Phasor histone FLIM-FRET microscopy quantifies spatiotemporal rearrangement of chromatin architecture during the DNA damage response.

To investigate how chromatin architecture is spatiotemporally organized at a double-strand break (DSB) repair locus, we established a biophysical method to quantify chromatin compaction at the nucleosome level during the DNA damage response (DDR). The method is based on phasor image-correlation spectroscopy of histone fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM)-Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy data acquired in live cells coexpressing H2B-eGFP and H2B-mCherry. This multiplexed approach generates spatiotemporal maps of nuclear-wide chromatin compaction that, when coupled with laser microirradiation-induced DSBs, quantify the size, stability, and spacing between compact chromatin foci throughout the DDR.

Real-time analysis of metabolic activity within Lactobacillus acidophilus by phasor fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy of NADH.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) is an endogenous fluorescent molecule commonly used as a metabolic biomarker. Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is a method in which the fluorescence decay is measured at each pixel of an image. While the fluorescence spectrum of free and protein-bound NADH is very similar, free and protein-bound NADH display very different decay profiles.

Phasor-FLIM analysis of NADH distribution and localization in the nucleus of live progenitor myoblast cells.

Analysis of the cellular distributions of coenzymes including NADH may aid in understanding a cells metabolic status. We altered serum concentration (0, 2, and 10%) to induce living myoblast cells to undergo the early stages of differentiation. Through microscopy and phasor-FLIM, we spatially mapped and identified variations in the distribution of free and bound NADH.

NADH distribution in live progenitor stem cells by phasor-fluorescence lifetime image microscopy.

NADH is a naturally fluorescent metabolite associated with cellular respiration. Exploiting the different fluorescence lifetime of free and bound NADH has the potential to quantify the relative amount of bound and free NADH, enhancing understanding of cellular processes including apoptosis, cancer pathology, and enzyme kinetics. We use the phasor-fluorescence lifetime image microscopy approach to spatially map NADH in both the free and bound forms of live undifferentiated and differentiated myoblast cells.