Structured Illumination Microscopy Improves Spot Detection Performance in Spatial Transcriptomics.

Spatial biology is a rapidly growing research field that focuses on the transcriptomic or proteomic profiling of single cells within tissues with preserved spatial information. Imaging-based spatial transcriptomics uses epifluorescence microscopy, which has shown remarkable results for the identification of multiple targets in situ. Nonetheless, the number of genes that can be reliably visualized is limited by the diffraction of light.

A new method for the study of biophysical and morphological parameters in 3D cell cultures: Evaluation in LoVo spheroids treated with crizotinib.

Three-dimensional (3D) culture systems like tumor spheroids represent useful in vitro models for drug screening and more broadly for cancer biology research, but the generation of uniform populations of spheroids remains challenging. The possibility to properly characterize spheroid properties would increase the reliability of these models. To address this issue different analysis were combined: i) a new device and relative analytical method for the accurate, simultaneous, and rapid measurement of mass density, weight, and size of spheroids, ii) confocal imaging, and iii) protein quantification, in a clinically relevant 3D model.

Physical Characterization of Colorectal Cancer Spheroids and Evaluation of NK Cell Infiltration Through a Flow-Based Analysis.

To improve pathogenetic studies in cancer development and reliable preclinical testing of anti-cancer treatments, three-dimensional (3D) cultures, including spheroids, have been widely recognized as more physiologically relevant models of in tumor behavior. Currently, the generation of uniformly sized spheroids is still challenging: different 3D cell culture methods produce heterogeneous populations in dimensions and morphology, that may strongly influence readouts reliability correlated to tumor growth rate or antitumor natural killer (NK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity. In this context, an increasing consensus claims the integration of microfluidic technologies within 3D cell culture, as the physical characterization of tumor spheroids is unavoidably demanded to standardize protocols and assays for testing.