FAST-EM array tomography: a workflow for multibeam volume electron microscopy.

Elucidating the 3D nanoscale structure of tissues and cells is essential for understanding the complexity of biological processes. Electron microscopy (EM) offers the resolution needed for reliable interpretation, but the limited throughput of electron microscopes has hindered its ability to effectively image large volumes. We report a workflow for volume EM with FAST-EM, a novel multibeam scanning transmission electron microscope that speeds up acquisition by scanning the sample in parallel with 64 electron beams.

Extracellular vesicles derived from stressed beta cells mediate monocyte activation and contribute to islet inflammation.

Objective: Beta cell destruction in type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from the combined effect of inflammation and recurrent autoimmunity. In recent years, the role played by beta cells in the development of T1D has evolved from passive victims of the immune system to active contributors in their own destruction. We and others have demonstrated that perturbations in the islet microenvironment promote endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in beta cells, leading to enhanced immunogenicity.

DWORF Extends Life Span in a PLN-R14del Cardiomyopathy Mouse Model by Reducing Abnormal Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Clusters.

Background: The p.Arg14del variant of the (phospholamban) gene causes cardiomyopathy, leading to severe heart failure. Calcium handling defects and perinuclear PLN aggregation have both been suggested as pathological drivers of this disease.

Optical STEM detection for scanning electron microscopy.

Recent advances in electron microscopy techniques have led to a significant scale up in volumetric imaging of biological tissue. The throughput of electron microscopes, however, remains a limiting factor for the volume that can be imaged in high resolution within reasonable time. Faster detection methods will improve throughput.

A Kinase Interacting Protein 1 regulates mitochondrial protein levels in energy metabolism and promotes mitochondrial turnover after exercise.

A Kinase Interacting Protein 1 (AKIP1) is a signalling adaptor that promotes mitochondrial respiration and attenuates mitochondrial oxidative stress in cultured cardiomyocytes. We sought to determine whether AKIP1 influences mitochondrial function and the mitochondrial adaptation in response to exercise in vivo. We assessed mitochondrial respiratory capacity, as well as electron microscopy and mitochondrial targeted-proteomics in hearts from mice with cardiomyocyte-specific overexpression of AKIP1 (AKIP1-TG) and their wild type (WT) littermates.