Manuela Kellner

3D imaging of biofilms on implants by detection of scattered light with a scanning laser optical tomograph

Biofilms – communities of microorganisms attached to surfaces – are a constant threat for long-term success in modern implantology. The application of laser scanning microscopy (LSM) has increased the knowledge about microscopic properties of biofilms, whereas a 3D imaging technique for the large scale visualization of bacterial growth and migration on curved and non-transparent surfaces is not realized so far. Towards this goal, we built a scanning laser optical tomography (SLOT) setup detecting scattered laser light to image biofilm on dental implant surfaces. SLOT enables the visualization of living biofilms in 3D by detecting the wavelength-dependent absorption of non-fluorescent stains like e.g. reduced triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) accumulated within metabolically active bacterial cells. Thus, the presented system allows the large scale investigation of vital biofilm structure and in vitro development on cylindrical and non-transparent objects without the need for fluorescent vital staining. We suggest SLOT to be a valuable tool for the structural and volumetric investigation of biofilm formation on implants with sizes up to several millimeters.

Differences of isolated dental stem cells dependent on donor age and consequences for autologous tooth replacement.

OBJECTIVE Autologous therapy via stem cell-based tissue regeneration is an aim to rebuild natural teeth. One option is the use of adult stem cells from the dental pulp (DPSCs), which have been shown to differentiate into several types of tissue in vitro and in vivo, especially into tooth-like structures. DPSCs are mainly isolated from the dental pulp of third molars routinely extracted for orthodontic reasons. Due to the extraction of third molars at various phases of life, DPSCs are isolated at different developmental stages of the tooth. DESIGN The present study addressed the question whether DPSCs from patients of different ages were similar in their growth characteristics with respect to the stage of tooth development. Therefore DPSCs from third molars of 12-30 year-old patients were extracted, and growth characteristics, e.g. doubling time and maximal cell division potential were analysed. In addition, pulp and hard dental material weight were recorded. RESULTS Irrespective of the age of patients almost all isolated cells reached 40-60 generations with no correlation between maximal cell division potential and patient age. Cells from patients <22 years showed a significantly faster doubling time than the cells from patients ≥22 years. CONCLUSION The age of patients at the time of stem cell isolation is not a crucial factor concerning maximal cell division potential, but does have an impact on the doubling time. However, differences in individuals regarding growth characteristics were more pronounced than age-dependent differences.

Lysophosphatidic Acid Signaling through the Lysophosphatidic Acid-1 Receptor Is Required for Alveolarization

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signaling through one of its receptors, LPA1, contributes to both the development and the pathological remodeling after injury of many organs. Because we found previously that LPA-LPA1 signaling contributes to pulmonary fibrosis, here we investigated whether this pathway is also involved in lung development. Quantitative assessment of lung architecture of LPA1-deficient knock-out (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice at 3, 12, and 24 weeks of age using design-based stereology suggested the presence of an alveolarization defect in LPA1 KO mice at 3 weeks, which persisted as alveolar numbers increased in WT mice into adulthood. Across the ages examined, the lungs of LPA1 KO mice exhibited decreased alveolar numbers, septal tissue volumes, and surface areas, and increased volumes of the distal airspaces. Elastic fibers, critical to the development of alveolar septa, appeared less organized and condensed and more discontinuous in KO alveoli starting at P4. Tropoelastin messenger RNA expression was decreased in KO lungs, whereas expression of matrix metalloproteinases degrading elastic fibers was either decreased or unchanged. These results are consistent with the abnormal lung phenotype of LPA1 KO mice, being attributable to reduced alveolar septal formation during development, rather than to increased septal destruction as occurs in the emphysema of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Peripheral septal fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, which direct septation in late alveolarization, demonstrated reduced production of tropoelastin and matrix metalloproteinases, and diminished LPA-induced migration, when isolated from LPA1 KO mice. Taken together, our data suggest that LPA-LPA1 signaling is critically required for septation during alveolarization.

Correlating 3D morphology with molecular pathology: fibrotic remodelling in human lung biopsies

Assessing alterations of the parenchymal architecture is essential in understanding fibrosing interstitial lung diseases. Here, we present a novel method to visualise fibrotic remodelling in human lungs and correlate morphological three-dimensional (3D) data with gene and protein expression in the very same sample. The key to our approach is a novel embedding resin that clears samples to full optical transparency and simultaneously allows 3D laser tomography and preparation of sections for histology, immunohistochemistry and RNA isolation. Correlating 3D laser tomography with molecular diagnostic techniques enables new insights into lung diseases. This approach has great potential to become an essential tool in pulmonary research.

