Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Basel, Switzerland.
Blood. 2019 Mar 28;133(13):1406-1414. doi: 10.1182/blood-2018-09-835397. Epub 2019 Feb 6.
Cells and the molecular processes underlying their behavior are highly dynamic. Understanding these dynamic biological processes requires noninvasive continuous quantitative single-cell observations, instead of population-based average or single-cell snapshot analysis. Ideally, single-cell dynamics are measured long-term in vivo; however, despite progress in recent years, technical limitations still prevent such studies. On the other hand, in vitro studies have proven to be useful for answering long-standing questions. Although technically still demanding, long-term single-cell imaging and tracking in vitro have become valuable tools to elucidate dynamic molecular processes and mechanisms, especially in rare and heterogeneous populations. Here, we review how continuous quantitative single-cell imaging of hematopoietic cells has been used to solve decades-long controversies. Because aberrant cell fate decisions are at the heart of tissue degeneration and disease, we argue that studying their molecular dynamics using quantitative single-cell imaging will also improve our understanding of these processes and lead to new strategies for therapies.
细胞及其行为背后的分子过程是高度动态的。理解这些动态的生物学过程需要非侵入性的连续定量单细胞观察，而不是基于群体的平均或单细胞快照分析。理想情况下，单细胞动力学应在体内进行长期测量；然而，尽管近年来取得了进展，技术限制仍然阻碍了此类研究。另一方面，体外研究已被证明对回答长期存在的问题很有用。尽管在技术上仍然具有挑战性，但体外长期的单细胞成像和跟踪已成为阐明动态分子过程和机制的有价值的工具，特别是在稀有和异质群体中。在这里，我们回顾了如何使用连续定量的单细胞成像来解决数十年来的争议。因为异常的细胞命运决定是组织退化和疾病的核心，我们认为使用定量单细胞成像研究它们的分子动力学也将增进我们对这些过程的理解，并为治疗策略提供新的思路。
