3D Imaging Platform Sheds Light on How T Cells Decide Their Fate

Researchers at Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have developed an imaging technique that quantifies cell location in three dimensions. By imaging intact lymphoid organs in 3D, the team has been able to identify factors that play a role in determining where immune memory cells locate to in the lymph node, in response to infection or cancer.

Brigette Duckworth and Joanna Groom, authors on the paper published in Nature Immunology recently, said the imaging technique could be applied to many different settings. "By using this type of three-dimensional imaging, we have the power to visualise how and where immune cells decide their fate. There is real interest in understanding these mechanisms, as that gives us clues about how we can therapeutically target them and harness them for a host of applications, including vaccine development."

"This work opens the door to harnessing extrinsic factors like vaccines to alter immune cell positioning in the lymph node and potentially direct the exact type of immune response we would like to generate," Duckworth added.