet conformation balance, while MT arrays regulated spatial expansion of tubular ER in the cell periphery. Pathogenic INF2 variants also induced mitochondria fragmentation and dysregulated mitochondria distribution. Such mitochondrial abnormalities were more prominent for cells expressing CMT-FSGS compared to those with FSGS variants, indicating that the severity of the dysfunction is linked to the degree of cytoskeletal disorganization. Our observations suggest that pathogenic INF2 variants disrupt ER continuity by altering interactions between the ER and the cytoskeleton that in turn impairs inter-organelle communication, especially at ER–mitochondria contact sites. ER continuity defects may be a common disease mechanism involved in both peripheral neuropathy and glomerulopathy. Full article
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21 pages, 20175 KiB  
Article
From Cell Populations to Molecular Complexes: Multiplexed Multimodal Microscopy to Explore p53-53BP1 Molecular Interaction
by Simone Pelicci, Laura Furia, Pier Giuseppe Pelicci and Mario Faretta
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(9), 4672; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25094672 - 25 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1134
Abstract
Surpassing the diffraction barrier revolutionized modern fluorescence microscopy. However, intrinsic limitations in statistical sampling, the number of simultaneously analyzable channels, hardware requirements, and sample preparation procedures still represent an obstacle to its widespread diffusion in applicative biomedical research. Here, we present a novel [...] Read more.
Surpassing the diffraction barrier revolutionized modern fluorescence microscopy. However, intrinsic limitations in statistical sampling, the number of simultaneously analyzable channels, hardware requirements, and sample preparation procedures still represent an obstacle to its widespread diffusion in applicative biomedical research. Here, we present a novel pipeline based on automated multimodal microscopy and super-resolution techniques employing easily available materials and instruments and completed with open-source image-analysis software developed in our laboratory. The results show the potential impact of single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) on the study of biomolecules’ interactions and the localization of macromolecular complexes. As a demonstrative application, we explored the basis of p53-53BP1 interactions, showing the formation of a putative macromolecular complex between the two proteins and the basal transcription machinery in situ, thus providing visual proof of the direct role of 53BP1 in sustaining p53 transactivation function. Moreover, high-content SMLM provided evidence of the presence of a 53BP1 complex on the cell cytoskeleton and in the mitochondrial space, thus suggesting the existence of novel alternative 53BP1 functions to support p53 activity. Full article
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