A combined method for correlative 3D imaging of biological samples from macro to nano scale.

Correlative analysis requires examination of a specimen from macro to nano scale as well as applicability of analytical methods ranging from morphological to molecular. Accomplishing this with one and the same sample is laborious at best, due to deformation and biodegradation during measurements or intermediary preparation steps. Furthermore, data alignment using differing imaging techniques turns out to be a complex task, which considerably complicates the interconnection of results. We present correlative imaging of the accessory rat lung lobe by combining a modified Scanning Laser Optical Tomography (SLOT) setup with a specially developed sample preparation method (CRISTAL). CRISTAL is a resin-based embedding method that optically clears the specimen while allowing sectioning and preventing degradation. We applied and correlated SLOT with Multi Photon Microscopy, histological and immunofluorescence analysis as well as Transmission Electron Microscopy, all in the same sample. Thus, combining CRISTAL with SLOT enables the correlative utilization of a vast variety of imaging techniques.

1700012B09Rik, a FOXJ1 effector gene active in ciliated tissues of the mouse but not essential for motile ciliogenesis

In humans and mice, motile cilia occur on the surface of the embryonic ventral node, on respiratory and ependymal epithelia and in reproductive organs where they ensure normal left-right asymmetry of the organism, mucociliary clearance of airways, homeostasis of the cerebrospinal fluid and fertility. The genetic programme for the formation of motile cilia, thus critical for normal development and health, is switched on by the key transcription factor FOXJ1. In previous microarray screens for murine FOXJ1 effectors, we identified candidates for novel factors involved in motile ciliogenesis, including both genes that are well conserved throughout metazoa and beyond, like FOXJ1 itself, and genes without overt homologues outside higher vertebrates. Here we examine one of the novel murine FOXJ1 effectors, the uncharacterised 1700012B09Rik whose homologues appear to be restricted to higher vertebrates. In mouse embryos and adults, 1700012B09Rik is predominantly expressed in motile ciliated tissues in a FOXJ1-dependent manner. 1700012B09RIK protein localises to basal bodies of cilia in cultured cells. Detailed analysis of 1700012B09RiklacZ knock-out mice reveals no impaired function of motile cilia or non-motile cilia. In conclusion, this novel FOXJ1 effector is associated mainly with motile cilia but - in contrast to other known FOXJ1 targets - its putative ciliary function is not essential for development or health in the mouse, consistent with a late emergence during evolution of motile ciliogenesis.

Method for 3D airway topology extraction.

In lungs the number of conducting airway generations as well as bifurcation patterns varies across species and shows specific characteristics relating to illnesses or gene variations. A method to characterize the topology of the mouse airway tree using scanning laser optical tomography (SLOT) tomograms is presented in this paper. It is used to test discrimination between two types of mice based on detected differences in their conducting airway pattern. Based on segmentations of the airways in these tomograms, the main spanning tree of the volume skeleton is computed. The resulting graph structure is used to distinguish between wild type and surfactant protein (SP-D) deficient knock-out mice.

Imaging of the mouse lung with scanning laser optical tomography (SLOT)

New optical techniques have the potential to fill the gap between radiological and microscopic approaches to assess the lungs internal structure. Since its quantitative assessment requires unbiased sampling and measurement principles, imaging of the whole lung with sufficient resolution for visualizing details is important. To address this request, we applied scanning laser optical tomography (SLOT) for the three dimensional imaging of mouse lung ex vivo. SLOT is a highly efficient flourescence and transmission microscopy technique allowing for 3D imaging of specimen of sizes up to several millimeters. Previously fixed lung lobes and whole lungs were optically cleared and subsequently imaged with SLOT while making use of intrinsic contrast mechanisms like absorption and autofluorescence. Imaging of airways, blood vessels and parenchyma is demonstrated. Volumetric SLOT datasets of the lungs internal structure can be analyzed in any preferred planar orientation. Moreover, the sample preparation preserves microscopic structure of the lung and allows for subsequent correlative histologic studies. In summary, SLOT is a useful technique to visualize and survey the internal structure of mouse lung at different scales and with various contrast mechanisms. Potential applications of SLOT in lung research are e.g. quantitative phenotype analysis of mouse models of human lung disease in combination with stereological methods.